After a winter of breakdowns, delays, and cancellations, Councillors move to restore rider confidence.
By: Duncan Roi
OC Transpo’s Light Rail Transit (LRT) fleet has experienced reduced service this winter due to mechanical issues and breakdowns. The issue came to a head Jan. 27, when a train malfunction caused an extended backup on the line, forcing some passengers to walk along the tracks to Pimisi station.
While OC Transpo works to stabilize operations, riders like Christine Bogie, who has relied on Ottawa transit for 25 years, say their confidence in the system is slipping.
On Jan. 27, Bogie’s usual 45-minute commute took two hours. Because of the breakdown, instead of taking Line 1, she had to take a bus to Tunney’s Pasture station and wait again after no bus arrived as scheduled.
In a Feb. 18 newsletter to constituents, City Coun. Sean Devine described the Jan. 27 disruption as a breaking point for riders:
“For many, January 27th was like hitting bottom. Seeing stranded LRT passengers walking along the snow-covered rails on a cold night crystallized the frustration and resignation that many of Ottawa’s transit riders feel every day,” said Devine.
Bogie said her commute was, in some ways, more reliable before the launch of Line 1, when she relied solely on buses and had more route choices.
“I had more options. You know if one route didn’t come, I could take another route. I think I had three different options from downtown to home,” said Bogie.
She added that her travel time has nearly doubled in recent years.
“The biggest thing about my trip home is, while it depends on weather or there can be accidents or a number of things it used to take me 25 minutes to get home. Even after the LRT. Because I had 2 bus options to get home. Now it takes me 40 to 45 minutes to get home,” said Bogie.
For many the issue isn’t just the LRT but also unreliable buses which often don’t show up or synchronize well with the train system.
In response to ongoing reliability issues, Ottawa City Council unanimously approved Devine’s motion on Feb. 11 to develop a Transit Reliability & Accountability Framework, with the aim of restoring public confidence in transit.
Among other things, the motion directs staff to review best practices in other jurisdictions and update service reliability and target metrics.
City Coun. Laine Johnson said she recognizes the growing skepticism among residents.
“I understand why people are really sceptical about transit at this time. I think that’s unfortunately what we’re dealing with,” said Johnson.
“And one of the things that I hear is, you know, that in fact we shouldn’t be investing in transit anymore. Because it’s proven to be good money after bad,” said Johnson. “As a city we can’t afford to not try and get transit right at this point.”
Amid a winter of ongoing disruptions, the hope is that the framework will help make daily commutes across Ottawa steadier and more reliable.