Frustrated commuters air grievances to Ottawa transit commission

"When it comes to transit, we shouldn't settle for good enough."

Ottawa Citizen

Blair Crawford

Published Sep 12, 2024

Councillors on Ottawa’s transit commission got an earful Thursday from riders alarmed by potential cuts to service and soaring fares needed to dig OC Transpo out of its deep financial hole.

More than 30 delegations presented their complaints to the commission during the marathon six-hour meeting. The decision to reduce off-peak train service on the Confederation Line to once every 10 minutes from five minutes drew particular ire, as did a planned rejigging of bus routes once the Trillium Line LRT begins service.

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Once the delegations were done, it was the councillors’ turn. Barrhaven West Coun. David Hill worried that commuters caught in this week’s crush of public servants heading back to the office three days a week would be discouraged if they couldn’t get on “packed to the gills” express buses heading downtown from Fallowfield.

“That will kill any form of transit ridership or trust in the system from transit riders in Barrhaven,” Hill said.

He told the story of one resident whose ride home took so long that he exceeded the 90-minute allowance for transfers.

“The pleasure they got from their almost two-hour trip home ended up costing them twice as much money as a normal fare,” he said.

(If this does happen, transit staff said riders should call customer service, which can arrange a refund.)

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