oc transpo offers free-fare weekend as it rolls out route overhaul
a week after launching its "new ways to bus," oc transpo is giving riders a free weekend to try out the changes.
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renée amilcar, the general manager of transit services at oc transpo held a press conference announcing free transportation during the weekend of may 3rd and 4th in ottawa.
jean levac
/
postmedia
oc transpo is welcoming feedback from riders as it offers a free weekend on all buses and trains on may 3 and 4, while it continues to work out some “glitches” after rolling out a major overhaul of its bus routes.
“it’s a way to say a huge thank you for your patience, because we have been working hard to improve the service, and it was tough on (the) customers,” said transit service general manager renée amilcar in a press conference thursday at bayview station.
amilcar said the free-fare weekend is “not as much” about compensating riders for frustrating delays and disruptions. “it’s a way to say, this is the new oc transpo, come and try it, and i’m sure you will love it,” she said.
amilcar acknowledged staff are working out some “glitches” with the “new ways to bus” launch, and oc transpo has already heard from some riders who are upset over the large-scale bus route changes that came into effect april 27.
“first and foremost, we have heard a lot of complaints (over the years) about the reliability — or non-reliability — and we have spent a lot of money, billions of dollars, to build transit here with the lrt,” amilcar said.
“now, we’re bringing the buses to the lrt because the lrt doesn’t need to deal with traffic. and the service is now reliable, so we know exactly what time (the trains) will come and what time it will be at your destination,” she said. “it’s a change, definitely, and it’s hard to accept changes, but (the overhaul is) a good thing and when people use it, i’m sure they will love it.”
renée amilcar, the general manager of transit services at oc transpo held a press conference announcing free transportation during the weekend of may 3rd and 4th in ottawa.
jean levac
/
postmedia
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amilcar rated the new bus route launch as “so far, so good.”
“absolutely we have anticipated some glitches, and we have to deal with those glitches,” she said. amilcar encouraged riders to contribute their comments and feedback through oc transpo’s website.
“we will continue to improve the service, we will continue to listen to our customers and we’ll do our best… we are open to any kind of comments that can help us to improve the service,” she said.
the free-fare weekend will cost oc transpo about $285,000.
“for me, it’s an investment. because we have worked very hard to improve the system, we stabilized line 1 (over the) months and years, we successfully launched lines 2 and 4 and we implemented new ways to bus last sunday… it’s an investment, but it’s a good use of taxpayer money, i would say,” amilcar said.
she was asked on thursday why the free fares were limited to one weekend — when service is running on a reduced weekend schedule — instead of the free month oc transpo offered in december 2021 as an apology for disruptions in train service during that summer.
“the service has been improved a lot… over those months and years,” amilcar said.
amilcar said oc transpo took a “very cautious” approach to opening the o-train lines 2 and 4 in january.
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“we took our time to make sure that when we were ready, the service would be very good. we have to build on that,” amilcar said. “this is why it’s important to come and try the service.”
amilcar first announced the transit authority’s plans to offer a free-fare weekend at a recent transit commission meeting on april 10.
at that same meeting, oc transpo staff raised concerns over its aging fleet of buses and said a maintenance backlog meant they would be running below the minimum service requirement for april.
the maintenance team continues to work through that backlog, amilcar said thursday, and oc transpo is still expecting the delayed delivery of electric buses to alleviate the pressure on its diesel fleet.
“so far we are doing good (work), but we have nothing to celebrate because it’s fragile,” she said. “the team has done amazing and they’re working very hard to maintain the service, and so far we are ok… there is nothing dramatic.”
staff raised concerns that oc transpo would have to “overdrive” the newer buses in its fleet to compensate for maintenance issues with the older ones.
“we are monitoring that and we will do our best to mitigate those problems, but it’s a reality because we know we have an aging fleet and the zeb (zero-emission buses) are behind schedule,” amilcar said.
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the entire oc transpo network, including buses, trains and para transpo, will be free for all users from saturday at 3 a.m. until monday at 3 a.m. there are family-friendly events planned for hurdman station on saturday, beginning at 10 a.m.
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