So the City has proposed a series of service cuts effecting 47 bus routes across town to save a meagre $3 million. This marks the second winter in a row that the patients of riders are being tested. Riders will remember that at the same point-in-time last year, Ottawa was in the middle of the longest transit strike in the cities history. These service cuts couldn’t come at a worst time. The City has already proposed a property tax hike of 3.9%. Just to top it off, they are also proposing to hike transit fares by 7.5%.
Riders and taxpayers are basically being asked to pay more for less. In the long-term, these service cuts will hurt the cities transit ambitions. City Councillor Alex Cullen, the Chair of the cities Transit Committee has estimated that these cuts can potentially cost OC Transpo 597 000 riders. Nearly all proposed service cuts will significantly impact the rush-hour commuter crowd. For example, the express route 69 is used extensively during the morning commute and the proposed cut of the 66 will completely remove service on Moodie Drive between Bells Corners and the Nortel campus.
As residents continue to debate the $2.1 billion Light Rail Transit (LRT) plan, the City ought to consider the impact of potentially losing half-a-million riders, riders that could feed the proposed LRT system. By cutting these routes, riders impacted would be forced to find alternative solutions (ie: purchase a vehicle). Transit riders tend to be creatures of habit. Once these riders get out of the habit of using transit, they will not likely return, regardless of whether the LRT is built or not.
For a complete list of the proposed service cuts: http://www.alexcullen.ca/PDF/Proposed_OC_Transpo_Service_Cuts-revised.pdf
Sign the Petition to end the OC Transpo Bus Cuts Pass it around http://www.gopetition.com/petition/44159.html