Your Confederation Line Experiences

[lrt's friend]

I think we can now assess our own experiences with the Confederation Line so far. What are your experiences?

This is my experience.

I have used the Confederation Line once or twice per month. It has worked well for me and I have not been involved with any delays.

Service is sufficiently frequent, but when using it during off-peak hours, it is not significantly faster than the previous Transitways. It is about a wash on speed.

When going to City Hall, the Confederation Line is too far away.

The bigger problem is the connecting bus service. The transfers are clumsy and often frequency has been reduced and the number of transfers during off-peak hours is a deterrent from using transit at all. My typical transfer is at Hurdman but I have also transferred at Bayview as well. Neither provide me with a reliable way home during off-peak hours. In off-peak hours, I have to transfer a second time at Greenboro to Route 93, which only runs every half hour.

[LeadingEdgeBoomer]

Originally Posted by lrt's friend

I think we can now assess our own experiences with the Confederation Line so far. What are your experiences?

This is my experience.

I have used the Confederation Line once or twice per month. It has worked well for me and I have not been involved with any delays.

Service is sufficiently frequent, but when using it during off-peak hours, it is not significantly faster than the previous Transitways. It is about a wash on speed.

When going to City Hall, the Confederation Line is too far away.

The bigger problem is the connecting bus service. The transfers are clumsy and often frequency has been reduced and the number of transfers during off-peak hours is a deterrent from using transit at all. My typical transfer is at Hurdman but I have also transferred at Bayview as well. Neither provide me with a reliable way home during off-peak hours.

I also use the train only a two or three times a month. I am retired and use it to go downtown** and avoid traffic and especially parking hassles. I am a senior so it is cheap to free for me. I try to avoid rush hour travel. The trains are seldom packed when I travel and are a comfortable ride compared to a bus rumbling over potholes.I have experienced a significant delay once.

I live a couple of minutes walk from a bus stop. I can take either the 25 or 28 to get to and from Blair Station,so that is fortunate. Actual travel time is a wash compared to the all bus system.

**--and sometimes to my dentist. His office is kitty corner to the Tunney's Station.

[SidetrackedSue]

Originally Posted by LeadingEdgeBoomer

I live a couple of minutes walk from a bus stop. I can take either the 25 or 28 to get to and from Blair Station,so that is fortunate. Actual travel time is a wash compared to the all bus system..

My family, who must live near you, find they are using the 28 more than they used to because of the changes to it.

They love the train but usually only use off-peak or weekends. On days/times when it is out of service, they can simply shift their activities.

[SidetrackedSue]

Live in Westboro. My occasional commute to downtown is longer than before if I use the LRT. If I adjust my leaving time, I can now take a bus from my door downtown in less time and with less effort than before. If the bus comes. (Our part of the route is a tack on and our bus runs seem to get cancelled often with the R1 is running.)

Commute home, unless I adjust my time to the every 30 minute bus, is worse because a transfer of some sort at Tunney's is involved and getting GPS times is dodgy at best so choosing the correct stop (about a 3 - 5 minute walk apart depending on crowds) is hard. Due to the very cold transfer point, we've stopped taking transit to our evening events downtown and just drive. Warmer, faster, cheaper, and reliable.

Our other two frequent transit destinations are St. Laurent (that's better because no longer getting caught in the downtown traffic) and Blackburn Hamlet (that's worse, the 45 minute bus ride has been replaced with bus/train/bus which is theoretically the same amount of time but... bus.

I actually like the LRT but my uses all include a bus component. The buses are, unbelievably, less reliable now than before the LRT. So that makes me dislike the LRT.

Some day I may love the LRT. If I was younger, I'd say "I will love the LRT" but I'm seriously concerned by the time it is reliable to my neighbourhood (with the opening of Phase 2) I won't have the mobility to enjoy using it.

[SkeggsEggs]

I used the Line in Sept-Dec twice a week.

On Friday mornings (7am) I would bus from Eagleson to Tunney's, take the train to Bayview, then transfer and take the train to Carleton. I must have had good luck as I never experienced any issues or delays. A little longer than the bus, but less of a walk to get to the Trillium line.

