Public Transit in Ottawa

The Confederation Line: Elegant, but not extravagant

2012-12-17T11:30:00.000-05:00

Today in the Ottawa Citizen, a local resident published a letter on the city's Confederation Line transit plan. The letter, written by Mr. Roderick Taylor in response to a previous article about praise councillors heaped on train station "starchitect" Richard Brisbin during the penultimate approval vote, contained some good points but, in my opinion, was off the mark.

Since the letter likely contains opinions shared by others, I decided to respond directly to the comments made. I've tried to do so respectfully, and mean no offence to the letter-writer--his opinions differ from mine, but remain valid. Feel free to respond to my responses in the comments below.

Re: LRT station designs wow councillors, Dec. 13.

In their infatuation with station concepts, one is left with the impression that many on city council have forgotten that the most important criterion by far when considering the suitability of a transit project is not the elegance of its stations, but whether the plan itself makes rational sense from a transit planning perspective.

This "most important criterion" is certainly true, and planners who emphasise transit stations at the expense of the plan itself fail to see the forest through the trees. But I don't believe that's the case here; the transit plan was the first step, and has been heavily researched by staff, architects, planners, and others. Only once the plan was in place were the stations designed, and they have been designed very well.

I also think that the opposite of what Taylor is saying is true: Even the most sensible transit plan will be limited in its effectiveness if it's not something people will want to ride. Comfort is a huge factor in building effective public transit, and well-designed stations can transform the area around them, moving from transit hubs to lifestyle hubs. Will that happen in Ottawa? It could, if fostered well through planning decisions and local input. Without good transit stations, though, it almost certainly would not happen.

The foreshortened light-rail line ending at Tunney's and Blair (without, in all likelihood, the prospect of the necessary financing from senior levels of government for line extensions for the foreseeable future) will simply inconvenience legions of transit riders with time-consuming transfers at those points, and at Hurdman, and actually discourage transit ridership. It does not make rational sense.

The uncertainty of funding eastern, western, and southern extensions of the Confederation Line is a real issue, and it does surround the plan with questions. However, massive and long-term city-building projects like this one will always have huge question marks; if cities were to wait for all of those questions to be answered, nothing would ever get done except extremely small projects.

(It's also worth noting that the federal government's budgetary projections have them slated to ink a surplus in 2016-17, the year before this phase of Confederation Line will be finished, and--by extension--in advance of commencement of the rail extensions towards the suburbs. While these projections may seem as reliable as a crystal ball, they're the best we have at the moment. The province is another story, obviously, but the city has five years to lobby their federal and provincial partners to get supportive funding for the transit plan's next stages.)

Transfers are regularly cited as a deterrent, but that's not always the case; transfers are a necessary component of most transit systems, and they can actually make trips faster in certain circumstances. The key to avoid discouraging riders is to make the transfer points comfortable and to make the transfer times short. Comfort was discussed above, and trains in the system can run as frequently as every 1:45; that's pretty frequent. Transit systems that are effective for both user and taxpayer are virtually impossible without transfers, but systems with transfers can be designed to remain responsible to both groups of stakeholders. This system, by all accounts, does that.

LRT stations that may end up rivalling the Taj Mahal in their magnificence do not alter that stark reality.

This obvious hyperbole doesn't help the argument here, but the opinion that these stations are overly ornate may be a common opinion, but it simply isn't the case. Sure, compared to the existing OC Transpo bus stations/hamster cages, they're "magnificent," but compared to stations in other cities (Moscow; Almaty, Kazakhstan; Stockholm; these cities), they're fairly simple: It looks like there is a lot of glass, smooth finishes of metal and ceramic, natural wood, and open spaces. The stations are modern and minimalist, but look like they'll stand the test of time and will also be cost-effective.

There are other, more sensible and cost-effective ways of alleviating downtown bus congestion problems, such as supplementing the existing bus transitway system with a regional/local rail service using existing rail lines, which would be far more convenient and attractive for the travelling public.

Although I agree that leveraging existing rail lines to complement our existing public transit infrastructure is an idea worth investigating, I fail to see how it would alleviate downtown bus congestion--which is the most pressing issue for OC Transpo; the system has hit its capacity downtown, particularly around the Mackenzie King Station, and there is no longer room to run more buses there. Since supplemental rail lines would fail to serve most of the city's major destinations (the downtown business district, the University of Ottawa, Tunney's Pasture, etc.), it would not solve the underlying problems that have motivated the construction of the Confederation Line. The best they could do is transport people to either Bayview Station or Train Station, which would still require use of the Confederation Line itself.

Council and staff should be pursuing these options, not an exorbitantly expensive transit white elephant with dazzling stops en route.

Roderick Taylor, Ottawa

Obviously, Taylor's point is laid bare in this conclusion: The plan itself is flawed, and not even the most beautiful transit stations would compensate for those flaws. But he says the plan is exorbitantly expensive, which it isn't; it's expensive, but the costs are controlled through a fixed-cost contract, they're in line with other similar projects, and funding has been earmarked from start to finish. He also says it's a white elephant, which it won't be; Ottawa is a resilient transit market (even a 53-day transit strike barely made a dent in ridership), and this line will serve a greater capacity of riders heading to the same destinations at least as quickly as they're being served already (likely more quickly), and in more comfortable surroundings.

There will be dazzling stops en route, granted, but they won't be ostentatious. They'll be cost-effective, and should fit in nicely with the new Ottawa aesthetic, alongside the Art Gallery, the re-designed Museum of Nature, the Ottawa Convention Centre, and the new Lansdowne Park.

The Confederation Line: Can it really be happening?

2012-12-07T13:01:00.002-05:00

Things actually seem to be moving along quite well for Ottawa's light-rail transit system, now officially christened The Confederation Line.

The Rideau Transit Group was recommended as the project team for the construction of the 12.5 km light-rail line, and yesterday the city released a huge presentation and unveiled the latest station designs. If you haven't seen them yet, you should definitely go look now at ottawalightrail.ca. They're truly amazing.

