OCTranspo Community

Transit committee head OK with pets on buses

Sun, 20 Jul 2008 16:33:02 GMT

"The chair of the city's transit committee says riders should be allowed to take small pets on the city's transit system as long as they are in cages.

"If it's in a cage, and it's not taking up any space, why not?" Bay Councillor Alex Cullen said yesterday. "I think we should give this a try."

Mr. Cullen's committee will be dealing with the issue in August. This week, members of the city's citizens' advisory group on transit endorsed a request by Responsible Dog Owners of Canada for a six-month pilot project.

The organization says its time for Ottawa to adopt a policy similar to those in almost every other major city in Canada: they want pets in crates or cages small enough to sit on people's laps or fit under seats to be allowed on regular buses in off-peak hours and in Para Transpo vehicles at all times.

Candice O'Connell, chairwoman of the organization, said many people will benefit from this change in rules, particularly seniors, low-income earners, and people with disabilities that can be mitigated by the presence of service animals, such as those suffering from depression and anxiety. The animals give these people comfort and security and allow them to lead more active lives, Ms. O'Connell said.

Ms. O'Connell said for many people, public transit is the only viable transportation option for everyday things like shopping, visits, recreation and trips to veterinarians.

"This isn't too much to ask when you consider the good it will bring to people's lives," she said.

Currently, OC Transpo only allows certified service animals, like guide dogs for the blind, on its vehicles.

Vincent Patterson, manager of performance at the public transit company, said if councillors on the municipal transit committee instruct the company to run a pilot program, officials will look at possible impacts, how the move will affect other customers, and the benefits provided to people who want to travel with their pets. He said the company doesn't have a position on the issue one way or the other.

"Our job is to address the needs and comfort of all our customers," he said. "So we would look at the affects on the pet owners and see what it will mean for others and try to make a balance."

Two issues that have been raised in other cities where such policies have been adopted are the negative effects pets could have on people with allergies, and the possibility of pets transferring diseases to humans.

Ms. O'Connell said she respects people who have these concerns, but that studies and experiences in other cities show there is little to worry about.

"I think we've answered every question there could be," she said. "Doing this really hasn't caused problems anywhere else, and the benefits are clear. So I think we will be successful."

Jake Rupert, The Ottawa Citizen
Published: Saturday, July 19, 2008

http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/city/story.html?id=ec0864c2-df26-4c70-a054-255dd1cfd89d"

Didn't we already go through this before, and there were a lot more then 2 issues?

Do they think it will work this time because they want rules that will not be enforced?

With the vast majority of people vehemently apposed to it?

It sickens me to see the transit committee wasting it's time on garbage like this that will benefit a very small minority of people, when they don't have they time to find solutions to major transit issues that will benefit tens of thousands of people. Please, if you're agianst this, let these people know (again)!

Sat, 19 Jul 2008 21:15:09 GMT

i think this sums up SUV strollers that are blocking lanes on buses quite nicely. directly from the by-law right on the OC website

ENFORCEMENT

REFUSAL OF SERVICE

32. (1) In this Section, “objectionable conduct” includes but is not limited to the conduct described in Section 19.

(2) A proper authority may refuse passage[a proper authority has been outlined as the driver] on the transit system to:

(a) a person in possession of explosives, a firearm, a dangerous weapon, flammable material or any other dangerous thing or material;

(b) a person in a state of intoxication, under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol, or otherwise in an unfit or improper condition, who acts in a manner detrimental to the public;

(c) a person whose conduct is or is likely to be objectionable to other passengers or the operator of the transit vehicle; or

(d) a person carrying hand luggage, a parcel or any object or thing that does inconvenience or is likely to inconvenience other passengers.

(3) This refusal of passage may be for a single trip, or for a longer period as defined by the City.

(4) No person shall remain in or upon any transit property after having been refused service by a proper authority.

and from earlier in the by-law....