Around 11am-1pm I would take the train back to Bayview, and either head to Rideau for lunch, or head back to Tunney's to go to Kanata. Again, no issues on either of the trains, it was just a pain waiting for the 61, which only starts every 30 mins and always left the layup 1-2 minutes after it should have.

On Wednesday evenings I would also bus from Eagleson to Tunney's around 3pm or so. Then take the train to Bayview, and transfer to Carleton. Again, no issues with either of the trains or bus.

Around 9pm I would catch the train at Carleton, head to Bayview, transfer and go to Tunney's. On one occasion the train was delayed 9 minutes, but seemed to be a medical issue as I could see an ambulance across the field at Lebreton. Other than that, no issues on the trains.

Again, the biggest pain was waiting for the bus at Tunney's. Though for years the 61 (96) has been crap after 9pm, so nothing new there. The 61/62 always seemed to arrive at Bayview within 5 minutes and then it would be a 25 minute wait. Really hasn't changed.

I am very happy with the Confederation Line thus far! In my limited experiences with it.

[CityTech]

Originally Posted by SkeggsEggs

I used the Line in Sept-Dec twice a week.

On Friday mornings (7am) I would bus from Eagleson to Tunney's, take the train to Bayview, then transfer and take the train to Carleton. I must have had good luck as I never experienced any issues or delays. A little longer than the bus, but less of a walk to get to the Trillium line.

Around 11am-1pm I would take the train back to Bayview, and either head to Rideau for lunch, or head back to Tunney's to go to Kanata. Again, no issues on either of the trains, it was just a pain waiting for the 61, which only starts every 30 mins and always left the layup 1-2 minutes after it should have.

On Wednesday evenings I would also bus from Eagleson to Tunney's around 3pm or so. Then take the train to Bayview, and transfer to Carleton. Again, no issues with either of the trains or bus.

Around 9pm I would catch the train at Carleton, head to Bayview, transfer and go to Tunney's. On one occasion the train was delayed 9 minutes, but seemed to be a medical issue as I could see an ambulance across the field at Lebreton. Other than that, no issues on the trains.

Again, the biggest pain was waiting for the bus at Tunney's. Though for years the 61 (96) has been crap after 9pm, so nothing new there. The 61/62 always seemed to arrive at Bayview within 5 minutes and then it would be a 25 minute wait. Really hasn't changed.

That's every bus. It's rather annoying. They will tell you it's because drivers have insufficient time between runs, but I don't buy it. You can see your bus sitting in the layup spot for a good 5 minutes before it starts and the bus driver just sits there until a minute past their departure time and then when the bus actually gets to the stop and finishing loading up, we're running 2-3 minutes late from the get go.

They need to start pushing drivers to leave layup on time.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by CityTech

That's every bus. It's rather annoying. They will tell you it's because drivers have insufficient time between runs, but I don't buy it. You can see your bus sitting in the layup spot for a good 5 minutes before it starts and the bus driver just sits there until a minute past their departure time and then when the bus actually gets to the stop and finishing loading up, we're running 2-3 minutes late from the get go.

They need to start pushing drivers to leave layup on time.

I was on an STO bus over the weekend and at one point we were waiting for longer than usual at a stop, and a recorded message automatically came on the PA saying that the short delay was necessary in order to keep the route on its exact schedule.

[Uhuniau]

Originally Posted by Acajack

I was on an STO bus over the weekend and at one point we were waiting for longer than usual at a stop, and a recorded message automatically came on the PA saying that the short delay was necessary in order to keep the route on its exact schedule.

OC Transpo buses have the same system; you hear it fairly frequently on route 7 at the Gladstone southbound timepoint. It is a good way to reduce passenger frustration.

[Multi-modal]

In the winter I take OC Transpo every day for my commute. My commute is from the south-end to downtown Ottawa. I transfer at Hurdman and I typically transfer at the busiest time of the day (around 8:15-8:30). In general, I've been enjoying the commute... but if there are issues I frequently have wait a couple trains before I can get on.

I'd say in general I like the train better than the Transitway during the construction detour... but honestly Transitway pre construction detour might have won-out. Still, I understand the need for the LRT and if they were able to use 14-15 trains (even with the occasional disruption) I think the added capacity would really improve my experience.

