OC Transpo

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by lrt's friend

Hurdman was a substantial station until it closed. Not just shelters. Wasn't there even a convenience store there for a while?

Not sure about a convenience store, but yes Hurdman was a fairly substantial station. The bare bones bus shelters that I showed in the image were only in the first few years of the Transitway, in the mid 1980s.

The large red meccano tubular structures were there for close to 30 years I'd say.

[Capital Shaun]

Yep, Hurdman had a small convenience store in it.

[RomanR27]

CTV news just reported that there was a collision involving two buses at Blair Station this evening. Only minor injuries reported by paramedics.

[rocketphish]

5 ways OC Transpo will be 'ready for rail' — whenever it comes

Jon Willing, Ottawa Citizen
Updated: March 12, 2019

Stage 1 of LRT is late, but that’s not stopping OC Transpo from gearing up for rail operations.

The transit commission on March 20 will receive a report on how Transpo is “ready for rail,” even though workers will be waiting longer to actually start running the trains, since the LRT builder, Rideau Transit Group, will miss a third handover deadline on March 31.

The $2.1-billion Confederation Line LRT will run 12.5 kilometres between Tunney’s Pasture and Blair Station, via a 2.5-kilometre downtown tunnel. RTG says it can deliver the rail line by the end of June.
Related

The transit commission report is a snapshot of how Transpo is preparing for the launch of LRT, whenever that happens.

Here are five things to know in the report.

Transpo has been on a “journey”

Transpo has a special project for the transition to LRT called the “multimodal customer journey” project, which has been in place for about five years.

The agency probably didn’t expect to be involved in a fifth year, since the LRT system was originally supposed to open around mid-2018, but it should mean staff have had extra time to understand the needs of transit customers in a switch to LRT.

The projected zeroed in on 10 priority topics: transportation connections to stations; bus routes and “multimodal” stations; ticket machines with customer assistance; fare gates; fare-paid zones at stations; frequency of service; the “Ready for Rail” online travel planner; train capacity and doors; accessibility features; and safety and security features.

Three-week transition planned after Transpo opens the LRT system

The transit agency has been planning to run a parallel bus service to the new rail line so customers can ease into Ottawa’s LRT era.

Customers commuting from the city’s suburbs will need to get used to transferring at the main transfer points on the LRT line. When the three-week transition period ends, bus routes in the east end will feed into Blair Station, central-east and south end routes will feed into Hurdman Station and routes from the west will feed into Tunney’s Pasture Station. Lyon Station is the major transfer point for STO buses.

Transpo staff wearing bright red vests with the distinctive “O” symbol will be at the stations during the transition period to help customers.

The $5.1 million in bus improvements announced in the 2019 city budget and the addition of 12 more buses to the network won’t be implemented until after LRT opens.

Kids can tap, too, even when they’re free

Kids five years old and younger can still feel the thrill of using tap-and-go fare gates, even though they ride for free on Transpo.

According to the report, adults can get a special smart card for children by filling out an application at the Rideau Centre customer service centre.

Adults who are buying single-ride tickets at fare machines at LRT stations can also get a free single-ride ticket for children travelling with them.

LRT operating hours confirmed

The LRT operating times haven’t changed during the planning process over the last two years.

Confederation Line trains will run between 5 a.m. and 1 a.m. between Monday and Thursday, and the Friday operating time will be between 5 a.m. and 2 a.m. Trains will run between 6 a.m. and 2 a.m. on Saturday and between 8 a.m. and 11 p.m. on Sunday.

Some rapid bus routes will continue to run overnight.

Peak-time service on LRT will have trains arriving at a station every five minutes or less.

Transpo has a no-train game plan

If for whatever reason the LRT system needs to close unexpectedly — maybe because of a technical issue or a police investigation — Transpo has a game plan ready.

The transit agency plans to extend bus routes and launch a replacement bus service. The bus stops serving the replacement service will be near rail stations and marked as R1.

