Alayne McGregor
With transit cutbacks still scheduled for this fall, OC Transpo isn’t getting good marks for its current service.
Overall satisfaction with transit remains about 45 percent based on monthly surveys of approximately 1,000 Ottawa residents, almost half of whom ride OC Transpo. It was below 40 percent last September.
When asked whether satisfaction would improve with the route changes next fall, Pat Scrimgeour, OC Transpo’s director of transit customer systems and planning, told the city transit commission on May 31 that “it will depend on each person’s new experience.
“I think those people who are able to make use of (the new LRT) Line 2 and Line 4 will be happier because of the shorter travel time and the greater comfort. Those for whom bus routes work for them will like it better if they’re making a trip within their community. Those who will have another transfer, their satisfaction might go down. Those who are forming their opinion based on reliability we expect that they will be more satisfied.
“But it will be a mixture, obviously, and it’s really a reflection of each person’s own expectation of what they’re looking for in their transit system.”
He said that OC Transpo’s satisfaction levels were below those from surveys in other cities.
Top three routes for cancellations all in Centretown
On an average weekday in April, 101 of 8,137 trips weren’t delivered – and the top three routes for cancellations all run in Centretown.
LRT Line 2 replacement buses came first with 136 trips (or 2.5 percent) cancelled; then route 11 with 124 cancellations (three percent); and then route 7 with 105 cancellations (2.4 percent). One-third of the cancellations were due to problems on-street (congestion, detours, closures); 38 percent to lack of operators; 23 percent to mechanical breakdowns; and five percent to no bus available.
Scrimgeour did not give statistics for on-time performance for frequent bus routes (like the 6, 7, or 11), but promised this for next meeting. For less-frequent buses, 22 percent arrived at stops more than one minute early or more than five minutes late.