This last week, with the low # of trains I've been transferring at Billings Bridge and taking Route 6 or Route 5 downtown. Slightly slower but much more relaxing.

[CityTech]

I am a fairly frequent off-peak user (almost never at peak) and no complaints. Off-peak travel has been made so much nicer by the train; less crowded and shorter waits compared to the old Transitway buses. I would agree with everyone else's assessments that travel time is around a wash when you consider ascent/descent times and such.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by lrt's friend

I think we can now assess our own experiences with the Confederation Line so far. What are your experiences?

This is my experience.

I have used the Confederation Line once or twice per month. It has worked well for me and I have not been involved with any delays.

Service is sufficiently frequent, but when using it during off-peak hours, it is not significantly faster than the previous Transitways. It is about a wash on speed.

When going to City Hall, the Confederation Line is too far away.

The bigger problem is the connecting bus service. The transfers are clumsy and often frequency has been reduced and the number of transfers during off-peak hours is a deterrent from using transit at all. My typical transfer is at Hurdman but I have also transferred at Bayview as well. Neither provide me with a reliable way home during off-peak hours. In off-peak hours, I have to transfer a second time at Greenboro to Route 93, which only runs every half hour.

I have taken the Confederation Line for a half-dozen or so round trips since it opened.

Always at off-peak times (evenings and weekends) though once was perhaps at the tail end of the afternoon rush, around 6 or 6:30 pm.

Service was always good and dependable. Never much of a wait. No passenger crushes or anything. Probably a better overall experience than the old Transitway would have been.

To my surprise though, Bayview and Hurdman stations were freezing cold. Worse than my recollection of the old Transitway stations and also worse than STO's Rapibus stations (at least the ones that I generally use).

[Uhuniau]

Apart from a couple of "down" weeks (Christmas break, sick sick sick), I've been a daily rider almost since opening day.

I continue to be a good-luck charm, but then again, my work commutes are generally outside peak periods. Was on a platform once when there was a short delay last fall, that quickly cleared. Thought my streak ran out on the weekend on a train that abruptly braked between Pimisi and Bayview, but again it was a very transient thing, no worse than on any other rail transit system I've ridden.

That's not to downplay the problems by any means, but we also need to get a handle on how much of this is a base load of Sh*t Happens vs. how much is comprised of problems that are novel, undue, or incompetent. Just in the past week or so we've seen hockey sticks used to de-ice Vancouver SkyTrains, frigid rail snapping on the Edmonton LRT, and massive disruptions on both the Montreal Metro and TTC subways. If mature, decades-old systems have cases of Sh*t Happens, we have to expect it here, too.

All things considered, as between LRT disruptions and Bus "Rapid" Transit that wasn't rapid, didn't work in snow, often didn't even work in sun, and was vulnerable and inefficient, I'll still take LRT over B"R"T, any day.

The most glaring problem with the brave new world in Ottawa transit is one which had previously existed, but which is compounded by LRT hiccups and failures: really really awful public-facing communications.

[Truenorth00]

Originally Posted by Uhuniau

That's not to downplay the problems by any means, but we also need to get a handle on how much of this is a base load of Sh*t Happens vs. how much is comprised of problems that are novel, undue, or incompetent. Just in the past week or so we've seen hockey sticks used to de-ice Vancouver SkyTrains, frigid rail snapping on the Edmonton LRT, and massive disruptions on both the Montreal Metro and TTC subways. If mature, decades-old systems have cases of Sh*t Happens, we have to expect it here, too.

All things considered, as between LRT disruptions and Bus "Rapid" Transit that wasn't rapid, didn't work in snow, often didn't even work in sun, and was vulnerable and inefficient, I'll still take LRT over B"R"T, any day.

As someone who grew up in Toronto and took the Scarborough RT with three transfers to get downtown, I find the complaints in Ottawa quaint.

Wholeheartedly agree with you. The transit experience has broadly improved with LRT. Even with some of the hiccups. People have really forgotten how bad the downtown bus parade used to be. And all the problems that used the stem from that.

[caveat.doctor]

Originally Posted by Uhuniau

All things considered, as between LRT disruptions and Bus "Rapid" Transit that wasn't rapid, didn't work in snow, often didn't even work in sun, and was vulnerable and inefficient, I'll still take LRT over B"R"T, any day.

