Quote:
Originally Posted by Aylmer
This will happen one way or another, bet it by bus or rail. The reality is that Ottawa (for better or worse) wants to essentially eliminate STO buses from downtown. So to reduce the number of vehicles at peak, the STO will have to move from a trunk system to a hub-and-spoke system, signalling the end of the transfer-less rush hour buses.
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I wouldn't worry too much about this. Even in ridership-starved US cities like Norfolk (whose LRT hardly scratches 5 000 rides per day), a tram arrives every 15 minutes at most 7 days a week (although it's every 30 minutes after 10pm). Aylmer and Plateau alone average over 20 000 rides with the current system and would conservatively exceed 30 000 with the tram. We should manage to at least match those off-peak 15-minute frequencies.
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They always say that frequencies will stay the same as a minimum when they move from direct express buses to hub and spoke (bus or rail, don't matter), but my observation has been that frequencies on local routes in neighbourhoods often drop. That's because transit operators who implement hub and spoke are looking for savings and efficiences. High frequency along the main hub lines is resource-intensive, so...
Just as an example, my neighbourhood had 10-12 minute express bus service to Hull and Ottawa prior to the Rapibus. When the Rapibus was implemented they dropped this to half-hour service in the peak AM and PM period to and from the closest Rapibus station.
It's not really a big problem in the morning because people normally head out for a specific time when the bus is expected. And at the Rapibus transfer point to downtown frequencies are high. But for the "last mile" in the afternoon and evening it's still problematic even today, as arriving a minute too late at the Rapibus station and just missing your local can increase your commute time by half an hour.
As a result, many people in the Gatineau sector stopped taking the local routes and now drive to Rapibus park and ride lots. The local routes are far from capacity even during the AM and PM peaks, which is in turn a self-fulfilling prophecy that now justifies the 30-minute frequencies.