Councillors, advocates want emergency meeting

A group of councillors and critics of Ottawa's problem-plagued transit system will rally at city hall Wednesday to demand an emergency meeting of the transit commission.

The commission hasn't met since June 6 and isn't scheduled to meet again until Sept. 20. In between, the O-Train was out of service for five days because of a derailment traced to a cracked axle bearing; 10 trains were pulled out of service for repairs; and a bus crash prompted steering inspections of its double-decker fleet.

“What we've seen is an ongoing pattern of dysfunction on that train,” Gloucester-Southgate Coun. Diane Deans said. “Trains didn't work in the winter. Trains didn't work in the summer. Trains had cracked wheels. Trains had broken axles. It has gone on and on and on.

“Three and a half months between meetings when you have a system in crisis is not providing the public oversight we need to provide.”

Deans helped organize Wednesday's rally along with Coun. Catherine McKenney. It's also backed by Coun. Sean Menard, citizen transit commissioner Sarah Wright-Gilbert and the advocacy groups Ottawa Transit Riders, Free Transit Ottawa and Horizon Ottawa.

“I don't think it's too much to ask for a public meeting when you're spending public dollars on the biggest project in the city's history,” Deans said, “that the questions be asked and answered in an open and transparent forum. That's all we're asking.”

Since the broken axle derailment on Aug. 8, the city's general manager of transit, John Manconi, has been sending nearly daily updates to members of council and the commission about the inspections and repairs. Late Monday, Manconi sent a five-page memo answering questions about the maintenance work that was done, who would pay for it and other issues such as the role hot weather played in the problems, a computer code issue that delayed one train and a fire caused by an article of clothing on the O -Train's overhead power lines.