By Andrea Macko
Higher bus fares are needed to reduce rush-hour crowds
“Living here” OC Transpo’s latest public relations campaign, features posters and commercials of hip commuters traveling to and fro. But for frequent bus passengers a more accurate slogan should be “Living here . . . at the bus stop.”
Try to get on the 95 during a weekday afternoon. It’s likely you’ll have the doors shut in your face. OC Transpo requires that all drivers must be able to see out the front windows, which is impossible when the front steps are crowded with commuters.
The 4 has similar problems. For Carleton University students trying to get to 8:30 a.m. classes from Billings Bridge or Bronson Avenue, leaving home an hour early to catch a five-minute bus ride to campus is a ludicrous but daily routine.
“We do have a problem, a nice problem,” says Helen Gault, the director of planning for OC Transpo. Buses are bursting across the region with more passengers (and more revenue), notably during rush hours. “We’ve had to be imaginative with use,” she adds wryly.
But imagination can only carry passengers so far.
OC Transpo has a fleet of 850 buses, many nearing retirement. Thirty-seven new low-floor articulated (expanded) buses will arrive early in 2001, and light rail after that.
But right now, commuters are crammed like sardines on rush hour buses from Orleans to Kanata. And if you miss your bus, infrequent scheduling means getting home at least an hour later each night. You can only work your schedule around a bus so far.
The easy answer is to buy buses. But that’s a hard sell right now. The Region of Ottawa-Carleton already bears over one-third of OC Transpo’s operating costs, according to 1999 figures. Slash-and-burn government habits likely won’t help our little Transpo that could.
Meanwhile, passengers pay one-third of OC Transpo’s costs. Maybe it’s time to dig a bit deeper to get the service we want.
Adults pay $2.25 for a bus ride, or $1.60 with tickets for most routes —you can’t get in a cab for that amount and it barely buys two litres of gas. Monthly unlimited passes cost from $47.75 to $72.50.
OC Transpo should increase fares so buses can be added to routes for more reliable service.
Buses could be added to busier routes like the 95 and 4, stretching the constant flow of passengers during rush hours. To save gas money, they could only service the busiest parts of routes between full-route buses.
An extra quarter or so per day is well worth the stress saved from being late for school and work and a good guarantee against a door slammed in your face.