Centretown community leaders are optimistic that the new leadership at OC Transpo can bolster the efficiency of Ottawa’s much-lambasted bus system in the downtown core.
After almost five turbulent years as general manager of OC Transpo, Alain Mercier was relieved of his duties in late February and replaced by John Manconi, formerly Ottawa’s general manager of public works.
Mercier’s tenure with OC Transpo was punctuated by bitter disputes with unionized drivers and a host of driver-passenger altercations that contributed to an overwhelmingly negative image of the transit system.
“I just think that sometimes, the management that was in place at OC Transpo – pardon the pun – missed the bus on good customer relations and how to improve how OC Transpo wanted to treat its ridership,” says Robert Dekker, vice-president of the Centretown Citizens Community Association.
And a top the priority list for the CCCA is the implementation of a community route that will allow residents to better traverse the area while alleviating some of the pressure on the city’s major routes.
Dekker says route reconfigurations this past September – a byproduct of cutbacks – have made it harder to get around Centretown.
However, Eric Darwin, president of the Dalhousie Community Association, says that the day-to-day operation of the system has little to do with the person occupying the general manager’s office.
“I don’t think it matters who’s in a back office,” says Darwin. “I don’t think he makes a direct difference to how I get on the bus today.”