PRIORITY SEATING

ENTITLEMENT

18. (1) A person with a disability, an expectant mother, a person with a visible need for priority seating, a person with a child in a carriage or stroller, a person with a Priority Seating Card or a person with an Assistant Card is entitled to priority seating on a front bench seat but is not guaranteed a seat.

(2) No person, who is not described in subsection (1), shall fail to surrender a front bench seat to a person entitled to priority seating.

ummm....who else sees the issue with THAT statement? however it clearly states that if you have a priority card you get the seat over the stroller in the subsection; enforced by the driver and the disabled, elderly have priority over the strollers.

now why i am posting this is due to a very entitled father with his double stroller on the 2 thursday that proceeded to block the entire aisle for a good 20 minutes, disallowing seniors from seating so his able bodied friends/family could relax on the bus and be together right at the front rather than moving to the back where there was plenty of seating as the bus emptied. i said something but he ignored me and said that "i'm being stared at like i am a pirahha haha" he was. it was bad enough that the route was down a bus because one was stuck on somerset in the middle of the road so people were cramming onto this one no one needed this guy blocking the aisle like he was and the driver doing nothing about it. he only refused the next stroller service that tried to get on at preston but allowed the senior with the walker on to sit on it at the fare box; further blocking the asile and endangering himself.

there was no danger to the driver to refuse service to this stroller family or tell them to get off once he saw that they were being incumbrant/unsafe to the rest of the bus. i know that you drivers do not receive the support you need from your supervisors but this could've been handled by the driver easily.

travel planner now on google maps....oooohhhhh....ahhhh...

Sat, 19 Jul 2008 20:50:57 GMT

So does anybody know when this happened?
I just found it today.
it is easier to use then the last travel planner, lets all hope that STO adds its routes, then We can finally have one integrated travel planner for the city.

http://www.google.com/maps?ie=UTF8&dirflg=r&hl=en&saddr=Carling+and+Merivale,+Ottawa,+ON&daddr=Parliament+Hill,+Ottawa,+ON&f=d&time=&date=&ttype=dep&sll=45.324877,-75.64608&sspn=0.389545,0.655119&t=h&z=14

hmm

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 02:24:42 GMT

Seeing weird things in my neighborhood that doesn't normally happen, well at least not that often.
Tonight at Quarter after Ten pm , on Castlefrank Road, the 96 Stitsville bus, was pulled over. Passengers outside, bus driver at the front of the bus, a police car and two officers at one side, and as I drove by, another police car drove up to the bus.
Anyone have any idea what happened? I heard , that someone throws stuff at buses going by that area (ie: rocks etc ) and breaks windows. I'm just curious what happened tonight.

curious?

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 01:51:09 GMT

drivers, since its ~~summer~~ detour season, what IS the policy when your route is on extended detour? are you supposed to stop at the stops for the regular buses that your detoured bus passes or not or only when pax request it?

today i took the 3 home rather than going the long roundabout way to get the 85 since they are both going to my stop. i KNOW that the street i live on [gloucester] is not on the GPS system worldwide unless OC has manually put it into your GPS system. [it doesn't show up on any software dated 2006 earlier why don't ask me.] i've done this quite regularly and in fact i did it earlier today as well. the driver flew right past the first stop on bronson and nearly refused to stop at the next; stating that his GPS said that his next stop wasn't until *mumble mumble mumble* but i think he said nepean st- he certainly didn't say somerset; but nepean there is NO stop at- there is one at gloucester, the bronson centre and then somerset at which he turns.

from what i've experienced; on extended detour drivers are to stop at all stops along the way. right or wrong?

I'm confused...

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 20:58:05 GMT

Does the 87 South Keys still go to Rideau? (Mack Bridge)

I used to take it home all the time, but now it's not listed on the bus times screen thingie (the technical term!) so I look it up on the paper one thingie (SO TECHNICAL!) and it says it will come at such and such time (try to keep up with my technical lingo) but it doesn't seem to show up? I'll wait there for a good ten or fifteen minutes and it never shows up, so I just end up taking the 97 and then a local route, then walk home, so I never know if it actually ends up showing up... Does anyone know? I find it odd if it suddenly doesn't go there anymore, but I can't think of why, at different times of the day/night, it doesn't show up.