A word of warning from Transpo: the replacement bus service obviously won’t be able to match the speed, capacity and reliability of the trains.

[email protected]
twitter.com/JonathanWilling

https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-new...will-be-ready-for-rail-whenever-it-comes

[kmcamp]

Originally Posted by rocketphish

5 ways OC Transpo will be 'ready for rail' — whenever it comes

Jon Willing, Ottawa Citizen
Updated: March 12, 2019

Stage 1 of LRT is late, but that’s not stopping OC Transpo from gearing up for rail operations.

The transit commission on March 20 will receive a report on how Transpo is “ready for rail,” even though workers will be waiting longer to actually start running the trains, since the LRT builder, Rideau Transit Group, will miss a third handover deadline on March 31.

The $2.1-billion Confederation Line LRT will run 12.5 kilometres between Tunney’s Pasture and Blair Station, via a 2.5-kilometre downtown tunnel. RTG says it can deliver the rail line by the end of June.
Related

The transit commission report is a snapshot of how Transpo is preparing for the launch of LRT, whenever that happens.

Here are five things to know in the report.

Transpo has been on a “journey”

Transpo has a special project for the transition to LRT called the “multimodal customer journey” project, which has been in place for about five years.

The agency probably didn’t expect to be involved in a fifth year, since the LRT system was originally supposed to open around mid-2018, but it should mean staff have had extra time to understand the needs of transit customers in a switch to LRT.

The projected zeroed in on 10 priority topics: transportation connections to stations; bus routes and “multimodal” stations; ticket machines with customer assistance; fare gates; fare-paid zones at stations; frequency of service; the “Ready for Rail” online travel planner; train capacity and doors; accessibility features; and safety and security features.

Three-week transition planned after Transpo opens the LRT system

The transit agency has been planning to run a parallel bus service to the new rail line so customers can ease into Ottawa’s LRT era.

Customers commuting from the city’s suburbs will need to get used to transferring at the main transfer points on the LRT line. When the three-week transition period ends, bus routes in the east end will feed into Blair Station, central-east and south end routes will feed into Hurdman Station and routes from the west will feed into Tunney’s Pasture Station. Lyon Station is the major transfer point for STO buses.

Transpo staff wearing bright red vests with the distinctive “O” symbol will be at the stations during the transition period to help customers.

The $5.1 million in bus improvements announced in the 2019 city budget and the addition of 12 more buses to the network won’t be implemented until after LRT opens.

Kids can tap, too, even when they’re free

Kids five years old and younger can still feel the thrill of using tap-and-go fare gates, even though they ride for free on Transpo.

According to the report, adults can get a special smart card for children by filling out an application at the Rideau Centre customer service centre.

Adults who are buying single-ride tickets at fare machines at LRT stations can also get a free single-ride ticket for children travelling with them.

LRT operating hours confirmed

The LRT operating times haven’t changed during the planning process over the last two years.

Confederation Line trains will run between 5 a.m. and 1 a.m. between Monday and Thursday, and the Friday operating time will be between 5 a.m. and 2 a.m. Trains will run between 6 a.m. and 2 a.m. on Saturday and between 8 a.m. and 11 p.m. on Sunday.

Some rapid bus routes will continue to run overnight.

Peak-time service on LRT will have trains arriving at a station every five minutes or less.

Transpo has a no-train game plan

If for whatever reason the LRT system needs to close unexpectedly — maybe because of a technical issue or a police investigation — Transpo has a game plan ready.

The transit agency plans to extend bus routes and launch a replacement bus service. The bus stops serving the replacement service will be near rail stations and marked as R1.

A word of warning from Transpo: the replacement bus service obviously won’t be able to match the speed, capacity and reliability of the trains.

