Confederation Line (Stage 1) | In Service 1.0

[lrt's friend]

Originally Posted by acottawa

Why can’t they implement bus service cuts?

The bus service changes are tied in with the opening of Line 2. The current sudden announcement reflects the fact that Line 2 is not opening anytime soon. They have not been able to get the Line 2 schedule working.

[rocketphish]

OC Transpo to cut midday LRT service frequency to 10 minutes
Unions have slammed the move, which comes amid financial shortfalls

Arthur White-Crummey · CBC News
Posted: Jul 29, 2024 12:04 PM PDT | Last Updated: July 29

OC Transpo is planning to cut LRT frequency during off-peak hours just as the fall university semester resumes and public servants prepare to spend more time in the office.

In a memo to councillors on Monday, OC Transpo says that starting Aug. 26, trains on the east-west Confederation Line will run every 10 minutes between about 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. on weekdays.

Currently, trains are running roughly every five to six minutes during that period.

The adjustment is being done "to better reflect the existing demand and travel patterns of transit customers," the memo said.

"The change in frequency will allow Line 1 to continue to offer sufficient capacity to meet off-peak ridership volumes," it added. "This change will be closely monitored and, should there be an increase in ridership, adjustments can be made."

The memo said rail service frequency will remain at five minutes during the morning and afternoon rush hours, while weekend service will also remain unchanged.

The transit operator union, Amalgamated Transit Union Local 279, reacted by saying that investment, not cuts, is the way to get more people riding the trains.

"I would not be the least bit surprised to see, a month into this, them realizing that it's not working … My experience tells me we're going to be struggling here," said Noah Vineberg, the local's president.

Meanwhile, a union representing public servants called the move shortsighted.

"We're about to see a lot more riders coming in more days per week," said Canadian Association of Professional Employees president Nathan Prier, referring to the federal government's plan to require public servants to head to the office three days a week.

The timing of OC Transpo's scheduling change makes "no sense," Prier said. Hundreds of his members start work outside peak hours, he said, particularly those with caregiving responsibilities.

"We don't think that a reduction in LRT frequency is a solution to helping to transform downtown Ottawa," he said.

"People need to move around beyond just the peak commuting hours. And by making public transit an even less convenient option than it is currently … we're just going to see more people take trips using cars and adding to our climate emergency."

OC Transpo is dealing with a bleak financial picture due to low ridership that still hasn't recovered from the pandemic. Fare revenue has been persistently coming in under budget projections, and OC Transpo has already dug into reserves and cut jobs to save money.

The long-term forecast is even more troubling. In an update last fall, councillors heard that the city can expect $3.7 billion less in fare revenue over the next 25 years.

A working group has been studying ways to address the shortfall. On Friday, the city's chief financial officer, Cyril Rogers, told councillors that it has been looking at adjustments to fares, operating costs, the transit levy on property tax bills and even a potential private parking levy.

Rogers' memo did not specifically mention the possibility of reductions to LRT service frequency, but screenshots from what appeared to be an OC Transpo webpage revealing the plan began floating around social media on Friday.

The webpage, which is no longer visible, said the service reduction would save an estimated $1.6 million per year.

The memo to councillors did not pin down the cost savings, but said that OC Transpo "is continually looking for ways to balance our resources while meeting the travel needs of customers."

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/oc-transpo-lrt-ottawa-midday-service-cut-1.7278946

[Tesladom]

I am shocked by this, the LRT is (supposedly) the backbone of the system, 10 minute frequency??
Totally incompetent, (Insert my MAGA hat!) I would fire the entire management group

[lrt's friend]

Originally Posted by Tesladom

I am shocked by this, the LRT is (supposedly) the backbone of the system, 10 minute frequency??
Totally incompetent, (Insert my MAGA hat!) I would fire the entire management group

It is City Council that is setting the transit budget. What we should also be questioning is the professional advice received in designing rail. Rail should be improving service but for the majority, service has turned out to be noticeably worse. This will be even more noticeable when Line 2 finally reopens.