From a personal perspective, this marks a milestone moment for me. Leading up to this point, I've tried to hold back my enthusiasm for the project--past experiences with similar projects had likely left many in Ottawa cynical about the prospect of this highly ambitious, $2.1B mega-project actually moving forward. But now, upon seeing these designs, reading up on the project team, and looking at the recommendation in detail, I'm finally going to allow myself to get excited about light-rail in Ottawa.

There are certainly flaws in the project, and I wouldn't dare suggest that everything is perfect. There also remain many unanswered questions about Phase 1 as well as the implementation of future phases. And considering how late in the process the O-Train extension project was cancelled, there's still a possibility (however slight) that this thing could go sideways.

But for now, I'm going to stick with optimism and excitement and see what happens.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to flip through this station design slideshow once again...

LRT Planning

2012-05-11T15:00:00.000-04:00

It's been a while since my last post and much has changed about the LRT project in a year. Since the tunnel was moved north to Queen Street, this massive transit project is becoming less and less of what I would imagine it to be.

By now, we know that staying within the budget seems to be the only reason for moving the tunnel further north and building Rideau station further east. This is disappointing since city planning is taking a back-seat to political promises. While still within the core, the downtown tunnel has somewhat moved further away from the denser areas. The new location for Rideau station will no longer be serving Elgin Street with much higher density than the Sandy Hill neighbourhood.

Rideau station should remain where it was initially planned and the station at O'Connor Street be placed eastwards towards Metcalfe Street. That way, the same number of stations remain and Elgin Street is better served. The Mayor is correct to say that an extra station will slow down service, especially when Ottawa's density in the downtown core is no where near close to Toronto's. Having the stations too close leads to unnecessary stopping when the density isn't there.

Plopping a station here and instead of there isn't easy and requires much more time and money. If the money is the issue, which it always seems to be, we could delay another project and use those funds for this project. There is no other future project in Ottawa near the magnitude of this one and this is one of the few that will benefit the entire city.

Money could be saved by not re-constructing Train station and not having it at all. Instead, bus service to the Tremblay VIA station from Hurdman or St. Laurent stations could be coordinated with VIA schedules. There is supposed to be some new development for Train station once it re-opens as an light-rail station. But, it isn't guaranteed. Besides the few apartment buildings, new development around Cyrville and Hurdman stations has been disappointing since the Transitway was built. Currently, Train station seems to the least-used Transitway station that will be served by light-rail. With the Transitway, all stops are requested, unlike light-rail, at least in Ottawa's case, trains are required to stop at all stations. If there were a station that will slow down the system, Train station would be the front-running candidate. Having trains stop with few people getting on or off doesn't seem very cost-effective.

We could shorten the LRT line to Bayview station or St. Laurent station and use that money for fixing the planned downtown portion. Of course, some may look at is as "back-tracking" or "scrapping the LRT plan" and no one at City Hall seems to keen on that. I live in the east-end and use VIA rail on occasion. So, this isn't a view from someone living in the downtown core, who wants what is best for themselves.

What about the bus routes feeding into the light-rail line? A story from the Ottawa Citizen says that buses from neighbourhoods in the east will terminate at Rideau Centre on Rideau Street, while buses from areas in the west will end at the mall on Mackenzie King Bridge. Here is the reason for it:

Keeping bus riders walking through the mall is one of the city’s objectives: “My understanding is there’s discussions with the Rideau Centre, and discussions on maintaining through-flow of people on foot through there,” [Councillor] Fleury said.

The City's goal should be to make transferring easy and quick for passengers, not help business for Rideau Centre. Rideau Centre has an LRT station and doesn't require assistance in directing people into their mall. As for transferring, passengers hate it and is one of the reasons why some don't use public transit at all. If passengers get off a bus on Mackenzie King Bridge and have to walk through the length of the mall to transfer onto the underground LRT, then travel time will be lost, accessibility doesn't sound promising and it will be complicated for those not familiar with the mall. Also, does this proposed route configuration imply that time-based proof-of-payment transfers will continue to exist? Otherwise, Rideau Centre will have to be declared as a paid-fare zone, which is completely out of the question. As well, with frequent fare increases, it's highly likely that the downtown area will be a fare-free zone.

What are your thoughts on the latest developments of this evolving project?

In the Year 2012: Route extensions and changes on Rideau Street

2012-02-02T07:00:00.001-05:00

OC Transpo released their 2012 Business Plan a week ago and in case you missed my previous posts on the plan, you can look at Presto Cards, Billboards for ads and bus arrival displays, and Park and Rides. Today, we'll look at some ideas in the plan that calls for extending routes 94 and 99.

When the Strandherd-Armstrong bridge opens later this year, OC Transpo plans on extending route 94 to Riverview station and extending route 99 to the RCMP office in Barrhaven. Existing customers of either routes must be cringing. The problem with route 94 is that it is such a long route and as soon as it operates with car traffic in the suburbs, it is no longer "rapid-transit" anymore. There are more chances of the route being delayed when the route is far too long. The route might better if it's broken in two like the old route 2 from Blair to Bayshore.

As for route 99 serving the RCMP offices. Currently, there are two peak period routes (94, 199) and one regular route (176) serving the RCMP building on Leikin. I'm not sure how many RCMP staff members take transit, but, assuming service levels stay the same, four routes seems a bit much to serve a single company

There are plans to revise OC Transpo service to Gatineau: “The OC Transpo bus routes extending into Gatineau will be revised to provide new connections with the STO’s Rapibus service, reducing

operating pressure on Rideau and Wellington Streets in downtown Ottawa.” This seems vague at this point in time. From what I understand, this may imply there will be fewer STO buses operating on Rideau and Wellington, which will be replaced by more OC Transpo service to STO's future Rapibus. For OC Transpo customers on a Rideau or Wellington bus, one would hope this means faster service in the bus lanes.

In the Year 2012: More Park and Rides

2012-02-01T07:00:00.001-05:00

For the past few days, I have picked a few tidbits from the 2012 OC Transpo business plan. Today, we will look at the ideas for new Park and Ride locations.