[email protected]
twitter.com/JonathanWilling

https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-new...will-be-ready-for-rail-whenever-it-comes

You can actually get the free paper ticket for kids from the machine as long as you put a presto card on the reader. I do it all the time, since riding the train is cheap entertainment for my own kids. I can only see the point of getting them an actual card if it was an every day thing

[Gat-Train]

This is unacceptable https://twitter.com/OCFailspo/status/1105825538436972545

[Catenary]

I was at Greenboro yesterday and noticed that Enseicom was there putting up another shelter outside the station, between the entrance and the bike racks. At first glance, it looked like another bike shelter, like the two installed last summer, but on closer inspection, it definetly isn't. Glass was installed today. The shelter is two panels of glass deep and five wide, with a clear roof. The bottom is sealed and there is only one opening, framed for a single door in the front centre. There is an electrical box and mounting bracket at the back of the shelter with wires coming from it, so it has power.

I can't figure out what this is possibly for. No buses serve the upper level, except for the private shuttle to Hard Rock/RCR. It is near where the shuttle stops, but it seems like overkill to shelter a few shuttle passengers at a time. Does anybody have any guesses?

[OCCheetos]

Originally Posted by Catenary

I was at Greenboro yesterday and noticed that Enseicom was there putting up another shelter outside the station, between the entrance and the bike racks. At first glance, it looked like another bike shelter, like the two installed last summer, but on closer inspection, it definetly isn't. Glass was installed today. The shelter is two panels of glass deep and five wide, with a clear roof. The bottom is sealed and there is only one opening, framed for a single door in the front centre. There is an electrical box and mounting bracket at the back of the shelter with wires coming from it, so it has power.

I can't figure out what this is possibly for. No buses serve the upper level, except for the private shuttle to Hard Rock/RCR. It is near where the shuttle stops, but it seems like overkill to shelter a few shuttle passengers at a time. Does anybody have any guesses?

Looking at it on streetview it looks like there was one like that back last July when the imagery was taken. Is it like this?

[Ottawaresident]

Originally Posted by OCCheetos

Looking at it on streetview it looks like there was one like that back last July when the imagery was taken. Is it like this?

Google should say.

[Catenary]

Originally Posted by OCCheetos

Looking at it on streetview it looks like there was one like that back last July when the imagery was taken. Is it like this?

That picture must have been taken just as the new silver bike shelters were installed last summer. You can see the fresh concrete under the one on the right, and the one on the left is still missing bike racks. The old red shelter without glass was removed once the new bike shelters were both ready.

The new shelter this week is similar to those silver ones, and located where the old red one was. It's got the same roof, but is one panel of glass longer, and with glass on the front and a single framed entrance in the middle, for a door to be hung on. The door frame is just like the new Confederation Line shelters at Hurdman, Tunney's and Blair, which are also Enseicom products, and it's fully sealed at the bottom like those ones.

[TransitZilla]

Spotted a new OC 40ft Nova Bus out on Heron Rd this afternoon... looked like they were doing operator training.

I guess we will see them in service soon.

[rocketphish]

Clarence-Rockland hands public transit system to private sector
Current bus contract operator Leduc Bus Lines says it will continue operating as a private business

Matthew Kupfer · CBC News
Posted: Mar 27, 2019 6:20 AM ET | Last Updated: an hour ago

The City of Clarence-Rockland, Ont., says it will no longer be administering a commuter bus system due to declining ridership and high costs.

City council directed staff to allow its contract with Leduc Bus Lines to expire Aug. 31 and let the company continue to operate its route privately. The plan was announced at a public meeting Tuesday evening.

Mayor Guy Desjardins said the city will continue to maintain some park-and-rides and bus shelters, and that the new arrangement will save the city money.

"The finances, that's all it is. It was costing us too much and our contract was coming due," Desjardins said.

"It's always better run by private enterprise than for municipal people to run it."

Over the last nine years, statistics provided by the city show ridership has dropped from 605 to 336 riders per month. It cost the municipality about $450,000.