Ideas?

Mon, 14 Jul 2008 15:44:49 GMT

So , Being out of school I haven't used the bus in 2 months. I still know the main bus routes around my neighborhood, And the bus stop schedual times etc.
I live in the Kanata area 10 minutes away from Hazledean Mall. My street is not a bus route street. Pickford, the one beside my street, the 161 goes by every 37 minutes.

So, on my way up to the Tim Hortons place , the first week this happened " bus number 161 came by. With passengers on it looking confused. I gave the driver a confused " what the heck are you doing on my street " look. The bus driver missed 3 stops.

Seocnd week I hear from my brother " Heather the 161 went by again " i thought okay, 3 more stops being missed.

Third week, same thing.

My mum was worried she was going to get a lot of calls from the city (she works for the councilor ) from the people on our street. I mean , if theirs a new bus route going in that stops right in front of my house to the mall? I'd be happy and use it more. But other then that. Just interesting to see the 161 down my street. I just feel sorry for the people who missed the 3 stops.

Made my blood run cold...

Sun, 13 Jul 2008 09:25:45 GMT

Just when you think you've seen it all.. well you ain't.

I'm doing my 97, first trip towards the airport. As I'm pulling away from Billings this little girl comes running up to the front of my bus crying and says "Mr. busdriver.. my Mama went off the bus!" and at first I didn't even comprehend what she had said.. slowly it sinks in, hard. Her "Mother" had gotten off of the bus and left her behind! I was just stunned. I pull over to the shoulder and throw on the 4-ways, I take the little girl by the hand and start walking her back to the platform, expecting to see "Mom" doing stride-jumps and freaking, but no. When I get to the station the "Mother" is halfway down the stairs, totally oblivious. I say to her "Did you forget something?!" and she just gives me this blank stupid stare. I'm not a violent person by any means but the back-hander was just a twitching, I can't believe that I didn't give her a smack. My stomach was literally queasy for about an hour after. Some friggin' people.

» plooker
--------------~<'(((.<.

Fall Schedules

Sat, 12 Jul 2008 02:36:22 GMT

From the Transit forum - I've learn that the Fall schedules are posted now. Not accessible from the Main page just yet, this might be within the next couple of weeks or so.

To find the schedule of another route just modify to the number beside route=
http://www.octranspo.com/Timetables_DB/Future_TT/main.asp?route=106&wday=wke&dir=1&lang=eng

Did anyone witness this?

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 18:57:47 GMT

Workers break up bus brawl

http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/story.html?id=da3d41be-5719-4d77-bb85-35d4b4d2aaaf

Rising diesel costs force STO to mid-year fare hike

Sat, 05 Jul 2008 21:34:46 GMT

Saturday, July 05, 2008

Faced with rising fuel costs, Gatineau's transit authority took the unprecedented step of raising fares mid-year, pushing the price of bus tickets, passes and cash fare up by four per cent as of Sept. 1.

In Ottawa, fares went up 7.5 per cent on July 1st, with planned increases of 6.5 per cent a year from now.

On both sides of the river, diesel fuel prices have had a definite impact on the budgets. The Société de transport de l'Outaouais (STO) was expecting an overrun of $2.6 million of its fuel budget of $6 million. Last fall, as transit officials prepared the 2008 budget, they pegged the cost of a litre of diesel at 97 cents. The STO now pays $1.36 per litre, a price that is locked-in with its supplier until October.

"We're a business that runs on diesel fuel," said Louise Poirier, a Gatineau councillor who chairs the STO's board. The STO uses seven million litres of diesel each year.

To make up for the shortfall, the STO "tightened its belt" and dipped into a $375,000 fuel reserve. But that wasn't enough, said Ms. Poirier, who steps down next month due to her appointment to the CRTC.