OC Transpo's business plan promises more park and ride spaces in the city. This year, there are plans to expand the existing lots at Trim, Strandherd stations and to build a new lot at Strandherd and Woodroffe, which will be a 3-minute drive from the existing Park and Ride at Strandherd and Greenbank. Once the Strandherd-Armstrong bridge is built, the Strandherd/Greenbank lot will only be a five-minute drive from the Riverview lot. While the short distance between lots is great when one lot fills up, it just doesn't make a lot of sense to have lots so close to each other, especially when there is room to expand at the existing Riverview lot.

In 2013, if everything goes according to schedule, new Park and Ride lots will appear in Chapel Hill in Orleans, which will be part of the Cumberland Transitway linking to Blair station in 2021, Hazeldean Road between Kanata and Stittsville, and one in Kanata North, presumably on the route 93 line. In 2014 or 2015, Millenium Park and Ride will be expanded and a new lot will appear on Cambrian Road.

OC Transpo wants to continue down the path of providing more parking lots for customers because the spaces fill up quickly. But, most of the spaces are free, so, of course, there will be overcrowded parking lots. Who doesn't want free stuff? If OC Transpo wants ideas for revenue, they may want to look at expanding their price system for the Park and Rides. Why not charge for spots in the morning and leave the weekends free? Those parking on a weekday morning can enjoy dealing with less crowded lots once people figure it's no longer free.

It's disappointing to be reading plans about proposed Park and Rides when there is no mention about improved local service. Improving local service would be drawing people away from parking their cars and encouraging people to take transit from their home. It's probably more expensive to run more local buses all year long, but Park and Rides aren't cheap either; The facilities must be maintained and secured.

If there is one thing OC Transpo is quick at doing, it's building Park and Rides. There will be more of them as long as there is available land and there is plenty of that in Ottawa's suburbs.

In the Year 2012: Billboards and Screens

2012-01-31T07:00:00.011-05:00

Yesterday, OC Transpo's new fare system was discussed. Today, we will look at advertising and customer information from OCTranspo's 2012 business plan.

Besides fares and government subsidies, OC Transpo generates a small fraction of its revenue from advertisements. The business plan states 1.5% of revenues, nearly $3 million annually, are from advertisements on buses, shelters and stop benches and the typical percentage for large North American transit authorities is 2%. OC Transpo plans on “using billboards on transit property to meet the needs of transit users and the general public.”

They can start with...anywhere on the Transitway. There are very few ads to be seen at transit stations, which has been puzzling since OC Transpo seems to be strapped for cash quite often and space does exist at most transit stations. Take Mackenzie King Bridge, for example. There are no ads to be seen on one of Ottawa's busiest transit stations. OC Transpo could make some significant revenue if they placed ads on the median fence facing the platform. As a passenger, I wouldn't mind more advertisements if it means not cutting service or better yet, improving service.

Google Street View of Mackenzie King Bridge looking east.

OC Transpo also says it will have less paper-based customer information and more electronic information this year. Besides the mobile website, there will be “next-bus arrival information delivered through fixed displays”, assuming this is real-time GPS information. When Open Data is released to the public by March 22, OC Transpo may not be in as much of a rush to provide the new displays. Still, they would benefit all customers, especially those without a smartphone, and one day, we won't have to look at those MS-DOS screens anymore.

In the Year 2012: Presto Cards

2012-01-30T07:00:00.009-05:00

Last Thursday, OC Transpo General Manager Alain Mercier presented the 2012 Business Plan to the Transit Commission. The 36-page document can be found here. Over the course of this week, we will look at this plan and pick out the highlights. Everything from operating costs to park and rides will be discussed.First, let's take a look at Presto.

As many of you are aware, Presto cards will be launching later this year to replace paper tickets and passes. These cards are transferable between anyone in the same fare group. For example, if you pay student fare, you may give your Presto card to another person who also pays the student fare – of course, you can't be on the bus or O-Train at the same time.

Another benefit with Presto is the different methods of payments you can choose to reload your card: internet, phone, mail, or in person. This should reduce the lengthy line-ups for passes each month. There is also an option to have your pass automatically purchased for the next month, which is adds to the convenience.

OC Transpo wants to simplify the system to two types of fare s for students, adults, and seniors: single trip fares (similar to the existing ticket for less frequent travellers) and monthly passes. Since Presto does not use paper transfers, it might be difficult for most people to remember how much time is left on their single-fare. The plan does not go into the specifics of how the whole fare system will be implemented. However, it might best for OC Transpo to install balance checkers at each Transitway station, on buses, and the O-Train.

Express fares will remain for express routes and the Day Pass, Family Pass, and U-Pass will continue. But, semester passes will be discontinued and the annual passes have stopped since December of last year. There was no mention of children's fare in the report but, it would make sense to have a fare for children, 6-11 years old, as they always have.

More on Presto can be found on OC Transpo's site and on Presto's site.

A look at cancelled trips

2012-01-09T07:00:00.003-05:00

As you are probably aware, OCTranspo.com reports bus trip cancellations, but not all of them are revealed to the public. So, keep in mind, this is only a sample of the full dataset. Since December 21, 2010, wheresmybus.ca, the companion website to OC Transpo Alerts Twitter, has been collecting data on bus cancellations. Below, is the data up to December 22, 2011.

Most common cancelled routes:

The top three most cancelled routes are, not surprisingly, routes 95, 96, and 97, which consist of approximately one third of the cancellations. Route 95 alone comprises nearly a quarter of all cancellations and on average, about six of its trips are cancelled per day. Transitway routes have more cancelled trips than other type of route because they are far more frequent and bunch up more frequently too. Routes 12 and 118 receive their fare share of complaints of being late and at times, much too late to even bother starting its run in the reverse direction.

As expected, there are fewer cancellations on the weekends. Wednesdays and Thursdays seem to have more cancelled trips than any other day of the week last year.