Originally Posted by Truenorth00

Wholeheartedly agree with you. The transit experience has broadly improved with LRT. Even with some of the hiccups. People have really forgotten how bad the downtown bus parade used to be. And all the problems that used the stem from that.

I posted my experience in the other thread (posted again below) but I'll just echo the above: despite the hiccoughs and delays the past few weeks I think the time lost to LRT users is still less than that due to delays related to rush hour bus congestion downtown when you add it all up long term.

I have experienced maybe half a dozen delays on the LRT but for the most part nothing that would have been greater than a typical bus hiccough - 5-10 minute holds. The one long delay I've had I was with my son and visiting father in law from out east, when a door holder forced us our train out of service. He (my father in law) was well aware of the recurring problems and was tickled when the operator came on the intercom to plead, "Please, please don't hold the doors" and tried in vain to get it reset. He called it the Ottawa equivalent of being "screeched in" - you haven't experienced Line 1 unless you've had a door holder interrupt your trip!

Originally Posted by caveat.doctor

Like others here I'm fairly satisfied with the train service. I live near Carling/Holland and my commutes to and from downtown during rush hour take about the same length as a good day on the previous buses. It can be slower than the old buses during non-peak times because the transfer at Tunney's can be as short as <1 min but as long as 10-15 min (which, for what should be a 20 min trip, is a huge penalty). But balancing that vs traffic delays to the old buses, the travel time is close enough to not notice a difference overall.

The ride is good (usual caveats: not as smooth or fast as a regular metro, but better than a bus) and of course service along the line itself is faster, more frequent and more regular. I previously would never go to St Laurent or Gloucester Centre for example, but occasionally now go to both out of variety just because it's so easy now. As other have mentioned, kids love it - my 3-year-old knows that Rideau station is where we get off for Beavertails in the market, that Tremblay is where we take the train to Montreal or Toronto, and Bayview is where you change for the "red train".

The bad things about the train really are fellow passengers: the much-maligned door holding, and people who block the escalators instead of standing right. Seems to be getting better though - back in Sep/Oct I'd see left-standers on every escalator, but now more often than not people are walk left/stand right spontaneously. I also see more people taking the priority seating and not giving up seats to others than on the bus: whereas on the bus people tend to just get up when someone in need gets on, on the train it seems you have to ask.

But the worst thing with the train is really the cuts to service on the bus network. My commutes to Carling Campus used to be about 25 min direct and reliably able to get me to work and back in time to get my son from daycare within a normal workday schedule. With the cancellation of the 101/103, it's now 40-55 minutes, with a transfer to a bus that only runs every 15 min: would be about two hours more commuting each week, and not reliable enough to count on making that daycare pickup in time without starting work ridiculously early.

I get that the train costs more, but even with the bus service cuts there are some no-cost things that would make it work better. Better scheduling to reduce bus bunching and boosting frequency for one. For example, the 56, 80, 86 and 89 are all options going up/down Holland to/from Tunney's: they should be all spaced so that service is more even and overall more frequent, instead of having two or more routes one right after the other and leaving gaps. OC Transpo has been reasonable at quickly addressing some things since the train opened (removing the doors at Tunney's that were blocking the path to the bus loop, for example) so I hope a bus service review happens soon.

Bottom line, train is good but the rest of the network is worse. I don't get a monthly pass anymore and overall use transit less often for commuting - but the train is a new must-do for days out with my 3-year-old.

[Kitchissippi]

I've been taking it 2 to 3 times a week at various peak and off-peak hours, and it has been generally good. I've had to take R1 buses a couple of times, including the time it had issues on New Years Eve. The changes in the bus routes have also largely worked out for me by streamlining service to where I usually go (downtown Ottawa and Gatineau).

[rocketphish]

The O-Train doesn't go anywhere I need to be, but I did take the Confederation Line once, from end to end and back again, just as an experience. It was on a weekend, and there were no issues that day. I found it to be relatively quick and comfortable. This trip was in December, however, and I did find the terminal stations to be cold and unprotected. I was also very surprised just how rough and noisy the ride was when going around curves. I don't recall this from the many train and tram rides I've taken in Europe over the years.