"Cutting services or the quality of service was out of the question," she said. "Buses must stay on the road, we have to meet the public's needs."

Adult bus passes will increase by $3, while students will have to pay $2 more to buy their monthly pass. Regular adult tickets will go from $2.60 to $2.70, while students and seniors will pay $2, a 10-cent increase. Cash fares for a regular trip will rise to $3.15, up 15 cents. Gatineau riders saw a fare increase of 2.4 per cent on Jan. 1, as part of the regular budget process.

Ms. Poirier said the STO has since solicited the help of the City of Gatineau and the province of Quebec to weather the fuel crisis. "We're requesting financial intervention so that the efforts are not only from riders."

The 2008 transit budget had planned for a 2.3-per-cent increase in ridership, but rising fuel costs for motorists (30 per cent since January) pushed ridership up by 5.3 per cent for the first five months of the year. In Ottawa, ridership was up by 4.7 per cent in May.

I wonder what improvements and enhancements they're going to get with their fare hike....

More than a 6.5% fare hike next year?

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 00:10:23 GMT

http://www.ottawasun.com/News/OttawaAndRegion/2008/07/02/6046146.html
This is going to jump a lot of people in this city
Now that we are absorbing a massive 7% fare hike, there is another massive hike planned next year of 6.5%. An article from the Ottawa Sun is reporting that the fare hike might be significantly higher then originally planned. This to meet a nonsensical objective called 50-50 where 50 percent of the transit revenues come from taxes and 50 percent from fares. Something that Alex Cullen is so willing to see happen (that's strange that comment is coming from a former NDP candidate).

Currently, I think it is 53% (taxes) -47% (fares) or something like that, so I think riders are paying enough of their share. The higher levels of government should do more in funding transit companies thus to reduce the financial load on the city and the transit riders.

With possibly a hike much higher then planned, just because of budget issues and the lack of creativity from this Council to find solutions (as it proved with last year), low-income families depending on transit might again be very hard hit and obviously the downtown will get clogged with suburban vehicules. So I guess that for the city in order to reduce the overcrowding buses is to skyrocket the prices and I guess they really wan to be compete for the country's highest transit fares.

Well, they better provide the necessary improvements in order to justify such hikes. Right now, changes planned for this fall is nowhere near enough to justify the 7% fare increase in part because the most important change has not been approved. Hopefully, somebody in this city will have the idea to launch an on-line petition to pressure council to scale back on those increases unless they make more improvements and even then the fare hike of that magnitude will still not be justified.

One thing the city should do is to stop funding for road expansion projects for gas guzzlers in the suburbs and use that money to prevent massive fare hikes. Hopefully, the Council will at least try to make an effort to prevent a larger increase (and not cutting service as well) but most of the suburban councillors particularly don't seem to give a damn about it. Obviously, at this rate OC fares will no longer going to be competitive versus the STO fares, especially on bus passes. STO passes are becoming more of a bargain versus OC passes.

A love letter to drivers.

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 03:59:33 GMT

You rock.

Good job, sleep well.

Billings Bridge??

Sun, 29 Jun 2008 09:01:07 GMT

Hey, I was wondering if anyone knew what happened at Billings last night at like 10?
There were like 4 police cars...Security and an Ambulance on the transit way.

I had walked all the way from Parliament to Billings (Because I was bored. Exciting life I live hm? haha)
While I was crossing the bridge leading towards riverside I saw police cars fly by...

I got to Billings and saw those police cars once again...So...Any ideas?

I saw some guy getting arrested...Kinda exciting...I've never seen someone arrested in person before (Once again...exciting life huh? lmao)

just plain ignorant

Sat, 28 Jun 2008 04:14:40 GMT

What the frack was up with people tonight? Everyone boarding and I mean just about everyone must of thought it was "give the operator the stink eye night." I said "hi" or "thanks" and got silence and the fucking stink-eye in return. And people wonder why some of us don't even look at them when they board.

