Confederation Line (Stage 1) | In Service 1.0

[acottawa]

Originally Posted by roger1818

Possibly, depending on the demand. I suspect that most routes that have low capacity buses will be at the beginning/end of their route in the fare paid zone, so it isn't as if the bus pulls up, 10 people get off, 10 people get on and the bus drives away. Boarding will also be fast in fare paid zones as no one is fumbling for their pass, transfer, tickets, or change.

I think buses would have to have a very different design if there is going to be rear boarding. The Rome equivalent of a 40 foot bus (I am sure it is a metric size) has three wide doors.

[Multi-modal]

Originally Posted by Uhuniau

In what way is it dumb? The rear doors on 40-footers are narrower, and there's only one of them.

I'd rather not pay for the added expense of installing card readers on the 40-foot fleet, of conducting fare inspections on them, and suffer the additional dwell times that would be caused by boarding and disembarking passengers fighting over that one narrow door (it's bad enough on artics and DD).

This is not a difficult rule to understand, unless, apparently, you are a student at a post-secondary institution.

I understand the theory of board through front-door, exit through back door = good passenger flow. But the problem is sometimes, even with 40 ft buses, passengers do not move to the back of the bus so the bus appears "full" to those boarding from the front. When this happens its often easier to board from the back and fill up the back of the bus.

Also, sometimes there are very few people alighting, but lots of people boarding. In those situations it would be faster to open both doors.

Again, I don't do this, but this is why I WOULD do this.

[acottawa]

Originally Posted by Multi-modal

I understand the theory of board through front-door, exit through back door = good passenger flow. But the problem is sometimes, even with 40 ft buses, passengers do not move to the back of the bus so the bus appears "full" to those boarding from the front. When this happens its often easier to board from the back and fill up the back of the bus.

Also, sometimes there are very few people alighting, but lots of people boarding. In those situations it would be faster to open both doors.

Again, I don't do this, but this is why I WOULD do this.

I think the better solution to this problem is to remove seats. Ottawa is the only city I know of that puts two rows of double seats at the front of the bus (usually it is two singles or a single and a double). There is literally nowhere to stand on a 40 foot bus without blocking either the door or the walkway.

[roger1818]

Originally Posted by acottawa

I think the better solution to this problem is to remove seats. Ottawa is the only city I know of that puts two rows of double seats at the front of the bus (usually it is two singles or a single and a double). There is literally nowhere to stand on a 40 foot bus without blocking either the door or the walkway.

True, but I would also argue that if the route is busy enough to have standing room only, it shouldn't be using a standard 40' bus.

[acottawa]

Originally Posted by roger1818

True, but I would also argue that if the route is busy enough to have standing room only, it shouldn't be using a standard 40' bus.

It isn't just standing room only. Some people prefer to stand rather than squish into a seat (or be squished by somebody else), particularly for short rides.

[JHikka]

Originally Posted by acottawa

It isn't just standing room only. Some people prefer to stand rather than squish into a seat (or be squished by somebody else), particularly for short rides.

Part of the reason why i'm looking forward to LRT is the general fact that it stops X number of times without any sort of suddenness involved. I don't mind standing on buses but sometimes it's very difficult if the driver drives a certain way or is swerving through traffic/stopping too often.

I agree with the general sentiment that the 40' buses have too much seating in the front portion and could do with a bit more standing room. I'm sure OCTranspo could order better designed 40' buses with wider rear doors if they were to ever consider rear-entry.

[1overcosc]

In 2015 Kingston Transit changed its standard seating layout, dropping the number of seats on newly ordered buses from 38 to 32. It led to a huge improvement in dwell times on busy routes as passenger flow is greatly improved.

[OCCheetos]

Originally Posted by JHikka

Part of the reason why i'm looking forward to LRT is the general fact that it stops X number of times without any sort of suddenness involved. I don't mind standing on buses but sometimes it's very difficult if the driver drives a certain way or is swerving through traffic/stopping too often.

You clearly haven't ever taken the Trillium Line!

[1overcosc]

The Confederation Line will have automated braking and acceleration, so computer controlled perfection.