[J.OT13]

These very minor savings will evaporate pretty quickly when more people abandon transit. They clearly did not consider the impact on ridership. Pure incompetence.

[m0nkyman]

Originally Posted by acottawa

Deciding where to cut from the 700M+ budget is on the OCTranspo management. Targeting the most high profile service that the most riders are likely to use on a regular basis to save a miniscule amount of money makes no sense, particularly since it will further encourage riders to do stupid things like block doors, which will create more shutdowns, delays and costs.

It's so mind bogglingly stupid that it only makes sense that it's intended by management as a tool to attract attention to a problem that can only be fixed by money. As suggested previously: 'blackmail'. Fund us properly or we knife the system in the back.

[zzptichka]

Wonder what Amilcar's resume will look like once she's out, specifically "Achievements" section at her last place of work. It's L after L.

[acottawa]

Originally Posted by lrt's friend

The bus service changes are tied in with the opening of Line 2. The current sudden announcement reflects the fact that Line 2 is not opening anytime soon. They have not been able to get the Line 2 schedule working.

Ok, but there are other busses in the city unrelated to Line 2.

[YOWetal]

Originally Posted by zzptichka

Wonder what Amilcar's resume will look like once she's out, specifically "Achievements" section at her last place of work. It's L after L.

I don't know if you can pin this on her. As much as her being hired was obviously DEI gone amuck at the end of day she doesn't set the budget. The 9-3 riders are probably less able and willing to switch away so given political limits of cutting busses this was probably a good decision.

[acottawa]

Originally Posted by YOWetal

I don't know if you can pin this on her. As much as her being hired was obviously DEI gone amuck at the end of day she doesn't set the budget. The 9-3 riders are probably less able and willing to switch away so given political limits of cutting busses this was probably a good decision.

The 9-3 riders are the most able to switch away, they are doing casual trips when roads are relatively uncongested

[Acajack]

When I first heard this yesterday, my initial reaction was: SSP Ottawa is gonna be PISSED!

[YOWetal]

Originally Posted by acottawa

The 9-3 riders are the most able to switch away, they are doing casual trips when roads are relatively uncongested

I doubt there are 20 people a day taking OCTranspo from 9-3 with a car sitting in their driveway and a parking spot waiting for them at the other end. If they are that much of a masochist they will wait an extra 5 minutes. A few people just using the LRT might just take a $10 Uber as they notice it no longer has Metro like frequency. Though those customers are super profitable it surely won't outweigh the savings.

[acottawa]

Originally Posted by YOWetal

I doubt there are 20 people a day taking OCTranspo from 9-3 with a car sitting in their driveway and a parking spot waiting for them at the other end. If they are that much of a masochist they will wait an extra 5 minutes. A few people just using the LRT might just take a $10 Uber as they notice it no longer has Metro like frequency. Though those customers are super profitable it surely won't outweigh the savings.

It is people going downtown in the middle of the day: tourists staying at outlying hotels, seniors looking for stuff to do, hybrid workers making an appearance at the office for a meeting. These aren’t low income people getting groceries.

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by YOWetal

I don't know if you can pin this on her. As much as her being hired was obviously DEI gone amuck at the end of day she doesn't set the budget. The 9-3 riders are probably less able and willing to switch away so given political limits of cutting busses this was probably a good decision.

I don't think it's fair to call her a DEI hire. She is very much qualified based on her experience in Montreal.

The 9-3 riders are probably largely college and university students with odd schedules who are forced to buy the uPass anyway. Based on the 4 year closure (+ the other closure in 2013ish) of Line 2, clearly the City and OC take them for granted. But the 9-3 can also be middle class office workers who take the train for lunch, or leave early on occasion, or take transit from the office to an appointment. They are also the middle class professionals who chose to live in the city without a car, and could easily buy one if transit service is bad enough.