Desjardins said he also expects ridership will go down further because OC Transpo is ending its policy of allowing transit riders from neighbouring rural municipalities to transfer for free with their bus passes.

That means Clarence-Rockland riders will have to buy an OC Transpo pass on top of their $248 CR Transpo monthly pass.

Transit user Mario Larose said he was frustrated the decision was presented without more consultation, and he wanted more guarantees about the quality of the future service.

"It feels to me that the city council just let everybody down," he said.

Brigitte Deschenes said she is waiting for more details from Leduc Bus Lines and she hopes there will be consultations with an eye to improving ridership.

"I have no problem with making it private — unless the price increases. It's all up in the air," Deschenes said.

Leduc Bus Lines didn't speak at Tuesday's meeting, though representatives from the company did attend.

Jay Leduc, the company's safety manager, said riders can rest assured buses will continue to run on Sept. 1, though they are still working out details of routes and prices.

"There might be a slight [price] increase, but again that hasn't been decided," he told CBC News. "We're trying to keep it very close to where it is right now and keep people happy."

The private company will not qualify for about $240,000 in gas tax funds the municipality could use to run a public transit system, according to local officials.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/city-clarence-rockland-cr-transpo-1.5073057

[Ottawaresident]

Originally Posted by rocketphish

Clarence-Rockland hands public transit system to private sector
Current bus contract operator Leduc Bus Lines says it will continue operating as a private business

Matthew Kupfer · CBC News
Posted: Mar 27, 2019 6:20 AM ET | Last Updated: an hour ago

The City of Clarence-Rockland, Ont., says it will no longer be administering a commuter bus system due to declining ridership and high costs.

City council directed staff to allow its contract with Leduc Bus Lines to expire Aug. 31 and let the company continue to operate its route privately. The plan was announced at a public meeting Tuesday evening.

Mayor Guy Desjardins said the city will continue to maintain some park-and-rides and bus shelters, and that the new arrangement will save the city money.

"The finances, that's all it is. It was costing us too much and our contract was coming due," Desjardins said.

"It's always better run by private enterprise than for municipal people to run it."

Over the last nine years, statistics provided by the city show ridership has dropped from 605 to 336 riders per month. It cost the municipality about $450,000.

Desjardins said he also expects ridership will go down further because OC Transpo is ending its policy of allowing transit riders from neighbouring rural municipalities to transfer for free with their bus passes.

That means Clarence-Rockland riders will have to buy an OC Transpo pass on top of their $248 CR Transpo monthly pass.

Transit user Mario Larose said he was frustrated the decision was presented without more consultation, and he wanted more guarantees about the quality of the future service.

"It feels to me that the city council just let everybody down," he said.

Brigitte Deschenes said she is waiting for more details from Leduc Bus Lines and she hopes there will be consultations with an eye to improving ridership.

"I have no problem with making it private — unless the price increases. It's all up in the air," Deschenes said.

Leduc Bus Lines didn't speak at Tuesday's meeting, though representatives from the company did attend.

Jay Leduc, the company's safety manager, said riders can rest assured buses will continue to run on Sept. 1, though they are still working out details of routes and prices.

"There might be a slight [price] increase, but again that hasn't been decided," he told CBC News. "We're trying to keep it very close to where it is right now and keep people happy."

The private company will not qualify for about $240,000 in gas tax funds the municipality could use to run a public transit system, according to local officials.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/city-clarence-rockland-cr-transpo-1.5073057

Why oh why? Public Transit should never be sold by corrupt officials to corrupt companies that try to milk the government out of money. They also take advantage of people to make more money.

[lrt's friend]

Will Rockland transit be viable at all within a year of privatization?

The drop in ridership is likely related to increasing road congestion, delays caused by transit detours, the availability of better transit service at Trim Road (why not go there instead?) and job movement away from key east end and downtown locations.

[c_speed3108]

It's interesting. That service was started privately and grew more official and larger as the municipality came on.

I suspect the loss of the transitway has definitely hurt it.