Fine, after 6 hours of this shit, the ol hat brim got tucked down really low over my eyes and off I went to my happy place for the rest of the shit, er shift.

I worked the 2 for four months and didn't have such a shitty night between the rude steaming social animals that were boarding, the shitty car drivers and other operators that couldn't make a decision and were doing their best scared jackrabbit imitation with their buses; "Do I go? Do I not go? Do I go? Do I go? Do I not go?."

A cold one never ever ever tasted so good.

OCtranspo toots it's own horn/pats itself on the back

Fri, 27 Jun 2008 12:53:58 GMT

http://www.ottawasun.com/News/OttawaAndRegion/2008/06/27/6000146-sun.html

Hey, I think today, I'm going to present my boss with what I think should be my yearly employee performance evaluation. I'm gonna take what she wrote, and make everything look way better than it is.

Then I'm gonna go take a giant shit on her desk, and tell her, "Hey it's ok, it's actually not as bad as you think it is.

Gimme Gimme Good Stories and Bad

Mon, 23 Jun 2008 19:59:38 GMT

Please post some of your best OC Transpo stories, good or bad. I am trying to put something together using bus driver and passenger stories. C'mon we all have our favorite OC stories. The grosser the better. Funny, rude, doesn't matter. It's all good.
Little old lady leaning on her cane in the pick-up seat on the 111 route. She is the only white person on the bus,( love that 111). She rings the bell, stands up beside me and whispers, " You know driver, I feel like I'm in fooking Africa". and then proceeds to waddle away on her cane. I couldn't believe what I had heard. This was one rock'n granny. Every time I relay that story I always get a laugh.

Ottawa councillor wants Transit cuts to be made

Mon, 23 Jun 2008 17:22:25 GMT

This is what I've found at the city's website regarding the next City Council's agenda on the meeting on this Wednesday

http://www.ottawa.ca/calendar/ottawa/citycouncil/occ/2008/06-25/englishdraftagenda39.htm

Councillor Wilkinson has a motion in the upcoming meeting that would direct staff to find ways to cut fuel usage by 25%. I have no problem with most of the ways to cut fuel usage such as for police, fire, vehicle idling and general operations. In fact, I am in favor the usage of railway links (based on the Mayor's Task force Report) as you may know in my support for light-rail extension.

However, I have opposition as far as the measures for transit operations such as points A and B. We can't afford to delay improvements to the system and such stupid moves such as the delay of changing Routes 2 and 3 will only drive the satisfaction rate towards OC even further down. People want improvements and are tried of the persistent problems on some routes. Point B is just as stupid as you need to have high-frequency on the major routes and even by increasing the loads, it will increase the possibilities of crushload buses even outside rush hour. As for Point C, the reason why some routes have low ridership is likely because of lousy frequencies especially during weekends. If routes need to be cancelled, then the closer route needs to have an improved frequency to handle the extra load from the cancelled routes. The city is tabling the ridership on each route anyways and does the changes if necessary so basically Point C is unnecessary. Point D, well I guess that's because lots of students don't like to use the 600-series routes and uses the regular routes. I guess Point E is probably meaning older buses to be removed - which is currently done, thus this point is unnecessary since the fleet is renewed gradually replacing the older ones. Considering the bus shortage last winter, I would rely on every single buses that still moves. If it means removing the least efficient route then this point is redundant to Point C. As for Point F, looks a great idea for sure but as long as it does not deteriorate the quality of the service particularly in the local areas.

Nevertheless, I think they should leave the transit service alone unless it would improve the service. Don't do another massive cutting spree like in 2004. It will create more problems for the city on other areas.

Just A Few Things...

Fri, 20 Jun 2008 02:08:20 GMT

...If you are wearing jogging pants and a t shirt and slowly jogging along the sidewalk downtown around 7 p.m. and NOT flagging me down as i'm leaving a stop, i'm assuming you are a jogger, not someone that wants my bus jackass! Huffing a puffing while waving your hands in the air after i've already left and you still haven't made it to the stop ain't getting you a ride, sorry but at least make me know you want my bus please!