Peak hours experience more cancellations than any other time of the day. After 9 am, the number of cancellations decrease (fewer buses on the road and less traffic), but after 11 am, the cancellations start to increase. The afternoon rush hour period seems to be the worst, especially at 4 pm.

January and February saw over 35 cancellations per day, on average, which is primarily due to heavy snow falls and snowstorms. In September, many routes were modified and customers needed some time to adjust to the new routes. Normally, in September, students return to school and people are returning from holidays. The combination of increased ridership, cut buses, and some confusion and enquiries over the new routes created some reliability problems.

OC Transpo reports about 27 cancellations per day on average, which is a very small fraction of all the runs in the system on a given day. Absent buses are due to bus breakdowns, chronic unreliability of the route, traffic jams, bus collisions, shortages in available buses and drivers, and similar events.

OC Transpo to undo some optimization route cuts

2011-12-13T11:26:00.007-05:00

OC Transpo's massive route optimization project is set to be scaled back a little bit, as was announced today. Given an extra $5.5M in the 2012 City of Ottawa budget to address specific service concerns resultant from the optimization process--specifically: overcrowding on buses and lacking service to certain areas--OC Transpo announced upgrades to take effect by early in the new year.

According to reports from the CBC and the Ottawa Citizen, service changes will entail:

an increase the number of buses serving routes 2, 4, 5, 16, 30, 87, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 106, 111, 118, 120, 143, 148, 169, 261, 263, and 691;
larger buses serving routes 4, 38, 60, 62, 87, 93, and 114 at peak times in the day; and
route adjustments on route 5, 16, 93, 106, 121, 144, 169, and 198.

The goal of route optimization when the process began was to trim the fat, so to speak, on OC Transpo service by reducing route overlaps, "milk runs," and inefficient routes and trips. The eventual savings target was about $20M per year; with the $5.5M injection from this year's city budget, those savings are now down to an estimated $14.5M per year.

That $14.5M represents trimming a little more than four per cent off OC Transpo's total expenditures (from 2010, the most recent numbers available).

Check your behaviour

2011-11-07T07:00:00.091-05:00

Update (5:30pm ): General Manager Alain Mercier sent a memo to members of Transit Commission. You can find it on Alistair Steele's blog from the CBC. In the letter, Mr. Mercier makes an apology, believes the incident is "genuine", reassures that this is a rare case and is not the "norm". Mr. Mercier said the right things and responded in a timely manner.

You can also read a reasonable response from an OC Transpo driver on his blog Drives in Circles.

Some are suggesting that the victim was trying to get attention given that he studies acting. Passengers and at least one driver say that he is annoying. While the young man may be annoying to everyone on the bus, it doesn't appear that he was seeking attention to showcase his acting skills because we didn't see any kind of acting in the video.

A video of an OC Transpo driver swearing and threatening a mentally ill passenger has caught the attention of many including Mayor Jim Watson and even made national news. The video is below (warning: there are f-bombs):

Normally, with any video featuring bad behaviour, there may be something that we missed before the video was captured. The video uploader, DartPak, explains the passenger was talking very loudly and when he approached the bus driver to talk to him, the bus driver flipped out on him. Apparently, the passenger apologized numerous times. The witness added in the comment section that the driver told the passenger to leave bus while it was on the Queensway and told CTV the driver and passenger have probably met in the past:

“I heard the bus driver say ‘every night it's the same thing with you, just sit down and shut up and take your meds,'” he said. “Just really inappropriate things in my opinion.”

An OC Transpo driver, familiar with the passenger, told the Ottawa Sun the passenger was “aggressive socially”, but harmless.

Swearing at a customer and threatening physical violence is completely inexcusable, unacceptable, and is not tolerated anywhere. In fact, that type of behaviour makes one unqualified to work with the public. The behaviour of this driver has further supported the public perception that OC Transpo drivers provide terrible customer service. It's unfortunate because many bus operators are very kind and care about the safety of passengers. OC Transpo is attempting to re-brand themselves by displaying ads of their employees in a positive manner on buses and shelters .

As for the punishment, people on Twitter are calling for the bus driver to be fired. OC Transpo deals with such matters internally and discloses little information to the public.

ATU Local 279 President Garry Queale gave a response that could be just as upsetting as the video. Queale told the Sun: “There is a City of Ottawa bylaw that people aren’t supposed to take pictures on buses.”

This response is very similar to the one from the union representing STO drivers when an STO driver was caught on video filing paper work while driving his bus. I understand that drivers don't want to be filmed. But, when the driver is negligent behind the wheel or abuses a passenger, claiming “privacy rights” is not a valid excuse. When the union makes such a statement, the public can't take it seriously.

Video recording is prohibited on OC Transpo property unless it is for personal use (Section 19.7). In other words, as long as the video isn't used for commercial purposes, then it is considered legal.

So far, the only person who has apologized for the incident is the victim, which is very unsettling, and it may be the only apology we will ever hear.

OC Transpo fares to increase 2.5 per cent in 2012

2011-10-26T14:38:00.004-04:00

According to Ottawa Metro, the City of Ottawa's 2012 budget includes extra funding for OC Transpo (fuelled by a property tax increase of 2.39 per cent), which will be directed towards increasing service on major routes such as the 87, 94, 95, and 96.

More to the point for most transit riders, the budget also calls for a 2.5-per cent increase in OC Transpo fares.

The fare increase falls in line with recent estimates, but is much lower than the 7.5-per cent increase in March of 2010. Still, after a massive optimization project intended to make service more efficient, one wonders where those savings have gone.

Is OC Transpo's fare structure too complicated?

2011-10-21T07:00:00.001-04:00

Is OC Transpo's fare structure too complicated? Officials at OC Transpo believe so. As part of the Presto smartcard program, which is slated to launch in the spring or summer of 2012, OC Transpo also wants to revamp the entire fare structure.

