Confederation Line (Stage 1) | In Service 1.0

[lrt's friend]

At least riders will not face the bus cuts as well or will they?

[ottawaballa]

Looks like OC Transpo has updated their O-Train Line 1 page to indicate "End-to-end travel time less than 30 minutes (Subject to operating conditions)" - https://www.octranspo.com/en/our-services/bus-o-train-network/service-types/o-train-line-1

I had been checking the website periodically since the Temporary Speed Restrictions were put into place, and up until last week, the page had indicated that end-to-end travel time was less than 25 minutes (Subject to operating conditions).

I'm wondering if this means OC Transpo is giving up on ever getting service back to the original under 25 minutes or are they just updating the website to the current travel times? I believe Amilcar mentioned that once the axle bearings are fixed (if that ever happens) that trains will speed up. It would be really disappointing if they can't get service back to the original speeds, especially for commuters in the east end. The majority, if not all of the slow sections are between Cyrville and Lees.

[kmcamp]

Originally Posted by lrt's friend

At least riders will not face the bus cuts as well or will they?

My local bus is going from every 30 minutes to once an hour, so very much yes.

[kmcamp]

As for travel times, the speeds between Hurdman and downtown are back to normal (except during the heat wave), so maybe in the East after the other shutdown in the fall?

[YOWetal]

Originally Posted by kmcamp

My local bus is going from every 30 minutes to once an hour, so very much yes.

Once an hour? You mean Sunday night or weekdays in rush hour?

[lrt's friend]

I know that Greensboro is going to once an hour with no service at all during certain hours. There is some low income housing in the area but who cares. At least they get service whereas my area loses all service. It is better to run the route in a straight line by 10 single family homes rather than 200 or 300 low income homes .

[DTcrawler]

Originally Posted by ottawaballa

Looks like OC Transpo has updated their O-Train Line 1 page to indicate "End-to-end travel time less than 30 minutes (Subject to operating conditions)" - https://www.octranspo.com/en/our-services/bus-o-train-network/service-types/o-train-line-1

I had been checking the website periodically since the Temporary Speed Restrictions were put into place, and up until last week, the page had indicated that end-to-end travel time was less than 25 minutes (Subject to operating conditions).

I'm wondering if this means OC Transpo is giving up on ever getting service back to the original under 25 minutes or are they just updating the website to the current travel times? I believe Amilcar mentioned that once the axle bearings are fixed (if that ever happens) that trains will speed up. It would be really disappointing if they can't get service back to the original speeds, especially for commuters in the east end. The majority, if not all of the slow sections are between Cyrville and Lees.

Well it was reported recently that work on the axle redesign has been halted so I’d imagine they’re just going to stick with the status quo indefinitely. It’s sad because it just adds to the list of things that are being neglected on Line 1. Frequency cuts, slower speeds, single car trains on weekends, stations showing signs of decay… it’s sad. Even with the irreparable mistake of going with low floor rolling stock, it would have been nice if we were making the most of the hand dealt to us and maximizing the potential of the system at our disposal.

[kmcamp]

Originally Posted by YOWetal

Once an hour? You mean Sunday night or weekdays in rush hour?

The 92 will be 1 hour in all time periods other than rush hour, where it's a gracious 30 minutes. I can walk to South keys in under 20 minutes though, but the local bus is so infrequent now as to be useless

[lrt's friend]

Originally Posted by kmcamp

The 92 will be 1 hour in all time periods other than rush hour, where it's a gracious 30 minutes. I can walk to South keys in under 20 minutes though, but the local bus is so infrequent now as to be useless

Doesn't the 92 have some ridiculous routing via Heatherington and in off-peak hours terminates at that most important transit destination, Walkley Station? Ridership is sure to collapse which is the intent to later fully cancel the route

[ponyboycurtis]

I know a lot of people on here and on r/Ottawa did not appreciate the fact that our stations were "uncovered" I thought the roof at a spot like Hurdman should have extended to the western stairwell but I otherwise didn't have a major issue with station design in regards to cover from the weather.

It's going to be cold in the winter regardless and most of the platform would cover you from the rain.

Mostly because in my mind... the train comes every 4.5 minutes. I'll survive. That isn't the case anymore. Even this Saturday at 4pm the train was on 10 min service. So that changes things a little bit. The platforms at Hurdman only have a single bench as well. West bound has one by the elevator and then the larger cutout area at the top of the escalators don't have one.

Train/bus timings aside these previous details become much more obvious with the reduction in service.

6.1B investment. Saves 1.6M annually. It doesn't make sense.

[YOWetal]

Originally Posted by ponyboycurtis

6.1B investment. Saves 1.6M annually. It doesn't make sense.

Doesn't matter how much you invested. The budget has to balance beyond tapping into reserves in the short term. It's the same as buying a big house and then losing a job. Either you put the thermostat down, stop eating out or you get a second job. The second job (tax increase) is off the table because most of the taxpayers have no interaction with the transit system and indicated they don't want to pay more taxes at every election.

