Hypocrisy Thy Name Is OC Transpo

The City of Ottawa in press releases for OC Transpo continually uses phrases such as “abundance of caution” and “safety is our first priority”.

And yet look at the first jury recommendation of the special coroner’s inquest into the 2019 Westboro bus crash:

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1. The City shall ensure that all decisions regarding public transit consider safety as the prime concern by adopting the following measures:
a. All decisions regarding fleets, infrastructure and passengers should be viewed through a safety lens, with consideration of a safe systems approach at planning, implementation and maintenance stages.
b. All safety decisions should be actioned in a timely, coordinated manner. To this end, automated alarms or a “bring forward system” should be implemented for all safety decisions.
c. A responsible person should be designated for the tracking of any safety initiatives or responses, and these initiatives and responses should be reported on a regular basis to a high level of authority, with clear accountability assigned.
d. Key Performance Indicators for safety should be reviewed at the highest level of Ottawa transit decision making on a regular basis, with a focus on continuous improvement.

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And what of the release of the O-Train and the subsequent dangerous derailments that occurred?

What is safety like at OC Transpo now. Is there an abundance of caution or is safety the first priority?

Just because Transpo talks a good game doesn’t mean it plays a good game.

As well, if there is a safety problem right now, what does the city’s lawyer’s letter in response to the coroner’s inquest on the crash mean by OC Transpo taking the “necessary time” to weigh the recommendations of the inquest jury?

Isn’t the necessary time as soon as possible. After all, safety in the first priority of OC Transpo and the operation always shows an abundance of caution.

Furthermore, if a special coroner’s inquest can’t get the city and OC Transpo moving, what does it take? Criminal charges?

Crash Inquiry: Why Not Prompt And Complete?

And given the recommendations of the inquest, should potential OC Transpo passengers show an abundance of caution before they step on a train or bus?

The public should not be sure that safety is the first priority of OC Transpo. The facts speak otherwise.

One of the reasons a person takes transit is to help in the fight against the life and health concerns prompted by increasing climate change. However, passengers need to weigh those concerns with the life and health issues posed by riding with OC Transpo.

Someone rushing to put up reflective safety tape on an OC Transpo station during a coroner’s inquest six years after the Westboro tragedy tells you everything you need to know.

Pathetic.

Ken Gray

For You:

City Must Think Big, Not Small: BENN

The Westboro Bus Crash Inquest Recommendations

Show Some Humanity Over Bus Crash: THE VOTER

City Commits To ‘Take Time’ On Inquest Requests

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