The current fare structure may be complicated to tourists and first time users, but it is still easy to learn. A regular transit user in Ottawa isn't still trying to learn the fare system, which haven't drastically changed in at least 15 years. While not difficult to understand, the strangest OC Transpo fare category is the O-Train fare. It is more expensive than the regular fare of two tickets. This means that it is cheaper to pay two tickets on a bus and use a bus transfer for the O-Train than it is to buy an O-Train ticket and use it as a transfer on a bus. There are no separate fares for rail vehicles or subways in Toronto, Calgary, Montreal, Edmonton, and Vancouver, so why does Ottawa have a distinct rail fare category?

Apparently, the new fares will be more simple and equitable. For simplicity, one would think that express fares would be gone, but that likely will not occur because that would lead to a trunk and feeder system, which has been scraped until the new LRT begins operation. Maybe, it's the actual fare itself that will make it easier. Presto cards handle all types of fares including passes. If you don't know whether to put in two tickets or three, Presto should be able to make that decision for you.

As for making this more equitable, age related fares already exist. So, the only other equitable issue is the travel distance and this issue is partially solved by express fares.

Transit fares in Ottawa aren't much more complicated than other Canadian cities. Calgary and Montreal's fare system is a bit more simple since they do not use "express" service to the suburbs. Toronto has a few express routes from downtown to residential areas, which require a separate fare similar to ours. Vancouver uses zone fares, which could be confusing if you are a tourist. Your fare would cost more if you were to travel through multiple zones in Vancouver.

With the new Presto card, it is understandable that OC Transpo may have to make some changes to its current fare system. But, if the issue is the complexity of present fare system, we should have seen a revamped fare structure many years ago.

PTIO on Talk Ottawa tonight

2011-10-19T14:19:00.002-04:00

Rogers 22 is convening a panel to discuss the recent route changes and how they're affecting riders for tonight's Talk Ottawa program. David Reevely of the Ottawa Citizen and Ben Novak will join host Mark Sutcliffe in studio, and Peter Raaymakers of TransitOttawa.ca will be calling in to the show around 7:30 p.m.

The show is live on Rogers Cable 22 in Ottawa at 7 p.m.

Bus ride reading: Makeshift Metropolis

2011-09-28T07:00:00.000-04:00

If you're interested in municipal issues and city building, few books offer an overview as quickly and effectively as does Witold Rybczynski's Makeshift Metropolis: Ideas About Cities. The depth of Rybczynski's work belies the short length of the very accessible book (just 199 pages), and is definitely worth a read while you're riding around town.

Rybczynski examines the theories of many thinkers at the forefront of urbanism, especially Jane Jacobs and Lewis Mumford, but also Charles Mulford Robinson, Ebenezer Howard, and Le Corbusier. With the benefit of retrospect in many instances, the author looks at where the ideas of these thinkers have worked in contemporary cities, and where they haven't.

There are many issues facing cities today, and in the latter parts of the book Rybczynski looks at where cities might need to go in the future to remain places people can and will want to live. The answer, in the mind of the author, is density. Not necessarily hyperdensity, as with cities like New York City and Hong Kong (although there are lessons to be learned from those examples), but simply an increased density compared to what is seen in most cities today. This is particularly important in Ottawa, where a relatively low population density offers ample opportunity for the city to develop within the city without needing to move out of it--an obvious reason why City Council has worked hard to limit and altogether avoid expanding the urban boundary.

In the end, Rybczynski concludes that good planning makes good cities, citing the Israeli city of Modi'in as proof. But rather than designing every detail of the city, Rybczynski calls for macro-planning, allowing for organic growth over time under parameters set forth. It's not the hyper-planned city of Le Corbusier, nor the anarchistic city of Jacobs, but something in between.

Transit Commission: OC Transpo added articulated buses and trips since September 4

2011-09-26T07:00:00.000-04:00

Much was discussed on last Wednesday's Transit Commission meeting including the recent route changes/cuts/optimization, MacKenzie King Bridge congestion, and Presto smart cards. Here is the recap of that meeting (most of the information is referred to David Reevely's Twitter feed):

Six new trains for the O-Train were purchased for $35 million from Alstom and are scheduled to be in service in 2014. The purchase is in anticipation of the O-Train expanding to Leitrim, which will be assessed by consultants for its feasibility.
OC Transpo usually runs 175-178 buses on Slater during the PM rush according to OC Transpo Transit Design Manager Pat Scrimgeour. While Slater is close to threshold of 180, it is already experiencing significant bus congestion. From experience, walking from Metcalfe to Mackenzie King Bridge during the PM peak period is faster than riding any bus on Slater.
Regarding Mackenzie King Bridge, Scrimgeour says boarding and unloading is the issue, and not the pedistrian crossing. They are paying close attention to it. Last week, I saw what appeared to be OC Transpo supervisors assisting with closing the rear doors on the eastbound platform of Mackenzie King during the PM rush. I've witnessed this new procedure on two separate days at 5 p.m. and there hasn't been a noticeable improvement; buses were still backed up to Elgin.
OC Transpo ridership grew from August 2010 to August 2011 by 6.3%. Increased ridership and decreased service lead to overcrowded buses as experienced by many in September.
Maintenace Chief Larry Atkinson said around 30 routes per day are served by the wrong kind of bus. This is a high number, but it's possible that there was only one instance of that occurring for each route.
Since the route changes on September 4, OC Transpo has added articulated buses on certain trips on routes 4, 30, 34, 38, 41, 87, 93, 130, 134 and added trips during peak hours to routes 30, 131, 134, 136, 106. (Metro News)
Presto Cards are scheduled for April 2012. The smartcards will replace passes and tickets. In theory, there should be fewer lineups at pass retailers near the beginning of the month. While the program will cost Ottawa $25 million and the province $7 million, this is expected to cut costs on administration for tickets and passes. The city has discussed the idea for Presto since 2006.
Finally, Route 106 will serve the ring road around the General Hospital campus in late December. After continually modifying transit service to this area in the past month, it seems that Route 106 will be fully re-instated and operate like it did pre-September 4.

