My last full day in Montreal started out with the STM. I went to the Sherbrooke station which was right by my hotel and not knowing what exactly I needed to do I asked the gentleman in the kiosk about buying a one day pass. He said that they didn't sell them there (even though everything I read said that during the summer months they do, but my sources could have been wrong). He told me that I needed to go one stop down to the Berri Station to purchase one. He also agreed to let me ride for free there. That was the last good thing to happen for me on the STM.
*On the platform I was accosted by a gentleman yelling obscenities and grabbing at me (not the STM's fault, but it sure didn't put me at ease to the safety of the system).
*When I asked at the Berri station about the pass, I was directed to a kiosk with a big NO CASH PAYMENT notice. When I tried to pay with my card I was informed that they don't accept American cards. I was sent to another machine on the other side of the station to pay with cash.
*I finally bought my ticket and tried to enter the turnstile. No luck. When I asked one of the staff, they tried it, found it didn't work and then told me there was nothing they could do.
I ended up walking back to my hotel, too tired to try anymore and having spent the past 2 hours just trying to get a ticket, not getting to see what I had wanted that morning. Seeing as I'd spent the previous part of my trip walking everywhere with no problem, I think I'd stick to that next time.