Once we are cutting busses save a lot more revenue as costs are much higher per passenger. But politically every bus has a councilor figthing for more frequent service. There is also a limit to how infrequent you can make a bus. At hourly it's useless from the train and you have to time it perfectly connecting to the train.

[Uhuniau]

Originally Posted by YOWetal

At hourly it's useless from the train and you have to time it perfectly connecting to the train.

At hourly, it's useless anywhere as in-city transit.

[Truenorth00]

Originally Posted by Uhuniau

At hourly, it's useless anywhere as in-city transit.

Yep. Great way to encourage more DUIs on weekends and more traffic during the week. Probably be 5-10 years till they fully understand what they did. Most of this council will be out of office by then and chirping about congestion from the sidelines then.

[DTcrawler]

I swear this damn line only exists to make me look bad

Was heading westbound from Rideau station around midnight. I assured my group that it’d be at most a 15 min wait at this time of night. Got down to the concourse and the display showed next train in 25 min. Grumbled and decided to wait it out since it’s an hour walk to Tunney’s anyways. 5 min before the train was due, the display changed from showing “Tunney’s Pasture” as the direction to showing “out of service”. The train came and went without letting passengers on. The display then showed the next train as 15 min away.

We ponied up for a couple uber XLs.

[lrt's friend]

The last time I looked at the Line 1 schedule after 11 pm, train arrivals are pretty random, so nothing I would want to depend on coming every 15 minutes. It seems that top priority is to get trains out of service instead of serving the public.

[OTSkyline]

Originally Posted by DTcrawler

I swear this damn line only exists to make me look bad

Was heading westbound from Rideau station around midnight. I assured my group that it’d be at most a 15 min wait at this time of night. Got down to the concourse and the display showed next train in 25 min. Grumbled and decided to wait it out since it’s an hour walk to Tunney’s anyways. 5 min before the train was due, the display changed from showing “Tunney’s Pasture” as the direction to showing “out of service”. The train came and went without letting passengers on. The display then showed the next train as 15 min away.

We ponied up for a couple uber XLs.

It's because of repeated offences like this that the public gets turned off and doesn't want to consider transit as an option...

[OTownandDown]

Finally bit the bullet and bought parking downtown. $75 more per month than the bus pass, but the cost for no transit headaches is worth it, even when sitting in traffic at least I don't feel abandoned beyond my control.

[lrt's friend]

Originally Posted by OTownandDown

Finally bit the bullet and bought parking downtown. $75 more per month than the bus pass, but the cost for no transit headaches is worth it, even when sitting in traffic at least I don't feel abandoned beyond my control.

Every city councillor should read this . It is the tip of the iceberg. It is more than COVID. Unfortunately, we probably need an independent study to more scientifically determine the multiple reasons why people have left transit and what would attract people back. Our decisions over the last 10 years have not been customer based. We cannot spend billions and deliver materially worse service. City council has been deaf to their transit customers and then wonder why ridership is 38 per cent down. Where are the incentives to make transit more attractive. This is so bad with unresolved problems, that is beyond the city to fix this. This is an out of control tire fire and the city makes public the possibility of further massive service cuts, which will make rail financially unsustainable.

[rocketphish]

East end of Ottawa LRT system to be shut down on Aug. 25
The one-day halt to service is to allow for work connecting the Confederation Line to the Stage 2 eastern extension.

Staff Reporter, Ottawa Citizen
Published Aug 17, 2024 • 1 minute read

The eastern-most section of Ottawa’s Confederation Line will be shut down on Aug. 25 to allow for work on connecting that portion of the LRT system to the Stage 2 eastern extension.

A memo addressed to the mayor, city councillors and members of the transit commission from Pat Scrimgeour, acting general manager for transit services, said the closure would affect that portion of Line 1 between St-Laurent and Blair stations.

Scrimgeour’s memo said the Stage 2 contractor, East-West Connectors, would be connecting “existing train control systems” to the new extension east of Blair Station.

“This work is an important step in the ongoing construction and commissioning of the Stage 2 East Extension,” the memo added. “There will be more work required to integrate the east extension with the existing line as the project continues, and we will keep you up to date on any service implications.”

On Aug. 25, the Confederation Line LRT will operate in both directions between St-Laurent and Tunney’s Pasture Station in the west end. R1 replacement bus service will run every 10 minutes between St-Laurent and Blair, and a shuttle bus will run between St-Laurent and Cyrville Station every 15 minutes.

Full service between Blair and Tunney’s Pasture Station is expected to resume on Aug. 26, the memo added.

https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/east-end-of-ottawa-lrt-system-to-be-shut-down-on-aug-25

[sseguin]

Riding the O-Train: Blair to Tunney's Pasture (2024 - Rear View POV)

The ride captured in this video was operated at a slower speed in some areas due to Temporary Speed Restrictions (TSR). It is approximately 4 minutes and 10 seconds longer than it would be at full line speed.

• Video Link