Confederation Line (Stage 1) | In Service

[Uhuniau]

Originally Posted by DEWLine

Once it's built? They plan to. And to appreciate every bit of service they get.

Be nice if us non-suburbanite, taxpaying transit users could get real transit in our lifetimes.

[CanadaGoose]

Rideau St has been shortened from 4 lanes to 2 lanes around the Rideau Stn area. Any strategies to deal with that traffic?

[mykl]

Originally Posted by CyrusKafaiwu

Rideau St has been shortened from 4 lanes to 2 lanes around the Rideau Stn area. Any strategies to deal with that traffic?

I drove through there this morning about 9:30 and there was a traffic cop. Not sure if that's a permanent situation or not. The area certainly is a disaster right now. Hopefully one of these projects will wrap up quickly and free up a bit more space.

I feel a little bad for tourists this year. They've come to an entire city under construction. Hopefully they'll return in 2017 to see that it was (hopefully) worth it!

[Uhuniau]

Originally Posted by mykl

I drove through there this morning about 9:30 and there was a traffic cop. Not sure if that's a permanent situation or not. The area certainly is a disaster right now. Hopefully one of these projects will wrap up quickly and free up a bit more space.

I feel a little bad for tourists this year. They've come to an entire city under construction. Hopefully they'll return in 2017 to see that it was (hopefully) worth it!

Pretty well any large city is under construction at any given time.

Cities that have finished construction are archaeological sites.

[Admiral Nelson]

What's the plan for major LRT/bus transfer stations? How seamless is it? Toronto subway stations are efficient, having buses run directly into the fare paid zones.

[1overcosc]

Originally Posted by Admiral Nelson

What's the plan for major LRT/bus transfer stations? How seamless is it? Toronto subway stations are efficient, having buses run directly into the fare paid zones.

You'll be glad to know that Ottawa has decided to copy Toronto's fare-paid transfer model.

We'll have Presto fare gates at the outside of every station. For non-Presto users entering a station from the street, there'll be machines at each entrance where users can buy a single-ride ticket using cash. By 2018, Presto readers will be able to accept credit and debit taps, so credit and debit users will be able to use the fare gates directly. Presto users can also use these machines to reload their card, check their balance, etc. I believe they'll also be able to issue new Presto cards. These single-ride tickets will have expiry times printed on them so they can be used as proof of payment for a subsequent bus trip after exiting the rail system.

The single-use tickets people can buy will have some sort of mechanism (probably a QR code) to enable users to pass through the gates automatically with this ticket (like what Montreal does with its single ride cards that can be read by turnstiles); this is important as station entrances will be unmanned, with only video help terminals provided.

Major interchange points (IIRC, Blair, St. Laurent, Hurdman, Lebreton, Bayview, and Tunney's in Phase 1), will have bus loops inside the fare gates; so users can transfer to and from trains without having to reverify fare, just like in Toronto.

Just like in Toronto, not all stations will have these areas. None of the underground stations in the core will have them as it would be very difficult if not impossible to find suitable areas on the surface for fare-paid zones, and very expensive to build underground bus loops. As a result, some transfers will take place outside of fare-paid zones.

To let transferring passengers through the fare gates at non-fare-paid stations, the aforementioned expiry times on single-use tickets will be used as fare media for train->bus transfers at these stations; for bus->train transfers, bus transfers will have QR codes printed on them so they can be used to get through the fare gates. The STO has agreed to incorporate QR codes into their bus transfers as well for this purpose.

U-Pass riders will be dealt with by adding RFID chips to U-Pass cards so the fare gates can read them.

Paper monthly passes will be abolished by the time the system is in place.

What's not clear is how the paper ticket system will part of this. Bus tickets may very well be abolished by the time this system is rolled out; other cities that have adopted Presto have restricted fares to cash or Presto only. If they are still around, they'll likely have to be exchanged for single-ride tickets at the fare machines.

[emannigol]

How will lebreton/pimisi have a fare paid zone for bus transfers?

[dodoburd]

Originally Posted by 1overcosc

U-Pass riders will be dealt with by adding RFID chips to U-Pass cards so the fare gates can read them.

Why not just load a U-Pass onto a Presto card?

[Admiral Nelson]

Great answer, 1overcosc, thank you!

[1overcosc]

Originally Posted by dodoburd

Why not just load a U-Pass onto a Presto card?

U-Passes need photo identification otherwise the potential for abuse is huge. Presto cards don't have photos on them.

[eltodesukane]

Public transit should be free, just like public roads are.
This would remove the need to collect fare, and all this presto/passes/gates/tickets/zones madness.

[swimmer_spe]

Originally Posted by eltodesukane

Public transit should be free, just like public roads are.
This would remove the need to collect fare, and all this presto/passes/gates/tickets/zones madness.

This would lead to the "Tragedy of the Commons". Basically, it would be the same if there were no hunting or fishing laws. It is actually why there is congestion on the highways.

Do I think fares should be lowered - Yes.

