OC Transpo route revisions released

In a bid to quell public anger over sweeping bus-route changes, the city said Wednesday that "substantial improvements" were on the way for the transit network, with citizen feedback playing a key role.

Transit planners rolled back some of the most contentious changes toabout a dozenroutes.

Amongkey concerns raised during public consultations with OC Transpo were better peak access for seniors, modified hours of service at key stops, and improved access to schools, hospitals and places of worship, according to a transit commission report.

Revisions were made following the consultations, including the introductions of two new routes:

• a Route 83 to serve Fisher, Viewmount, and Colonnade and replace part of the current Route 3 (operating seven days a week)
• a Route 132 to serve Sunview, Belcourt, Grey Nuns, and Fortune and connect with Jeanne dArc and Place dOrlans Stations to replace parts of the current Routes 32 and 131 (operating during peak periods with limited midday, evening, and weekend service)

The full slate of recommendations for route changes will be published online on Thursday, and then presented to the Transit Commission on April 20 for implementation in September. However,a reportwas released Wednesday listing all the routes that will be affected.

'While the modifications may not fully address everyone's concerns to the extent possible, we have made changes.' Ottawa transportation commissioner Diane Deans

OC Transpo held three public consultations in recent weeks to garner feedback from thousands of people about proposed bus-route changes and cuts.

The goal was to hear from commuters about concerns and then make appropriate tweaks to "come up with a better plan," said Alain Mercier, general manager of OC Transpo. But the city's transit service also noted that any changes at this stage would be limited and would also have to be cost-neutral, meaning that salvaging one route would mean sacrificing another.

Ottawa transportation commissioner Diane Deans acknowledged that not everybody would be happy with the extent of the recommended changes.

6,500 complaints evaluated

"We listened, we learned and we leveraged our best efforts to address as many issues as we could," she said. "While the modifications may not fully address everyone's concerns to the extent possible, we have made changes. They reflect what we heard from transit users, residents and staff, while still achieving our budget target."

The city's so-called "network optimization" transit systemshould save the city $20 million, and was originally expected to affect about 100 routes. Some routes were tobe put on the chopping block, while about 80 bus runs were tobe merged and 20 others shortened. Hours of service would also be reduced under the plan.

About 6,500 hundred people filed complaints to OC Transpo about the proposed route changes.