Deadly design flaws at Eagleson Park and Ride

2011-09-19T07:00:00.002-04:00

Looking back, there was never really any questioning if someone would be struck by a car at the Eagleson Road Park and Ride; it was simply a question of when it would happen.

Sadly, tragedy struck last week, when a 17-year-old girl running across the six lanes of high-speed traffic to transfer from one bus to another was fatally hit by a truck.

As it stands today, Eagleson Station is broken down into two stations: Eagleson East and Eagleson West, which each have parking lots for commuters and are separated by the fast-moving traffic of Eagleson Road. It's not uncommon for a rider to be dropped off on the Eagleson West platform and have to cross the street to catch their next bus at the Eagleson East platform. The traffic light at the intersection can be an agonizingly long wait, and can frequently be the reason for a missed transfer--made especially frustrating when you're stuck standing at a red light while the bus pulls in and then leaves the station you should be at, and the 15-20 minute wait for the next 96 bus. It's enough to drive lots of people to cross on a "don't walk" signal, despite the inherent dangers.

These design flaws are a matter of infrastructure failing to keep up to growth in the area. Even though it was opened in 1995, the Park and Ride was conceptualized in 1986, when Kanata was a much smaller area than it is today, and car traffic on Eagleson Road was significantly lower.

The only preventive measure currently installed along Eagleson Road is an eight-foot-tall chain-link fence running along the median between north- and southbound traffic. But rather than prevent people from crossing, the fence just funnels people toward a small section of median along the nearest intersection, and reduces visibility for both pedestrians crossing as well as automobile traffic driving.

That reduced visibility is significant, as cars barreling down the road can barely see people crossing the street, and pedestrians almost need to step into oncoming traffic in order to see where the nearest car is (along with the fence at the intersection is a large traffic light post, with traffic signs on it which further impede visibility).

The point of the fence is to encourage people not to cross, but it doesn't, and there's next to nothing the city can do to stop people from crossing. It's an example of infrastructure built to impede or block human nature, when the key to designing functional walkways is making it pedestrian-oriented. We need the crosswalk to fit human tendencies, not attempt to shape them.

The city must do something to improve the current configuration of the Eagleson Road Park and Ride. As it stands today, with parking lots and drop-off points on both sides of the street, people are almost encouraged to jaywalk despite the danger of six lanes of very fast (usually greater than 60 km/h) car traffic.

The simplest and most immediate measure costs nothing but time: Have every route traveling in any direction head into the larger station on the northbound side of Eagleson Road. It might add five minutes to a bus trip, but that's not what matters here.

Another choice is a pedestrian underpass or overpass, and some have called for a footbridge in the aftermath of the accident. A footbridge, though, would also take longer than crossing the road itself (so you may still see people jaywalking), and would likely be more expensive than what I think would be the best solution.

The best, and most long-term, option is a bottom-up redesign of the station. An easy comparable is Baseline Station, where buses traveling in either direction turn into the station, rather than dropping people off on one side of Woodroffe (which, like Eagleson Road, is six lanes wide). It's a fairly easy fix, and, although we need to do something regardless of the cost, it would not be terribly expensive. It might require a few parking spots in the already-overstuffed parking lot to be sacrificed, but that's a sacrifice worth making.

The design below (pardon the low quality) is one option for the redesign. Basically, the idea is that the three current drop-off/pick-up points (one on the west side of Eagleson, two on the east) are amalgamated into one larger station. This would be safer and simpler for riders catching their buses, and also for those waiting for their buses: In December of 2009 a man waiting at the park and ride was robbed at knifepoint, and a larger station would draw more people and likely offer a more secure place to wait.

The bottom line is something needs to be done, and quickly. Lives could be at stake.

Route changes effective today

2011-09-04T07:00:00.001-04:00

Just a heads-up to OC Transpo users that, if you somehow haven't heard, very many routes are changing under the city's optimization project, and yours might be affected. The changes take effect today.

If you're not sure whether or not you're ride will change, check the OC Transpo website and find out.

NDP offers transit funding for freezing fares

2011-08-22T07:00:00.002-04:00

According to a report on 580 CFRA, Ontario NDP leader Andrea Horwath promised her party would put pick up half of OC Transpo's operating costs if the transit utility would promise to freeze fares. From the story:

Speaking at the monthly Mayor's Breakfast, Horwath criticized the Liberals for not doing enough to help cities make transit affordable and championed her party's promise to take on 50 per cent of operating costs, in exchange for a fare freeze.

"It would begin to put cities like Ottawa on even footing with other cities around the world," Horwath told the crowd. "Other cities where national and regional governments step up to the plate and take on a fair share of transit funding."

The promise was also covered by the Ottawa Citizen.

Although I'm unable to price out this promise, if it were feasible, it would be a huge boon to OC Transpo; right now, they're re-couping fifty per cent of operating costs by fares, so if they freeze them (rather than lowering them), they'd actually be sitting on a pretty hefty budget surplus after the year.

Realistically, if the Provincial Governments (whether it's NDP or aything else) were to absorb half of OC Transpo's operating costs, we could see one of two things happening to offset that budget surplus:

A pretty hefty fare decrease, because less of the operating costs need to be recovered at the fare box; or
A lesser subsidy from the municipal government.

The second option seems significantly more likely, as unfortunate as that would be for transit users (although property tax payers in Ottawa would be happy with it).

What could Ottawa do with that money? A lot of things. Transit-wise, it could be put towards adding a few bells and whistles to the upcoming LRT project, or expediting the expansion of it further east, west, or south. (We could also see lower property taxes, but that seems pretty unlikely, too.)

The NDP is a way down in the polls leading up to the provincial election, but once again they're offering some of the most significant transit promises. We'll see what happens out of it.

2010 on-time performance data

2011-08-18T07:00:00.085-04:00

After I found the 2010 ridership data for “Ridership grows and sets new record in 2010”, I stumbled upon on-time performance data for January- June 2010 and July-December 201 0 . The data samples capture the morning peak hours only: 6 am to 9 am.