Now this one really pissed me off. I see you boarding with what looked like tickets in your hand, so since the transfer printer is slow as shit, I print out a transfer for you. When you indicate to me that you have a daypass ticket instead and I tell you that the paper sticking out is a transfer and hold on as i print out the daypass instead for you, it doesn't mean that you pull the transfer out and toss it on the ground right in front of me before grabbing said daypass. I guess you realized as much when I told you to pick up the transfer and put it in the garbage you ignorant shit!

And for you dipshit that wanted off at the O-Train stop and was yelling that you wanted off as I drove just past where the regular stop was, towards the temporary stop where all the passengers were waiting for my bus, buy a fucking clue moron!!!!! Jesus, you were atthe front frigging doors, did you not see the people waiting to board at the temporary stop, the temporary stop itself, or that there was no flag at the regular stop idiot???

Now dude, you were polite and friendly and all, BUT when asking where something is, at least know a street close to the location please! Asking me if I know where the Middle East is will NOT get you anywhere, i thought you were fucking with me to be honest! You remind me of the girl that asked me if I go to the intersection of Pizza Pizza and The Scotia Bank!

OK, rant over for now,but feel free to add more stupid things people do that you've witnessed by all means!

In which the politicians manage to protect their turf.....

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 12:37:56 GMT

Proposal to create OC Transpo commission doesn't fly
Firm said distinct body would improve service; councillors don't buy it

Patrick Dare
The Ottawa Citizen

Thursday, June 19, 2008

A proposal to have OC Transpo run by an independent transit commission, rather than a committee of city council, was shot down by city councillors yesterday.

At a joint meeting of the transit and economic affairs committees, councillors were told that changing the way public transit is managed will help improve performance.

Oliver Wyman, a consulting firm hired by the city for $120,000 to do an initial study of the issue, found that while transit ridership is high in Ottawa, surveys indicated riders' satisfaction fell 17 percentage points between 2004 and 2007. In 2004, 62 per cent of riders were satisfied with service; by 2007, only 45 per cent were, according to a Decima survey.

Ottawa's customer-satisfaction rate was roughly half of what the transit systems in Calgary, Edmonton and Montreal enjoy.

City transit staff, however, said there has been a recent upswing in customer satisfaction, with 63 per cent of respondents rating OC Transpo service as good or very good.

Wendy Turpin, of Oliver Wyman, said interviews with staff at other transit companies suggest Ottawa would be able to "run transit more like a business" if bus and train services were run by a separate commission. She said having the operation managed by a separate commission would also help in recruiting people with expertise in transit to help manage the service.

She said a transit commission would be more clearly accountable than the current service, in which various aspects of the operation, such as fleet and accounting services, have been provided from elsewhere in the city corporation.

"There is greater accountability and transparency," she said.

A transit commission is not a new idea. Ottawa had one in the 1990s, when OC Transpo was run by the regional government.

In 1999, Transpo was integrated into the regional government administration in an attempt to cut costs and make the organization more efficient.

There have been problems, and recently fleet-management and equipment-supply services were transferred back to Transpo's management.

But the idea of reintroducing a separate transit commission, and the consultants who delivered it, got a frosty reception from city councillors yesterday.

Innes Councillor Rainer Bloess said the existing transit committee is far more responsive than the former OC Transpo Transit Commission used to be.

"The push seems to be to go back to a commission. I don't see the logic of it," Mr. Bloess said.

Kanata North Councillor Marianne Wilkinson called the report "very superficial."

"I don't think it's going to solve anything," said Baseline Councillor Rick Chiarelli in an interview before the meeting.

Mr. Chiarelli said that when Ottawa had a transit commission, people thought transit would be better run if it were more directly managed by the city.

