Update on Transit from City Hall - LRT, Bus reliability, and more

Barrhaven West Newsletter: September 22, 2023

The big ticket item at city hall this week was transit.  I am pleased that I was able to host a telephone town hall on this topic last month with Councillor Lo on this very topic as we were able to get some timely feedback.  The bottom line is that the city is in a much worse financial position that we had originally thought as a result of low ridership, principally due to the new normal of hybrid work in Ottawa.  There are renewed calls for the city to bring back ‘free’ transit in order to remedy the issue, but I remain opposed to this position.  I believe that riders want a safe system and a reliable system (in that order) and we need to get these right in order to win back the trust of the public. Regarding safety, I have sought the expertise of a number of technical experts and engineers to help me prepare for this falls transit commission sessions whereby the LRT ‘wheel bearing assembly rebuild’ will be discussed.  I will not sign off on anything unless I am completely satisfied that the system is safe for use.  Regarding our bus system, I have said since the get go that we need to run the system more efficiently.  I have taken the 75 from Half Moon Bay multiple times when it is packed and the 272 when it is at 15% capacity.  I am encouraged that the bus route review will allow us to repurpose our less efficient routes to both address the frequency problems on high use routes and I am specifically addressing the need to expand the routes to better service the Quinn’s Pointe, the Ridge and Apolune areas of Half Moon Bay.  There is a lot going on here so if you wish to discuss further, please set up an appointment with my office and I would be happy to discuss.  Barrhaven has been paying its more then its fair share of tax dollars and development charges into the city and we need to get a better return on investment.  More reliability, better access, and a clean and safe system - That is what I will fight for.