If your routes have not been altered much for September, you should check out these documents to see how often your routes were early or late.

Glen McGregor, of the Ottawa Citizen, wrote an extensive report on OCTranspo reliability last year using GPS data from April 2009 to March 2010. The methodology on data collection and further details on the data can be found there. McGregor points out “the data show that, system-wide, 41 per cent of buses are measured ahead of schedule. (OC Transpo puts the figure at 38 per cent on regular routes.)”. That figure has slightly dropped for the period of July-December 2010 at 34 per cent for regular routes.

OC Transpo considers on-time as “running no more than 5 minutes late”, which means “late” is more than five minutes. The following figures are for the period of July-December 2010:

Most likely to be late

Commuter routes:

Route	Late
63	24%
261	20%
61	13%
69	13%
71	13%
262	13%

Of the six late commuter routes listed above, four start in Kanata, one in Barrhaven, one in Nepean, and none in Orleans.

Regular routes:

Route	Late
82	15%
57	13%
7	12%
15	11%
179	11%

Routes 7 and 15 do not travel on the Transitway. Routes 15, 82, 57, and 179 are peak hour routes. I'm surprised that routes 1, 12, or 118 didn't make this list since they are known for their late trips.

Least likely to be late

Commuter routes:

Route	Late
20	2%
32	3%
22	3%
38	4%
37	4%
34	4%

These routes all begin in Orleans. This could mean that the streets in Orleans have less traffic than the roads in Kanata and Barrhaven.

Regular routes:

Route	Late
121	0%
183	1%
173	1%
171	1%
162	1%
136	1%
135	1%
123	1%

If you were a regular user of route 121 between July and December 2010, you were very lucky. The 121 is a short route and I suspect it has low ridership. The purpose of the route is to serve the Ottawa Train Yards shopping area. To get an idea of how short this route is, during the AM rush, the 121 leaves Hurdman at 7:56 am and arrives at its destination, St. Laurent station at 8:09 am. This is a 13-minute trip during morning peak hours, which explains its reliability. As for the the remaining routes listed, they serve low-density residential areas with the exception of route 183, which travels to Scotiabank Place.

Most likely to be early

Commuter routes:

Route	Early
245	30%
232	26%
20	15%

The unusually high percentage of early trips on rural express routes 245 and 232 may be due to low ridership and/or low traffic volume.

Regular routes:

Route	Early
105	73%
167	66%
163	65%
194	61%

Do not adjust your computer monitor. Route 105 was early 73% of the time and more than half of its trips were more than 2 minutes early. The fact that these routes were more likely to be early than on time certainly surprised me and one can wonder why this is such a frequent occurrence.

If you regularly use any of the routes listed above, I would be interested to know the reason(s) for their chronic earliness or lateness.

Complaints, complaints, complaints against OC Transpo and STO

2011-08-16T07:00:00.000-04:00

It seems like over the last few weeks we've seen a spat of articles about complaints made against our local transit authorities, OC Transpo and STO. Rather than delve into them one by one, it seems sensible to discuss them here.

Most of us remember the STO operator who was filmed doing paperwork while driving along one of Gatineau's busiest streets a couple of weeks ago. It looked like he was disciplined, but not fired, for the transgression. His union is working on protecting driver privacy by ensuring riders can't film drivers, but the Ottawa Citizen's David Reevely argues that the freedom to record drivers breaking rules (especially when they endanger the lives of the riders they're carrying) can be a pretty useful thing.

Don't think there haven't been complaints about OC Transpo, though. The Ottawa Citizen reported a few weeks ago that riders made 178 complaints about drivers using electronic devices behind the wheel between the year-long period from April 1, 2010, to March 31, 2011. ATU 279 president Garry Queale questioned the number of legitimate complaints in that pool and transit commissioner Keith Egli downplayed the number of complaints, while a letter-writer to the Citizen wondered why people would make up complaints about such a specific violation.

Finally, one OC Transpo operator is facing allegations that he left his bus idling while he picked up some "groceries" from the LCBO.

And, of course, Twitter and other social media are always filled with complaints about OC Transpo.

The problem with complaining about public transit is that, sometimes, the delay you're experiencing isn't anything that could have been avoided. Take the massive delays yesterday along the Transitway between Hurdman and Laurier Station due to a collision between a bus and a pedestrian. I saw the grisly aftermath of that collision as I took the bus down the roadway, but even seeing that didn't stop people on my bus from complaining. And that's disrespectful to the person who is now in critical condition, to the driver who's likely dealing with a lot of trauma of his own as a result of it, and it's a shame.

Next time you're complaining about OC Transpo service, take a minute to consider the possibility that it's not necessarily managerial incompetence that's made you a few minutes late.

Ridership grows and sets new record in 2010

2011-08-08T07:00:00.017-04:00

Do you notice your bus getting more crowded? OC Transpo has seen a large boost in ridership in 2010 and has reached a new record level for ridership. According to 580 CFRA, “99 million people used OC Transpo last year, up from 83 million in 2009.” OCTranspo.com reports the number as 99.3 million. Still, this is approximately a 19 percent increase in ridership, which is significant because the national average increase was only 4.1 percent. The record for the highest OC Transpo ridership was 95,646,026 in 2007.

So, what happened in 2010 that caused such a large increase? The following are some major events in 2010 that may have affected ridership:

--Update (2:26pm): The 19 percent growth may not be as large as it may seem due to the fact there was the transit strike in late 2008 and early 2009, which caused a decline in ridership during that period and immediately after the strike ended. Nevertheless, there is still an increase in ridership from 2008 to 2010.

--The Next Stop Announcement System (NSAS) was installed on over 500 buses by October according to OCTranspo.com. NSAS probably does not attract more riders, but it certainly helped the visually impaired, night users, and anyone travelling in unknown areas of the city. Riders frustrated with inconsistent stop announcements in the past were likely more satisfied with the new system too.

