Residents of Centretown likely have nothing to fear from proposed changes to OC Transpo service this year, except when it comes to their wallets.
In presenting the 2011 draft budget, Mayor Jim Watson said OC Transpo service was all about “smarter routing,” hinting that possible changes could include more double-decker buses, changes to express route service and the possible elimination of “milk run” routes.
”A better service does not mean more milk runs through every neighborhood stopping every 200 meters and crowding through the downtown bottleneck,” said Watson.
Though it is still not known what routes could be affected, such changes are unlikely to affect transit service in Centretown. According to Eric Darwin, president of the Dalhousie Community Association, they may actually be for the better.
Darwin echoes Watson’s statements about the crowding caused by buses, saying they “dominate” downtown Ottawa.
“(Congestion caused by bus service down Albert and Slater streets) makes the downtown unattractive, it’s just a wall of buses running late through the downtown core,” says Darwin, who notes that many express buses are almost empty for the majority of their route.
However, Coun. Diane Deans, chair of the new transit commission, says cutting services like bus routes will be the commission’s “last resort.”
”We haven’t had the opportunity to look at the current operations of OC Transpo and to think about what other things we can change in terms of efficiencies, productivity or revenue generating opportunities,” says Deans.
“I want to look at all those before I look at route changes.”
Deans expects that a list of routes under consideration for changes will be tabled on Feb. 16 but notes that “changes” doesn’t necessarily mean cuts.
”It might mean that there would be a change in the street the route would go down, it might mean that a portion of the route might be combined with another route – there’s all kinds of permeations and combinations of how (changes) could happen,”
Though many of the proposed changes to OC Transpo service are still up in the air, it seems riders can count on a 2.5-per-cent increase in fare price.
While the increase is lower than the 7.5-per-cent increases experienced over the past three years, Deans says she had been hoping it would be even lower.
”Our goal is clearly to improve our ridership numbers and having large scale fare increases is counter-intuitive to that,” says Deans. “(But) the reality is . . . you have to address your rising costs.”
This year’s budget puts an “unprecedented” focus on the city’s bus service with $161 million set aside for projects to improve the bus system.
“For the rest of this decade and beyond, the bus system will be the backbone of what moves our community,” Watson said in his budget speech.
“This investment in the renewal and modernization of the bus system is the single most important initiative in this budget.”
Both Watson and Deans stressed the importance of making OC Transpo a sustainable transit service.
The 2011 budget will be set in March by city council.
The new transit commission will then decide on what changes will be made to OC Transpo operations.