Here’s what you need to know before you set off to ride the rails
With the official opening of the Confederation Line, Ottawa’s rush hour will be forever changed starting Monday.
Here is what commuters should know at a glance, before embarking on their commute Monday morning.
The Confederation Line — between Tunney’s Pasture and Blair stations — is open.
Monday, the trains will run from 5 a.m. to 1 a.m.
Trains are scheduled to come every five minutes or less during the rush hours. Rush hour is between 7 a.m. and 9 a.m., so expect standing room only when taking the LRT between those times.
The bus schedule will not switch until Oct. 6, meaning commuters who would like to take their usual buses — including the routes 95 and 94 — can still do so on Monday. The bus schedule can be found on the OC Transpo website.
Bus stop signs may already show the Oct. 6 service change destinations.
There are new bus and train platforms at Blair Station, which opened Saturday. Full afternoon service returns to Blair Station on Monday with eastbound afternoon service restored on routes 22, 30, 33, 34, 38, 221, 231, 232, 233, 234, 235, 236 and 237.
If leaving your car at the Blair Station Park and Ride on Monday morning, try to arrive a little early. The walk from the parking lot, to the LRT entranceway takes four to five minutes.
Each station has ticket machines where you can pay for a ride. The adult fare for one ride on the LRT is $3.50 if you’re buying a ticket, or $3.45 if you’re using the e-purse function on a Presto card.
If you plan to use OC Transpo on regularly, or even infrequently, the most convenient option is loading a Presto card with funds or monthly passes through the Presto website or at a Transpo client centre. If you want to pay for a single ride at a station, there will be ticket machines that accept cash, debit and credit card transactions. You can buy Presto cards at the machines and load them with funds. Fare gates read STO Multi card passes and valid transfers, but not Multi card e-wallet payments.
Several customers commented that the signs can be confusing at the LRT stations, so give yourself a little extra time Monday morning if it’s your first time using the Confederation Line.
And if you’re really lost, OC Transpo staff will be wearing red vests to help customers navigate the system.
There were no major delays in the first weekend. Delays can be found either on Twitter or at the OC Transpo website.
The opening weekend was not without its small hiccups: At least one escalator was down for the count around 3 p.m. at Rideau Station on the westbound platform. On Sunday, the video chat feature at train station fare machines was reportedly down. Passengers were asked to speak with employees directly.
Cyclists can bring bikes on the train. Coun. Jeff Leiper was commuting with his bike on Sunday and said the elevators on the platform make travel with a bike easy.
All 13 stations have elevators and nine of the stations have escalators. Expect a long journey down to the platform at Rideau Station on Monday morning. Transporting people between the street level and the Rideau Station platform has required the installation of the longest escalator on a Canadian transit system. The escalator is 35.3 metres long.
One user commented that the walk out of the station took longer than the actual train ride.
Pets are allowed if they’re in a carrier and don’t take a seat or block aisles. Service pets are exempt.
There won’t be Wi-Fi on trains, but there is free Wi-Fi on the platforms of the three tunnel stations. The Confederation Line will have full cellular service — including in the downtown tunnel — thanks to a partnership with Telus. However, at least one customer had problems with service while riding the train, but added it may have been an issue with his provider.
There are free public washrooms at Tunney’s Pasture, Bayview, Hurdman and Blair stations.
There is NO free car parking at transit stations.
Transit users described the train as smooth, quiet and “very fast.”