Transit service budget increase paves way to bus services expansion
BY BENJAMIN MUSAMPA
The City of Ottawa transit customer system and planning budget increased by 25 per cent from last year as many OC Transpo suburban commuters brace for the optimized transit services amid Stage 1 of the O-Train Confederation Line completion later this year.
Since Dec. 27 2017, transit commuters, particularly those living in suburban like Kanata, Riverside South and Orléans, have access to increased transit services with 20 new bus routes and 17 more double-decker buses.
Sandrine Kan a Kanata’s resident who works in Ottawa centretown welcomes these recent developments. In fact, the adding of the bus route 256 Brdlewood last December make her life much easier.
“The bus route’s expansion in my neighborhood makes my commuting to Ottawa much easier in the sense that several buses routes are available at the Eagleson Park and Ride,” she said.
“Two years ago when I first moved to Kanata, I used to drive my car and park it at the Eagleson Park &Ride.” she added
“I only walk five minutes from my house to get the bus […] and always get to work on time as the bus frequency operates every fifteen minutes starting at 6:06 am and ends at 6:14 pm.”
In November 2018, the city announced an overall transit budget hike of 2.5 per cent from last year. Although, a 25 per cent rise was recorded from 2017 budget for money allocated to the Transit customer system and planning program.
This is the largest increase for this program over the last three years.
Source: Transportation Services Operating Budget, 2018, City of Ottawa
Kanata North Coun. Marianne Wilkinson observed that the increased spending on transit is justified by the necessity to accommodate suburban residents and other commuters with a reliable public transit system amid the launching of the Confederation Line later this year.
“All the construction development downtown requires a lot of planning as we must find a way to deal with the congested area.” said Wilkinson
“Obviously, the planning and operational costs went up since we purchased more buses in back up after noticing that several buses broke down during rush hours periods this year.” she added.
The actual budget plans to spend $50.4 million to replace 80 life-expired buses. OC Transpo also spent $9 million on traffic optimizing technologies to ensure enhanced mobility for buses around the city.
With the increased spending, transit users are having to foot the bill. Regular fares had risen by roughly 2.5 per cent since Jan 1. The price for an adult monthly pass is now $116.50, up from $113.75 and $207.50 for a U-Pass (up from $202.50).
The regular fares increase will help finance the completion of the Confederation valued at more than $550 million.
This $2.1-billion LRG project is believed to be the solution to address the saturation of public transportation in the downtown area and highways during peak hours. This new project is also expected to engender sustainable economic, environmental and social benefits for the city.
A study completed by the City of Ottawa in 2017 asserts that without the Light Rail Transit tunnel LRT we would need to send an articulated bus down through the downtown at a rate of 1 every 18 seconds. This is considering that Ottawa’s population is projected to grow 30 percent by 2031 according to that same study.
Although the bus routes expansion will benefit residents in growing areas like Kanata and Riverside South, the Confederation Line is expected to increase the sustainability and reliability of the city public transit system.