[HighwayStar]

Originally Posted by OCCheetos

You clearly haven't ever taken the Trillium Line!

point taken... but it's full of stops/starts and switches on tracks driven by a human.

Confederation line will (hopefully) not be subject to any switches or slowdowns between stops... all with automated acceleration and braking.

[OCCheetos]

Originally Posted by 1overcosc

The Confederation Line will have automated braking and acceleration, so computer controlled perfection.

From there, I'd direct your attention to the Montreal Metro.

It's still much better than a bus, but you still gotta hold on to something.

[kmcamp]

Originally Posted by JHikka

Part of the reason why i'm looking forward to LRT is the general fact that it stops X number of times without any sort of suddenness involved. I don't mind standing on buses but sometimes it's very difficult if the driver drives a certain way or is swerving through traffic/stopping too often.

I agree with the general sentiment that the 40' buses have too much seating in the front portion and could do with a bit more standing room. I'm sure OCTranspo could order better designed 40' buses with wider rear doors if they were to ever consider rear-entry.

It definitely would improve things. I've noticed they're running more double deckers on the 6 route during weekdays. I actually prefer them to the 40 footers because the logjam on the smaller bus makes the dwell time about the same, so at least with the DD I get a seat. But if the bus could move faster I'd be glad to stand

[Uhuniau]

Originally Posted by bradnixon

What about in fare paid zones? I tend to think that rear door boarding should be allowed on all buses once the fare paid zones are in effect. The number of boarding all buses will likely be fairly high at the LRT transfer points.

Maybe, but it presents the hazard of people thinking that because they can rear-door-board at Hurdman or whatever, they can do so at any stop.

Remember, this is a place where, for some reason, the bright people who get accepted to colleges and universities can't read simple signs and follow simple rules which are already in place. I'm not sure giving these morons another opening is wise.

[Uhuniau]

Originally Posted by roger1818

True, but I would also argue that if the route is busy enough to have standing room only, it shouldn't be using a standard 40' bus.

This times eleventy.

[Uhuniau]

Originally Posted by JHikka

Part of the reason why i'm looking forward to LRT is the general fact that it stops X number of times without any sort of suddenness involved. I don't mind standing on buses but sometimes it's very difficult if the driver drives a certain way or is swerving through traffic/stopping too often.

This is why I'm disappointed that the hybrids are being phased out. They are so much smoother of a ride.

If OCTranspo can't use vehicles that are by their nature smooth-running, they need to up their game on driver training, because holy hell, Ottawa bus drivers are aggressive with their feet and hands, often to the point of it becoming dangerous, let alone uncomfortable, for passengers.

[Kitchissippi]

Originally Posted by Horus

File under 'Saw this one coming'


Ottawa LRT not likely to be handed over to city on time

Meanwhile in China:

Workers build railway station in just nine hours

[Jamaican-Phoenix]

Originally Posted by Kitchissippi

Meanwhile in China:

Workers build railway station in just nine hours

Right, but that's China; an authoritarian regime with few worker rights and protections and less stringent safety standards.

[JHikka]

Originally Posted by kmcamp

It definitely would improve things. I've noticed they're running more double deckers on the 6 route during weekdays. I actually prefer them to the 40 footers because the logjam on the smaller bus makes the dwell time about the same, so at least with the DD I get a seat. But if the bus could move faster I'd be glad to stand

I've noticed this too. Double deckers are so much more pleasant to ride on during longer trips. Being able to go upstairs and get away from the doors and boarding traffic makes riding much more pleasant.

[Kitchissippi]

Originally Posted by Jamaican-Phoenix

Right, but that's China; an authoritarian regime with few worker rights and protections and less stringent safety standards.

Yes, quite the extreme. But this is Canada, where a project that is behind schedule seems to only have 3 or 4 people at most working on a station on a good day

[roger1818]

Originally Posted by Kitchissippi

Yes, quite the extreme. But this is Canada, where a project that is behind schedule seems to only have 3 or 4 people at most working on a station on a good day

Where as they had 1500 workers.