He said public transit was the top priority in the last municipal election, and the democratic control of OC Transpo was an important part of the creation of the new City of Ottawa.

Bay Councillor Alex Cullen said the city sees some efficiencies by having the city administration run services such as accounting and human resources. He said the key measurement for the transit company is ridership, and on that score Transpo is seeing record performance.

Gloucester-Southgate Councillor Diane Deans said she wished the city had not spent $120,000 on the consultants looking into something city councillors clearly were not keen on.

Mayor Larry O'Brien said one valuable thing from the report is that it made clear how poorly the city was doing in comparison with other cities, regardless of whether systems are run by transit commissions or council committees.

Going with a separate transit commission "would be a step that muddies accountability," said Gloucester-South Nepean Councillor Steve Desroches.

River Councillor Maria McRae suggested the city bureaucracy produce a white paper on transit governance rather than spend more money on consultants, and her proposal was approved in a 7-6 vote. The councillors voted not to spend an additional $150,000 on a more detailed consultant's report on the topic.

Rideau-Vanier Councillor Georges Bédard said independent commissions can be useful for managing public services, especially when they enlist people with expertise who aren't politicians.

But Rideau-Rockcliffe Councillor Jacques Legendre said people should not be looking to the structure of governance as a way to improve the service. He said governance will only improve when people work better together and with greater discipline.
© The Ottawa Citizen 2008

New Mobile Service: octranspo.mobi

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 12:12:37 GMT

From OCInfo.ca:

I noticed they released a new mobile service, octranspo.mobi. [...] With their service, you can get schedules for any route and any stop, and you also have a mobile version of the travel planner. Really handy!

I tried it, and althought it doesn't work perfectly on my phone, it may work better on yours.

Class act....

Sat, 14 Jun 2008 04:23:30 GMT

Hey idiot,

Your three friends with strollers accepted "no" after asking me to drop the four of you plus your four strollers at a location "convenient" to you. You see, you wanted off in the middle of a construction zone (carling ave), nowhere near a clearly designated stop. Designated by temporary fence and caution tape. Pretty obvious what the powers that be want me to do. Your friends were accepting of me following up the "no" with "however, I will put out the ramp to make it easier for all of you." I care not that "all the other drivers have let us off here this week when we've asked". What are you, six years old? You are on my bus and I'm not stupid enough to lose my house and pay for the rest of my life because you idiots wanted to play with your strollers in war zone. Really. I don't want to hear it.

Ahhhhh, but this wasn't enough and you began to make a scene; "I don't know why the fuck he doesn't let us off, we're stopped here anyway (classy, I'm sure your toddler will be imitating you soon enough....telling your child to shut up was classy, too.)" After I made it clear that you were being let off at the designated stop, you became even classier, encouraging your sick child to puke all over the bus because you didn't get your way. When I told you to knock it off and drop the attitude or the next time we saw each other you weren't getting on, I wasn't kidding. You showed a small shred of intelligence by shutting your pie hole.

Thank fuck I'm off this weekend and have lots and lots of beer and rye in the house.

A little humour about OC

Mon, 09 Jun 2008 23:37:34 GMT

Watch this and have a little laugh,especially the comment about the 3 and 4 routes towards the end.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=STAVVyjIk1w

New buses?

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 23:45:31 GMT

I was at Blair this afternoon/late-afternoon during rush hour and I saw a 123 or 128 (?) pull in...but it wasn't a New Flyer. It was like a low-floor "shuttle bus" and they look oddly similar in model to the new ones I spotted in Calgary recently. (They're about 3/4 smaller than the regular buses)

Is this a test like with the double-deckers on the 96 two years ago or are they officially rolling out these new little buses?

(EDIT: I don't go to Blair very often so, if these have been around for a while, my mistake!)

