in transit by steve collins
x
Nice stadium, but how do you get there?
June 28, 2010
It’s encouraging to see the expansion and improvement of public transit figuring prominently in plans for Ottawa’s future.
Another summer of discontent on OC Transpo?
June 21, 2010
It could be another cranky summer on the buses as mayoral candidates, both declared and prospective, squabble over the cost of light rail and the grumbling you hear on your morning bus may be your own.
OC Transpo plays to strengths on Clean Air Day
June 07, 2010
Last Monday, smoke blew in from forest fires in Quebec and gave Ottawa its worst-ever recorded air quality readings, just in time to get our attention for Clean Air Day on Wednesday.
A little consideration for your fellow riders
May 17, 2010
After media reports last week of a simple OC Transpo fare dispute escalating and landing a rider in provincial offences court, it can be easy to forget how smoothly our buses run most of the time, thanks in no small part to simple courtesy.
Proposed rail link would bridge two regions
May 10, 2010
Just when Ottawa’s proposed light rail plans, complicated by an upcoming election, tricky tunnel logistics and uncertain funding, seem further away than ever, a study by the National Capital Commission, Gatineau and Ottawa may be about to propose a rail link across the river.
Council loves that new bus smell
May 03, 2010
Unanimity is a rare thing on our contentious city council, but last week councillors rallied overwhelmingly around a $155-million deal to buy new buses.
Hey, at least they're talking to each other
April 26, 2010
When I heard OC Transpo managers and union executives were attending counselling together, I’ll admit I snickered. (“Alain, when you say ‘You’re fired,’ I feel invalidated.”)
Should vets get to ride for free?
April 19, 2010
There are nice ideas and good ideas. A proposal to offer free city transit passes to veterans is certainly the former, but the jury’s still out on whether it’s the latter.
Spreading paranoia on the buses
April 12, 2010
While restrictions on carry-on bags, hastily instituted after last Christmas’ underwear bomber scare, have been eased for air travellers, Transport Canada seems to be intent on spreading alarmism here on the ground.
Transit commission is a dubious idea
April 05, 2010
It doesn’t have the same ring as his ill-fated “zero means zero” tax freeze, but Mayor Larry O’Brien’s idea for the establishment of an independent commission to run the city’s transit system has so far failed to excite much interest.
Bus station shuffle: What’s the rush?
March 29, 2010
Mayor Larry O’Brien’s proposal to move Ottawa’s Greyhound bus depot out of the downtown core and combine it with the Via station seems to have come practically out of nowhere, and with a sense of haste that makes the prospect of meaningful public input uncertain.
OC Transpo endures another advertising headache
March 22, 2010
Last week was not a memorably good one for OC Transpo in terms of customer satisfaction.
Route cuts make for minimal savings, big headaches
March 15, 2010
OC Transpo is slowing down this week with a reduced March break schedule, and so is city hall, adjourned for a couple of weeks of no doubt much-needed rest.
The stealthy shrinkage of Route 245
March 08, 2010
Public transit becomes a harder sell the further out of town you go, so it’s sad to see cuts to existing rural bus runs, like OC Transpo Route 245, which will cease service south of Manotick next month.
Fare hike just one of many OC Transpo storylines
March 01, 2010
The price of everybody’s bus ride went up again this morning, and that little Monday morning kick in the shins is unlikely to do much to improve a certain fractious, bitchy mood which seems to infuse transit matters these days.
The riders are back, but how do we entice more?
February 22, 2010
We got a little good news last week, as OC Transpo reported that the 7.8 per cent of riders who stayed away from transit after the strike have finally returned. Even better, we logged a record 8.4 million trips in December.
There’s no place like home
February 15, 2010
Watching the latest hostilities between some transit employees and riders in Toronto, I can only be thankful that there is no sign of such a poisoned relationship between OC Transpo and its customers.
Three cheers for Ottawa's squeaky wheels
February 08, 2010
When we say “the squeaky wheel gets the grease,” there is an implicit disapproval of complaint and complainers, but also recognition that complaining works.
Imagining better days
February 01, 2010
The future of light rail in Ottawa appears to be on hold once again while our esteemed city council grapples with more prosaic issues like the $37-million cost overrun on our $60-million bus garage.
Transit issues make an early appearance in mayor's race
January 25, 2010
Transit users should be encouraged from the amount of attention municipal candidates are already paying to transit issues, months ahead of this fall’s election.
We've established what we are, now let's haggle on the price
January 18, 2010
There’s an old, somewhat inappropriate joke about a rich man who asks a woman if she would sleep with him for a million dollars.
Time behind the wheel a reminder of the ease of taking the bus
January 11, 2010
It’s good to be back on the bus.
Forecasting the year ahead for Ottawa transit users
January 04, 2010
Gaze with me into the crystal ball (alternately, any grime-encrusted bus window will do) as we read the portents for the year ahead in Ottawa transit.
Everybody has a lesson to learn from the OC Transpo strike
December 21, 2009
The wintry nightmare of last year’s transit strike might be worth it if we learned something, anything, from the ordeal.
Stormy winter weather is OC Transpo's time to shine
December 14, 2009
Last week’s season opener snowstorm wrought complications large and small for pretty much everyone. Winter always seems to take us by surprise. We seem to get soft over the course of the rest of the year, losing our skill at navigating snow-choked streets and sidewalks.
Perhaps there's a reason for all those Transpo driver sick days
December 07, 2009
Back in October, I rejoiced that the OC Transpo labour dispute was finally over, settled by arbitration a mere 10 months after the end of the strike. Silly me. It was nowhere near over, as it turns out.
Favouring fare discretion over zero-tolerance
November 30, 2009
The annual round of budget head-cracking at city hall and the latest tales of waste and mismanagement from Ottawa auditor general Alain Lalonde may have put some of us in a penny-pinching frame of mind.
Mothers score win against OC Transpo
November 23, 2009
You could hardly blame the city’s transit committee, faced in a meeting last week with a sizable delegation of ticked-off young mothers, for reversing proposed restrictions on strollers aboard buses.
_
| F E A T U R E D S P O N S O R S |
MORE GREAT SITES
Metronews.ca:
READ THE PRINT
EDITION ONLINE:
EDITION ONLINE:
Copyright 2001-2012, Free Daily News Group Inc.