[MichelKazan]

Mostly because of the LRT (and a few other internal factors), I've decided not to apply for a job posting downtown and stick to a job closer to home where I can drive and park. Yes, the pay was more or less the same but the hours were better and the duties a little different. Unfortunately, I've decided not to deal with the LRT with the way things are going right now.

[TransitZilla]

I don't work downtown. I live in the south end and work at Confederation Heights. However, I have taken Line 1 several times, including at PM peak heading west to Tunney's (and then Kanata) and at PM peak heading east to Blair (and then Orleans). I've also done PM peak from Kanata to South Keys (via Tunney's).

I have never experienced any delays. There was one day when there was an in-train delay announcement at Bayview. I had been considering riding through to Hurdman, but I decided to bail onto Line 2 that day. I wasn't actually delayed.

Blair and Tunney's are definitely challenging at peak- the sheer volume of people getting off the trains means that you need to be patient walking to the stairs and up/down the stairs. You can't try to run past people because there's nowhere to go. The flow has improved since the bypass lane at Tunney's was installed, and the glass removed from some shelters at Blair. Fortunately my waits for buses at Tunney's and Blair have always been short.

My kids love riding the train; our rides have all been on weekends but it's always worked smoothly.

I've used the train to head downtown at lunch time on a few occasions; I'm able to make it from my desk to the Rideau Centre within 25 minutes.

I made it from Kanata North to Rideau Centre in 45 minutes at PM peak in December- I thought that was pretty good. I'm usually able to do just over an hour from Confederation Heights to March/Terry Fox which I think is decent as well.

Last week, I was heading back home from the Sens game. (Granted, before October 6 I would have taken the old 402 but I'm not going to blame the train for the cancellation of that route). While on Line 1 approaching Bayview, I saw that the 98 would be leaving Hurdman in 14 minutes, so I decided to stay on Line 1 rather than switching to Line 2. I ended up making it from Bayview to Hurdman in 12 minutes (and making the connection). It was about 11pm, but that kind of travel time would never have been possible even with the old Transitway (at least not reliably), so I wouldn't even have attempted it.

[Capital Shaun]

I work 9-5 and commute from Beacon Hill to Gatineau. I usually cycle to work (unless I'm teleworking) but once winter weather arrived I've been taking the LRT 1 to 3 times a week.
Morning is bus to Blair, LRT to Lyon, STO to work.
Afternoon is bus to Lyon or Pimisi, LRT to Blair, bus to home.
My commute is much more consistent with LRT than it ever was with only buses. Leave the house at 8:10, get to work at 9:00. Leave work at 17:00, get home around 18:00. (The afternoon used to be a crap shoot with buses, rarely took less than 75 minutes to get home, 90 minutes not uncommon.)
My wife works 8-4 downtown, she has gotten affected by delays and outages a few times. I've been lucky, worst I've seen is the crazy overcrowding this week, but I've always been able to board a train within minutes and get to where I'm going without noticeable delays.

[Truenorth00]

Originally Posted by Capital Shaun

I work 9-5 and commute from Beacon Hill to Gatineau. I usually cycle to work (unless I'm teleworking) but once winter weather arrived I've been taking the LRT 1 to 3 times a week.
Morning is bus to Blair, LRT to Lyon, STO to work.
Afternoon is bus to Lyon or Pimisi, LRT to Blair, bus to home.
My commute is much more consistent with LRT than it ever was with only buses. Leave the house at 8:10, get to work at 9:00. Leave work at 17:00, get home around 18:00. (The afternoon used to be a crap shoot with buses, rarely took less than 75 minutes to get home, 90 minutes not uncommon.)

I have a similar commute to you, minus the bus ride in Ottawa. And I agree, the commute has gotten better and far more reliable.

My biggest issue now is STO. Get off at Lyon and I can take the 20 or the 400. But they are at different stops. The buses don't seem to line up with the transit app sometimes. Or I get off at Rideau and just wait for a 400 which seems rather infrequent for a trunk route.

Coming home, my biggest variable is still the STO bus. But to a lesser extent. Get off at Rideau and a quick ride home. 45 mins from the time I board the bus.

Things should improve after STO implements their new bus route plan for Ottawa. At least with transfers and schedules.