ANGRY ABOUT LRT? GET IN LINE

More delays infuriate mayor

The city’s ability to suddenly find millions of dollars for transit and the dependability of the Confederation Line LRT still weighed on the minds of two decision-makers Friday after the mayor announced a big cash boost for bus operations.

Mayor Jim Watson and Coun. Allan Hubley, the chair of the transit commission, said Friday that the city will use $3.5 million from the transit reserve to put 40 buses back in service. The buses, which had been removed from the road after the LRT launch, will be sent to routes experiencing chronic problems.

Coun. Shawn Menard welcomed the extra money, but he said there are still questions about accountability when it comes to LRT and the bus service.

“We need the investment, certainly,” Menard said, but he added, “we should have had this right from the get-go, though.”

Menard said there are capacity challenges all over the city, noting the bus routes in his Capital ward are particularly “underserviced.”

At the same time, Menard was surprised to see the city able to find $3.5 million so quickly and make a decision on how to use it.

“Council is supreme in terms of getting the budget out and making sure we’ve got the investment coming,” he said.

“We just don’t have an announcement from the mayor and the transit commission chair about this. We need to make sure council is involved, their input is taken, and then the investment happens after that.”

Citizen transit commissioner Sarah Wright-Gilbert agreed the announcement was “a good first step to alleviating some of riders’ frustrations,” but there are still lingering questions about LRT operations.

“We still have a light rail system that is not 100 per cent reliable, and is experiencing delays on almost a daily basis,” Wright- Gilbert said.

“Until OC Transpo can find the root cause of the issues with the LRT, and address the problems, then customers will be wary of trusting that the train will bring them to their destination on time and without delay.” jwilling@postmedia.com twitter.com/JonathanWilling