Some riders livid at OC Transpo’s fall service changes
Transit can inspire frustration at the best of times, so it’s perhaps unsurprising that OC Transpo’s LRT-oriented fall service changes have provoked the ire of transit riders in affected areas of the city. But for some bus passengers, the adjustments they have to make as a result of the changes are more than a minor inconvenience.
“I have heard a lot of nightmare stories already,” said Sam Boswell of the newly formed Ottawa Transit Riders’ Group.
Since creating a Twitter account for the fledgling grassroots organization, she’s heard from Route 11 and Route 12 bus users, as well as those in Orléans — among the routes most affected by the services changes instituted by OC Transpo on Sept. 2.
“People are suddenly finding out that the route does not go to the Rideau Centre anymore. It doesn’t go to Bayshore at the other end of the route anymore, either,” she said of the changes to Route 11.
Transit users have taken to social media to criticize this change as well as those on routes across the city, in some cases citing accessibility concerns.
“The route is full of mobility impaired and elderly people,” wrote Twitter user Gordon Bonnar. “Are they supposed to walk the remainder (to the Rideau Centre)?”
According to the City of Ottawa’s website, Route 11 was compressed downtown to connect to the future Parliament LRT station and end at Confederation Square on Elgin Street to “improve reliability.” In the west end, its route now ends at Lincoln Fields rather than Bayshore Station, adding a new connection between Richmond Road and the Transitway.
Bay Ward Coun. Mark Taylor said he’s heard from 15 to 20 residents about the transit service adjustments. Most, he said, are those “who don’t understand the change and think they won’t be able to make a certain trip anymore,” a concern often rectified by connecting them with OC Transpo or a travel planning tool to figure out where a transfer can happen, he noted.
“I think for the majority of people it’s just an adjustment, but there will be — I would argue — a small percentage of people for whom introducing a transfer, it can be a barrier, and those are the folks that we work with OC Transpo to see if we can better serve them.”
In Taylor’s experience, individuals in the latter category are often older transit riders who find every transfer becomes “more and more difficult,” he said. Many qualify for Para Transpo, and will use it more heavily when a transfer is added to their regular bus route, according to the councillor.
“We want travel to be easy, but obviously we also have to run the bus routes where we’re serving the most people most of the time. The trick is to do it in a way that doesn’t disadvantage other people.”
All concerns are passed on to OC Transpo, Taylor said. He recently met with staff who committed to monitoring the Route 11 changes.
Across town, municipal election candidate for Orléans Mireille Brownhill said she’s shared her own feedback with OC Transpo about its changes to Route 131 in the east end.
As a transit rider after foot surgery, she depended on the old Route 131 to take her from her home in the north of Orléans to the south. Now that the northern section has been cut from the route, she and many others won’t be able to take this bus to the stores on Innes Road without a transfer.
“So there’s quite a few people that are upset about the changes and I’ve been telling everyone to let OC Transpo know,” Brownhill said.
There are others, however, that have applauded the new fall service on their bus route. Waiting for the Route 11 bus at Lincoln Fields, Kristina Beaton said its new connection to Richmond Road will make her twice-daily commute faster. “I was taking like six buses,” she said, and whittling that number down is an improvement.