The loss of the combined pass will too.

I am not sure it will completely go away but it will go back to old size.

[OCCheetos]

The new Nova Buses went into service starting this morning.
CPTDB post

Some
Reddit
Posts

[Multi-modal]

Looks like the new post-Confederation Line service map has been updated with route 11 re-instated to Bayshore, and new Route 15 from Gatineau to Blair via La Cite (following route 12 for the most part).

There are probably a few other changes that I'm not picking up.

http://www.octranspo.com/ready4rail/system_map_zoom

*Edit, I'm sure the changes mostly follow this:

[TransitZilla]

Originally Posted by Multi-modal

Looks like the new post-Confederation Line service map has been updated with route 11 re-instated to Bayshore, and new Route 15 from Gatineau to Blair via La Cite (following route 12 for the most part).

There are probably a few other changes that I'm not picking up.

Looks like only the PDF is updated.

It looks like the only other update is the change to the 164 and 252 in Bridlewood that is changing in April.

The other route changes on that slide (e.g. new Connexion route in Bells Corners and Kanata North) are not included.

[CityTech]

Route 80 is listed as more frequent service.

The 80 is a confusing route as it has so many different destinations in the southern part, with some trips going straight to Barrhaven, others ending at Merivale at the inner edge of the Greenbelt, some going into the Auriga Drive industrial area, others heading into Colonnade, etc. If they're going to be putting money into it it would be nice if they maybe cut up some of those spur routes into separate routes to make the route a little less complicated.

I'm curious what Route 15 is, as well. If they're creating a new route instead of just adding extra peak period trips on the 12 that extend to Gatineau, it must mean it's doing something different from the 12. Perhaps it takes a more direct route between Vanier and Blair station (like going down Blair or Bathgate) instead of going on the long semi-circle through the Beacon Hill area.

If there's money for "new connections", one of the most glaring issues and biggest potential for improvement, IMO, is extending the 96 from its awkward dead end on Merivale to having a more meaningful eastern terminus, like Baseline or Lincoln Fields. The big employment & retail area around Hunt Club/Auriga/Merivale/Jamie, etc. has no convenient peak period connections to the western part of the rapid transit trunk and that extension could fix that.

[lrt's friend]

Originally Posted by CityTech

Route 80 is listed as more frequent service.

The 80 is a confusing route as it has so many different destinations in the southern part, with some trips going straight to Barrhaven, others ending at Merivale at the inner edge of the Greenbelt, some going into the Auriga Drive industrial area, others heading into Colonnade, etc. If they're going to be putting money into it it would be nice if they maybe cut up some of those spur routes into separate routes to make the route a little less complicated.

I'm curious what Route 15 is, as well. If they're creating a new route instead of just adding extra peak period trips on the 12 that extend to Gatineau, it must mean it's doing something different from the 12. Perhaps it takes a more direct route between Vanier and Blair station (like going down Blair or Bathgate) instead of going on the long semi-circle through the Beacon Hill area.

If there's money for "new connections", one of the most glaring issues and biggest potential for improvement, IMO, is extending the 96 from its awkward dead end on Merivale to having a more meaningful eastern terminus, like Baseline or Lincoln Fields. The big employment & retail area around Hunt Club/Auriga/Merivale/Jamie, etc. has no convenient peak period connections to the western part of the rapid transit trunk and that extension could fix that.

It would be a mistake to separate routes on Merivale, because OC Transpo always screws up scheduling when they separate routes. The end result is that service on Merivale would end up being irregular. Likely, we would end up with two buses in 5 minutes and then a 25 minute wait for the next pair.

Route 96 (formerly 116) used to run to Baseline (and correct me if I am wrong, but also further extensions in peak periods). They cut the route to meet their optimization budget back in 2011. This reduced ridership and allowed a cut in frequency particularly in off peak hours. It has been mentioned many times as a short sighted change. I am all for reinstating the original routing.