This is just a very one dimensional cut that looks easy on paper but will have wide ranging consequences over time and cost the system far more than it saves in the very short term.

We should strive to have a frequent metro system akin to Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver, where people of all classes choose to use the system beyond the 8-4 work day, even if they have access to a car. It should be a convenient and reliable option that can be used without having to check a schedule or worry that you might be late if you miss the train.

Rail frequency (on Line 1) was one of the few things OC Transpo did better than most transit agencies in North America. Now we're falling into American style service that has proven time and time again unsuccessful.

[lrt's friend]

Aren't we also tailoring LRT to serve only those who can walk to a station more and more? This thinking is doomed to limited ridership. This is where American systems fail and we appear to falling into the same trap.

[YOWetal]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

I don't think it's fair to call her a DEI hire. She is very much qualified based on her experience in Montreal.

The 9-3 riders are probably largely college and university students with odd schedules who are forced to buy the uPass anyway. Based on the 4 year closure (+ the other closure in 2013ish) of Line 2, clearly the City and OC take them for granted. But the 9-3 can also be middle class office workers who take the train for lunch, or leave early on occasion, or take transit from the office to an appointment. They are also the middle class professionals who chose to live in the city without a car, and could easily buy one if transit service is bad enough.

This is just a very one dimensional cut that looks easy on paper but will have wide ranging consequences over time and cost the system far more than it saves in the very short term.

We should strive to have a frequent metro system akin to Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver, where people of all classes choose to use the system beyond the 8-4 work day, even if they have access to a car. It should be a convenient and reliable option that can be used without having to check a schedule or worry that you might be late if you miss the train.

Rail frequency (on Line 1) was one of the few things OC Transpo did better than most transit agencies in North America. Now we're falling into American style service that has proven time and time again unsuccessful.

She was in charge of busses in Montreal. Not a top executive position. Ottawa was in rough shape at the time with our train system so there might have been less interest than normal but Ottawa is large enough to get a head of transit from or a deputy of a larger system. Anyway her expertise was helpful in rationalizing bus service but it seems she was undercut by the political class. People get jobs for all sorts of random reasons and I don't think you can argue she was in over her head in anyway was my point. This is a political choice no OCTranspo choice.

Originally Posted by acottawa

It is people going downtown in the middle of the day: tourists staying at outlying hotels, seniors looking for stuff to do, hybrid workers making an appearance at the office for a meeting. These aren’t low income people getting groceries.

I agree LRT is the worst cut to make but I just think we should be realistic about how much ridership will drop off. None of the people above or going to be super time sensitive for occaisonal use.

[phil235]

Originally Posted by lrt's friend

Aren't we also tailoring LRT to serve only those who can walk to a station more and more? This thinking is doomed to limited ridership. This is where American systems fail and we appear to falling into the same trap.

This is probably true, as the system has been built to primarily serve the commuter crowd. If we had built a true urban system like Montreal, maybe not, as I don't think that the Metro is particularly reliant on bus connections.

There are lots of stations that will have a big walk-up crowd, but unfortunately the ones in the East and South have almost none of that.

[bartlebooth]

Originally Posted by YOWetal

I don't know if you can pin this on her. As much as her being hired was obviously DEI gone amuck at the end of day she doesn't set the budget. The 9-3 riders are probably less able and willing to switch away so given political limits of cutting busses this was probably a good decision.

Cool it with the racism. It's not welcome here.

[Uhuniau]

Originally Posted by bartlebooth

Cool it with the racism. It's not welcome here.

Seconded. Yike.

[Admiral Nelson]

Originally Posted by Uhuniau

Seconded. Yike.

Thirded. Incredibly offensive to imply DEI just because they're a successful woman of colour. Get outta here with that shite.

Anyway: i don't see Renee as responsible in the way the mayor and council are - they set budget priorities. Maybe this was put forward as a poison pill 'option' for budget cuts that OCT didn't truly think would be green lit. I'm sure Sutcliffe is happy to let OC Transpo take the flack.