Do I think more roads should be tolled - Yes

[1overcosc]

Originally Posted by eltodesukane

Public transit should be free, just like public roads are.
This would remove the need to collect fare, and all this presto/passes/gates/tickets/zones madness.

It sounds like a lot now, but trust me, once the system is running, it will be very easy and intuitive.

[Cre47]

Route 91 eastbound will be stopping on Lees Avenue at the 417 on-ramp starting on Tuesday. Though should have done the same with route 94 as well.

[1overcosc]

Originally Posted by Cre47

Route 91 eastbound will be stopping on Lees Avenue at the 417 on-ramp starting on Tuesday. Though should have done the same with route 94 as well.

If too many routes stop there, it will cause a giant slowdown as buses line up to PU/DO there. This could clog up the ramp off the Transitway potentially disrupting Lees station as well.

[passwordisnt123]

Originally Posted by swimmer_spe

This would lead to the "Tragedy of the Commons". Basically, it would be the same if there were no hunting or fishing laws. It is actually why there is congestion on the highways.

Do I think fares should be lowered - Yes.

Do I think more roads should be tolled - Yes

I agree with your basic premise that fares should be lowered. I also agree with you that it might not be the best use of money right now to make public transit completely free. I do have two exceptions where I think all public transit should be 100% free though and they are New Years Eve/New Years Day and Election Day.

That said, I do think it's a bit hyperbolic to suggest free public transit is akin to the tragedy of the commons. I'd humbly suggest that free public transit might not have the same effects as free unlimited grazing rights for cattle and other livestock on England's public lands.

[swimmer_spe]

Originally Posted by passwordisnt123

I agree with your basic premise that fares should be lowered. I also agree with you that it might not be the best use of money right now to make public transit completely free. I do have two exceptions where I think all public transit should be 100% free though and they are New Years Eve/New Years Day and Election Day.

That said, I do think it's a bit hyperbolic to suggest free public transit is akin to the tragedy of the commons. I'd humbly suggest that free public transit might not have the same effects as free unlimited grazing rights for cattle and other livestock on England's public lands.

@ other groups who should be able to ride for free - Those on welfare and the retired.

Those on welfare should not have to pay for it due to them getting so little. I do not know how this could be implemented.

All persons over the age of 65 should be given free access. Slowly, as they age, they may loose the ability to drive. Transit would still give them the freedom they deserve.

I would argue that it would be very similar.

Think of it this way: Right now, most transit systems are at or over capacity during rush hour. If it were free, more people would use it at all times of the day. This means that the packed buses and trains would be common throughout the day, not just rush hour.

[1overcosc]

Originally Posted by swimmer_spe

@ other groups who should be able to ride for free - Those on welfare and the retired.

Those on welfare should not have to pay for it due to them getting so little. I do not know how this could be implemented.

People on welfare currently get a very steep discount--they pay less than $40/month for a pass. I agree that it should be free for them, but also to the working poor as well.

Originally Posted by swimmer_spe

All persons over the age of 65 should be given free access. Slowly, as they age, they may loose the ability to drive. Transit would still give them the freedom they deserve.

I disagree with this. Many seniors, especially here in Ottawa, are living quite well with DB pension benefits. Some seniors are poor, others are quite wealthy. Giving blanket discounts to all seniors is inappropriate--that applies not just to transit but also to drug benefits and such (thankfully, the Ontario government recently phased in income-testing for seniors drug benefit programs).

It's grossly unfair that seniors getting $4000 a month from their federal government DB pension get a 60% discount on transit while struggling students have to pay full price. Making it free for seniors would just make that worse.

Seniors in poverty should be treated the same as anyone else in poverty, not given special treatment just because their poverty happens to be at a certain age.

That said, I do support maintaining free fare Wednesdays for seniors; it helps encourage them to get out.

[Cre47]

Originally Posted by 1overcosc

If too many routes stop there, it will cause a giant slowdown as buses line up to PU/DO there. This could clog up the ramp off the Transitway potentially disrupting Lees station as well.

Only those two would be enough, although quite frankly because of the rampsurfing and also to eliminate a bit of transfers and confusion, still think would be better for route 94 to serve Hurdman especially since there is not much of a big difference in time vs route 95.

[TransitZilla]

Originally Posted by Cre47

Only those two would be enough, although quite frankly because of the rampsurfing and also to eliminate a bit of transfers and confusion, still think would be better for route 94 to serve Hurdman especially since there is not much of a big difference in time vs route 95.

I was heading to my in-laws last week from the Confederation Heights area to Orleans and I realized that there doesn't seem to be a route that serves Hurdman and skips St Laurent eastbound. So my choices were to take a 95 eastbound (which would be slow with the St Laurent diversion) or take another route to Campus to catch a 91 or express.

I think this new 91 stop will be useful but it would be nice to have a route that heads straight from Hurdman to Blair, or even one that skipped Blair and continued straight to Orleans. This would be useful for Orleans residents who are transferring to routes like the 106, 116 and 118 that end at Hurdman.