Quote:
Originally Posted by lrt's friend
My impression is that all express buses will be terminated at Tunney's Pasture. The same from the south at Hurdman.
During earlier parts of the planning of the tunnel, there was a plan to build a new bridge across the Rideau to maintain service from the south end, but someone decided that this was too expensive and it would be unfair to cancel the express buses in the east end but not other parts of the city. As matter of fairness, the planners decided that all express buses should be cancelled by the time the first leg of LRT opens.
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It doesn't surprise me that the second bridge got yanked. As for the west end there is really no technical reason why the bus can't stay since the LRT will be underground and the buses will already be on Scott and Albert streets during construction. This will probably be a question of the behaviour of the masses really. Very little of the route heads west so there would be a really strong argument to leave the west end roughly as it is. The commutes from there on the bus are considerably worse than the east end as it is.
People will vote with there feet. If the train the looks like the 95 at rush hour I suspect people will be screaming for express buses. If it looks like the current O-train I think the argument to transfer - particularly in the east end (as it is for a significant trip) will be there.
I was never an express rider when I lived in the east end, but I certainly knew more than a few. They are a real tricky bunch. They won't ride the 95 for sure. They want (demand!) seats most of the time. You here comments like "I am not going to stand at my age" and such and these people are not overly old - perhaps 40s or 50s.
The trouble with these people is they generally have the means to drive so they are really on the edge of who you can get to ride transit....discomfort, unreliability, strikes, or whatever and they jump in the car...or scream at their elected representatives.