O-Train may roll again Feb. 2, buses Feb. 9: City of Ottawa

[dracodraconis]

O-Train may roll again Feb. 2, buses Feb. 9: City of Ottawa

With the strike coming to an end, transit service is expected to be up sooner than expected. The O-Train will ready by Monday and up to 60% of the transit buses will be on the road by the following Monday. Full operation is expected within 10 weeks (just short of three months, making it the start of April).

It was interesting to watch the city's reaction the strike. At least once a week I had been offered a drive as I walked to work (I use the 30-minute walk as part of my daily exercise routine). And I've been impressed with the response time by the city to plowing the sidewalks I use every day. It will be interesting to see the effect on the number of bus users, and how long it takes to build back their original ridership numbers.

Comments

[bluetourmaline.livejournal.com]

Heh --- I learned that the strike was over from a coworker who happened to be standing in line behind one of the OC Transpo mechanics at the corner store yesterday when the mechanic got a call on his cell phone, "Oh, strike is over? I gotta go fix the buses tomorrow? Oh, okay." Of course, my coworker immediately interrogated the mechanic to see if he had heard right.

My brother's best friend works for the Dept. of National Defence, and told him the story that about twelve people there who live in Barrhaven organized a deal with a limousine service to pick them up at one spot in Barrhaven while the strike is on, and take them to work and back. The limo costs $85, I think my brother said, but when you split that among twelve people and compare it to gas or bus fare, with the added comfort and convenience involved --- they go, "Maybe we'll just go on using the limo once the strike is over."