New Bus Routes Released Into News Black Hole (1)
It’s always a bad sign when a press release that could be published anytime instead is revealed to the public on late Friday afternoon or evening.
OC Transpo is changing its routes to adapt to much lower ridership than prior to the pandemic. The new or dropped routes are likely to anger some riders. So Transpo publishes the release going into the weekend when fewer people are likely to notice.
This and the following three posts outline the OC Transpo route changes.
This is a release from the City of Ottawa:
Good afternoon Councillors,
As mentioned at Transit Commission on March 18, OC Transpo will launch a new bus network in 2024. This network will be focused on frequency, local service in your neighborhoods, and connection to O-Train Lines 1, 2 and 4 and key destinations.
The New Ways to Bus network is based on the results of OC Transpo’s 2023 Bus Route Review process. Customer feedback and consultation were at the forefront of this process and were used to create a network that meets the evolving needs of Ottawa’s diverse communities. With the design of the new bus network now complete, we have transitioned our efforts to the implementation of the new network later this year.
Today, we are continuing with our communications roll out and our New Ways to Bus webpage is now live. On the webpage, customers will be able to find the new system map and more information about local route changes. This webpage will continue to be updated with additional information to support our customers throughout these changes.
Thank you,
New Ways to Bus Team
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Ken, living in Kanata, I was aware of numerous planned changes to OC Transpo routes in late January through our Councillor, I believe. Was this not the case elsewhere? Or are these additional changes?
I don’t think the timeline for when these changes will take effect was given, though.
My route 252 has been eliminated, so now I have to walk an additional 5 minutes to catch the 256. For myself the extra 5 minutes is not an issue, but will I be able to board the 256 coming out of Kanata south? The 256 has will be re-routed to be longer but only in Kanata and will have more people on it, so by the time it arrives at Moodie/Seyton, will there be space?
According to OCTranspo route 57 will be one of the routes that will run every 15 minutes during the weekday. Not likely under current conditions. So, they remove a lot of bus routes and shift those drivers to the remaining routes like the 57. Unless OCTranspo overcomes the driver shortage, instead of a bus every 15 minutes it will still be 30-45 minutes and now they’re even more crowded, because people have been funneled to fewer routes.
What are the odds this is implemented in time for summer, when less people are taking transit because of holidays.
MM, I appreciate your feedback. Have you relayed it to OC Transpo? Several months ago I participated in an on-line public forum with OC Transpo where they solicited public input on bus routes, and the group hosts seemed very well informed and receptive to suggestions. I’m sure both the public and OC Transpo staff are anxious to have a decent system, despite all the setbacks. I’m sure OC Transpo are expecting to have to make a few tweaks to the new schedule to fix the unexpected new problems, and complaints and suggestions from users will help with that. Good luck!
Hi Theresa,
I’ve been taking OCTranspo since 2003 from Bells Corners and my experience has been, regardless of what staff say, they generally do not listen to what the public wants. I have voice these concerns to my councilor, who I’m assuming will bring these up through channels.
I’ve noticed over the yrs, the BC express route started with a reduction in service, followed by route splitting, and now complete removal of service. The 57 has also seen a reduction in service and having to rely on that one just increases your commute time.
I agree, there will be tweaks to the routes after implementation, however, those who yell the loudest will be heard, and unfortunately BC does not have enough residences to make our voices heard, and our councilor is a rookie who is not part of the Watson 2.0 club (for which I’m grateful), however, I have no doubt she will bring up BC concerns about bussing.
I’m keeping my fingers crossed, but that new car is sure looking better all the time.