Committee approves changes to two inner-city bus routes

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 23:30:52 GMT

Committee approves changes to two inner-city bus routes

Jake Rupert

The Ottawa Citizen

Wednesday, June 04, 2008

OTTAWA - Councillors on the transit committee approved changes to two inner-city bus routes Wednesday designed to improve service, but deferred changes to two others, including on one voted the worst in the city, after concerns were raised about a proposed downtown turnaround loop.

The changes would have seen the heavily used 2, 3, 85, and 98 routes split in two. Transit staff said the splitting would improve reliability by making the routes shorter and less prone to delays and traffic congestion.

"By separating the operations, it allows service on the half that isn't experiencing delays to function without delay," transit coordinator Pat Scrimgeour said. "We are recommending these (changes) because they will be of benefit to far more people than they will inconvenience and contribute to increasing ridership."

For the last few years, riders have complained that buses on these routes are routinely late, and that often when the buses arrive, the vehicles are too packed to get on. A Citizen study and survey last year determined that one of these routes (the No. 2) is the worst in Ottawa.

Changes to route Nos. 85, and 98 will take place in September because their turn arounds aren't problematic, but splitting Nos. 2 and 3 would have required a loop south of Rideau Street that would have eliminated roughly 12 parking spots. Officials from the Downtown Rideau Business Improvement Association and others objected.

City transit staff said the route changes on Nos. 2 and 3 would benefit more than 34,000 riders each day, and that to defer the changes would delay improvement on the routes to September 2009.

Despite this, by a vote of seven to two elected officials voted to defer these changes until a proper public consultation takes place with stakeholders.

River Councillor Maria McRae said that since the issue will now go to the city's transportation committee in two weeks, she didn't believe a 14-day delay would cause a one-year delay, and that she was sure transit staff could come up with alternative turn around options in short order.

Innes Councillor Rainer Bloess and Rideau-Rockcliffe Councillor Jacques Legendre were the only councillors to vote against deferral.

"You just put off major improvements on major routes experiencing major issues for a year," Mr. Bloess said.
"Major improvements for 30,000 people a day," Mr. Legendre added.

Another issue that developed at the meeting was that this year for the first time, transit planning officials tried get councillors whose wards the route changes affected to sign papers saying they had been fully informed of the proposed changes.

OC Transpo head Alain Mercier said staff decided to do this because in past years, councillors were consulted and didn't object to changes, but then accused staff of not giving them full information after the public got angry with the changes.

Mr. Mercier said the signing of paper was supposed to guarantee councillors "acknowledge" they'd received full information on the changes.

But River Councillor Maria McRae said several councillors felt insulted by the move.
"Many of my colleagues felt degraded by this process, and I felt pressured to sign it," she said. "I don't think it's appropriate."

Ms. McRae said she will be bringing a motion at the next meeting ordering staff to discontinue the process.

Wow, we delay changes that would improve transit service for thousands of people because we'll lose 12 whole parking spots (out of thousands of parking spots in the downtown). This council talks about their commitment to transit, walking, and cycling, but so many of them put cars ahead of everything (despite how much infrastructure there already is for cars, despite the environmental concerns, and despite the fact that you can't build your way out of congestion). Many of them can't imagine a world where people don't own a car. A recent quote by Jan Harder, showing how many councillors don't even want to try to improve the situation and design places better, even though staff saw no issue in creating maximum parking limits (as if malls and big box centres didn't have enough parking already).

"We're not taking (groceries) home on the bus. We need our cars. It's specific to the way we live," said Barrhaven Coun. Jan Harder.
Harder was speaking to a motion at council yesterday that would have seen the number of allowable parking spots at shopping malls located near transit stations reduced.
"We don't have the luxury of time. We're involved in a lot of different things. We are car-dependent, and that's our right. I thank those people who take the bus every day of the week," Harder said.

I'm not some anti-car zealot, I drive too. But cities should be trying to maximize the efficiency of transit and active transportation, especially as gas prices get higher. It's so easy right now to get around with a car, but council is so afraid to do even little things like this that might take a tiny percentage of space away from motorists. Cities need to be designed around people, not cars.
/rant