Today I received information regarding where the 40 extra buses will be placed across our OC Transpo routes. Unfortunately, Bay Ward did not receive the requests submitted, which will continue to frustrate residents.
There is no mention of Route 87 which I have heard multiple complaints about from the communities of Whitehaven, Glabar Park, Woodpark and Carlingwood. Residents have also asked to meet with OC Transpo to address their concerns. Bay Ward residents would also like to ride 200 series buses at Lincoln Field Station heading downtown half empty. Route 85 and 51 have seen service reductions under the new transit schedule and have also had late and missing buses. Overall, Bay Ward commuter service has suffered, and this report does not help.
Route 66 was included on this list which is the express route primarily for the DND site on Moodie Drive. This service is useful for DND employees, but it is not really a bus designated for Bay Ward residents. The same can be said for Routes 62 and 63 which are primarily for residents in Kanata and Stittsville. Route 55 goes to Elmvale via Carling. These buses are on the Bay Ward list because they pass through either Bayshore or Lincoln Fields stations.
Although Bay Ward residents appreciated having the Route 11 restored to Bayshore on October 6th, they have repeated their frustration that the service is every half hour instead of the original 15 minutes. There have also been requests to extend the Route 11 schedule to include an earlier bus that can take residents to church on Sunday morning, and a later bus in the evening for shopping. There is no reflection of this in the 40 extra buses.
There are extra buses for the Route 57 for rush hour. However this memo does not indicate if these buses will mean a higher frequency of service as before the LRT launch or if these buses are replacements for missing and late buses. I suspect it is the latter.
I hope to have further answers to my inquiries at the Transit Commission meeting this upcoming week. There is much work to do.
