Quote:
Originally Posted by YOWetal
In hindsight a bus tunnel with Electric busses would have been an ideal solution.
The bus transfer issue was aparent even before the system opened which is why I think they launched phase 2 so urgently. It isn't clear that solves the whole problem though. Bus to line 2 then transfer to line 1 and sometimes even another transfer after that is looking like at total disaster. I think they will have to keep some of the south end direct to downtown busses.
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B – I – N – G – O; B – I – N – G – O; and ‘Bingo’ was his name . . .
Yup. The most economical solution could have also been the best solution.
A bus tunnel would have added huge capacity for increased bus movement through the core – which was the main bottle-neck of the Transitway system. Realize that not ALL buses needed to be moved into the tunnel – which shows how silly the argument was when people said that a tunnel was just moving the bus-jam underground.
“But what about the cost?” “Buses are much more expensive to run than trains.”
Probably true, IF the trains have a lot of passengers onboard. A near empty train is very expensive to run. And it can’t be down-sized as easily as a string of buses can be. How much did the transit budget drop because the Confederation Line began running – even before CoViD-19?
But that is all ‘Water Under the Bridge’ – or ‘Public Money Spent’. It can’t be retrieved. There is no going back.
I think that OC Transpo needs to fundamentally change its thinking, and divide up the city into regions. Within each region, there would be excellent ‘LOCAL’ bus service. Between regions, the trains would be used.
For example, people in Kanata hardly use the bus for travel within Kanata. I believe this is because intra-Kanata bus service —. The same holds for Orleans and Barrhaven. Try to get from the east side of Barrhaven to the Walter Baker Centre on one bus. The central core would also be a ‘Local’ region, with ‘Local’ bus service that is not geared to commuters.
Create many bus routes that efficiently transport people to places within their own community. Notice that I said “many” bus routes. DO NOT create one or two long, winding, routes that ‘do everything’. Definitely include ‘rapid’ routes that take the most direct path from place to place – especially during peak periods (which may vary for destinations). It should be quick, and easy for a person living in Bridlewood to get to their job in Kanata-North.
Make these ‘Local’ services cheap, and run them on frequent e-buses. (Smaller buses would be preferable, since that forces higher frequency.)
Yes, such local service is expensive, but I believe that people are willing to pay higher transit taxes if they feel that they are getting a major benefit. It is when taxpayers see big, empty, buses meandering through their neighbourhood every hour, not providing any useful service to them, that they complain about the waste of tax money on transit.
Use the trains for moving people between regions, and charge more for that service.
(Also, build the Baseline BRT as an LRT, with its own median lanes, so that there can be central median platforms – including one in the middle of the Heron Road Workers Memorial Bridge, with elevators and a catwalk connecting the two bridge’s stairs under the decks.)
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