--The rise of gas prices in late 2010 have made car users consider taking public transit to get to work. However, there was also a fare hike in March 2010 for passes, tickets, and cash fare. Of course, the increasing price of gas had a role in the rising operating costs and fares. Taking both gas price and transit fare changes into consideration, the net effect on ridership is a bit unclear.

--Two Park and Rides opened on Millennium Boulevard in Orleans and on Leitrim Road in south Ottawa. Millennium Park and Ride can hold 168 cars while Leitrim Park and Ride can carry 292 cars. The new park and rides should be convenient, especially for those who are not within walking distance of a bus stop. Those driving from the south of Ottawa can park at Leitrim without fighting for a spot at Greenboro and being forced to take their car to work.

--In September, the U-Pass was introduced for the University of Ottawa and Carleton University students. This is probably the most significant factor in the rise of passenger volume. Peter Raaymakers wrote in April about the U-Pass' effect on ridership in the fourth quarter of 2010. The city reported an “additional 300,000 student trips each month” during that time. Although many students take public transit anyway, the U-Pass gave those who drove or biked, an extra incentive to take public transit. Since they paid for the U-Pass through tuition, they perhaps felt compelled to use it.

On heaters and bathrooms in LRT stations

2011-08-03T19:00:00.002-04:00

According to an article in Your Ottawa Region from a couple of weeks ago discussed the city looking into installing either or both of heaters and washrooms in the revamped stations for our light-rail line.

Heaters seem like a natural choice. Plans for the above-ground stations are all open-concept structures, so there may not be much shelter from the winter wind and snow, so it makes sense. I've written on this site in the past about the potential for renewable energy to power heaters in transit stations, and I hope that possibility is explored, but, however they're powered, I don't think heaters are an optional expense for our system.

UPDATE (8:45 p.m.): In the understanding of the Ottawa Citizen's David Reevely, who attended the planning meeting where these options were discussed, the city is planning on installing "space-heater type things" similar in design to those currently in OC Transpo bus stations.

Washrooms, on the other hand, aren't as important as heaters. At first thought, they seemed like great additions for their convenience and practicality, but in my opinion, the maintenance costs and the safety risks associated with them would outweigh the benefits.

It's preliminary for the time being, and staff are looking into both washrooms and heaters at stations, so we'll see what they come up with about them.

Multitasking behind the wheel

2011-08-02T07:00:00.001-04:00

Unreal:

That's terrifying. The above video is of an STO driver filling out and filing paperwork while driving on what is reportedly one of Gatineau's busiest roads. With traffic obviously moving all around him. I don't even want to imagine being on that bus, or being a driver alongside him.

From a CBC article on the incident:

"Dominique Leclerc, speaking for Société de transport de l'Outaouais, said the driver's behaviour was unsafe and that the service would speak with him to get "his version."

"The bus driver's union wouldn't comment on the video, but a union official told CBC News the recording might violate the driver's privacy rights."

I'd be interested in hearing what kind of defence the driver might be able to come up with. I can't imagine a circumstance that would make that transgression acceptable.

While it's true that the video is likely a violation of the driver's privacy, you'd have to be kidding yourself to expect someone not to when you're doing something so ridiculous. Did you see the part where he stuck his arms through the wheel and onto the dash to grab some papers?

Like I said, unreal.

OC Transpo bus stop calling complaints rise

2011-07-27T07:00:00.006-04:00

In June, OC Transpo received 20 cases of bus operators not calling out stops and most of them are related to the Bank street detour. This up from “11[incidents] in May and six [incidents] in April”

Neco Cockburn of the Ottawa Citizen says:

“Drivers were told by text messages and general radio bulletins that they must call out stops on the detours, according to OC Transpo. Supervisors conducted random checks on affected routes, and the service's "mystery shopping" program was also stepped up, OC Transpo said.”

Some may wonder why the Next Stop Announcement System (NSAS) does not call out the stops on the detour. NSAS probably does not have the temporary bus stops programmed and OC Transpo may not feel the need to have these stops announced by NSAS since they are just temporary stops.

As for the drivers who fail to call out the stops, they face discipline:

“OC Transpo ... applies "progressive discipline," which can range from a letter of expectation for a first offence, to suspensions and job termination.”

The Bank street detour is expected to last for at least a few more months and can still be confusing for passengers who don't live in the Glebe. So, any kind of assistance from bus operators, such as announcing the stops along the detour, can improve the detour experience.

New on-ramp to Hwy 417 for buses and Park & Ride at Scotiabank Place

2011-07-22T07:00:00.016-04:00

On a slow moving bus heading out of the Scotiabank Place parking lot, I often hear comments like “I should have drove to the game!” or “the city wants us to take the bus and this is what we get?” In the near future, we shouldn't be on a slow moving bus or hear those comments anymore at Ottawa Senators games.

The Ontario government, City of Ottawa, and the Ottawa Senators announced a new eastbound on-ramp to the Queensway from Scotiabank Place for buses. The ramp should save Senators fans and Scotiabank Place concert goers about 15 minutes since the ramp will give buses priority exiting and will also be used by high-occupancy vehicles with two or more people. The City of Ottawa will invest $250 000 into the project, while the Ontario government will pay $500 000. According to CTV Ottawa, construction will start this fall and is expected to be finished in 2013.

Leaving Scotiabank Place after a Sens game can be aggravating for passengers on a bus, especially for those who are standing. The time to get out of the parking lot can be somewhere between ten and fifteen minutes. This on-ramp will be a huge improvement since it gives buses an exclusive exit out of Scotiabank Place. Also, the amount of time it will provide an additional incentive for car users to ditch their cars on game days and take the bus instead. A map of the on-ramp can be found here

As for the new Scotiabank Place Park and Ride spaces, there will be 100 new parking spaces. Public Transit in Ottawa's Peter Raaymakers wrote about the City reaching an agreement as early as September. The new Scotiabank Place Park and Ride will attempt to reduce the car volume at Eagleson and Terry Fox Park and Rides. At this time, there is no further information as to whether the new lot will be free, partially free, or Gold Permits only.