… might turn me back to my car as my way to get to work…

Flawed logic alert here folks:

Termination of the ECOPASS program

The introduction of PRESTO will allow former ECOPASS holders to customize their travel experience while providing the convenience and flexibility to purchase as many months of transit service as they need.   As a result, it is recommended that the ECOPASS Program be eliminated during the fall of 2012.

Further, OC Transpo is no longer able to sustain annual fares that are deeply discounted below operating costs.

In 2011-12, an ECOPASS subscription costs $990 per year, and with the 2.5 percent increase applied, it would cost $1,014 in 2012-13. By choosing to purchase 10 monthly passes and 10 days of pay-per-ride e-Purse fares, a typical current ECOPASS subscriber would pay $1,015 per year in 2012-13.

The cost of an ECOPASS will increase to the cost of an Adult Regular or Express monthly pass as of July 1, depending on what the customer has chosen.  ECOPASS subscribers will have the option to withdraw from the ECOPASS program by notifying their employer and taking advantage of paying less for their reduced transit needs during the summer. Although ECOPASS holders can continue with payroll deductions until the fall, they also will have the option to transition to PRESTO when they choose.  Each employer will be provided with proper termination notices in accordance with the terms of each employer’s respective ECOPASS contract.

ECOPASS holders, once they convert to PRESTO, will be able to take advantage of the new transferable bus pass.  This provides the benefit of allowing customers to transfer their bus pass within the same class. 

 Staff will provide notification of the fare change to employers of ECOPASS subscribers and will  work with them to issue new PRESTO smart cards through the fall of 2012 to provide a seamless transition.

Why flawed logic?

The bolded text is assuming that current ECOPASS holders take 6 weeks of holidays in the summer! I don’t know ANYONE who takes off this much time within a 2 month block… or even spread through the year! Most take 2 weeks off – max 3.

For me, the fare will increase from $990 / year to $1,155… assuming I get the Presto card for 12 months… which I would do due to the convenience factor… not going to waste my time starting and stopping automatic debits.

I want to stay on the transit wagon… for environmental reasons alone and 150ish bucks may not seem like much, but combine that with the service that alternates between abysmal and barely acceptable… and, well, I think some may rethink their options.

I know that I’ll be one of them.

Trashy,
Ottawa, Ontario

… OC Transpo #40!

Yeah, I’m just a kid at heart!

Trashy,
Ottawa, Ontario

…hasn’t happened before.

Sightline-wise, it’s a helluva bad spot for buses coming on to the westbound Transitway. They do have to nose out to see if the way is clear in both directions if intending to get to the eastbound lanes of the Transitway.  Add this to the high rate of speed of some busses going westbound through the station and you have a recipe for disaster.

This could have been much, much worse…

Trashy,
Ottawa, Ontario

…but seeing that there is so much empty ad space on OC Transpo busses, why doesn’t the City offer the space to charities, community associations and not for profits to advertise their services or fundraisers?

These are group that normally would not be able to afford this primo ad space and could certainly benefit from such exposure. The group would be responsible for the design and of the ads. Plus, they could be removed with advance notice if paying customers needed the space. The ads could even be targeted to specific routes!

I’m sure there are a gazillion reasons why this couldn’t work, but, as the post title says…

Just a thought…

Trashy,
Ottawa, Ontario

…and its indefensible position on the use of bus GPS data is getting more print space.

Good article.

If there’s any light at the end of this tunnel, it’s that others at City Hall are starting to speak out. A number of transit commissioners made it very clear they were not on board with OC Transpo’s protectionist views of the transit data. Kudos to councillors Marianne Wilkinson and Tim Tierney, among those who took transit management to task. Indeed, it took this issue to spur civilian-commissioner Emily Rahn to make her very first public statement.

As residents of Ottawa, we shouldn’t have to beg for access to officials, nor for the data that’s collected on our behalf with our money. On the other hand, as taxpayers we also have to be willing to pay for that access, whether it’s footing the bill for proper public consultations or forgoing a little cash in the name of open data.

C’mon Mercier! Get with the program!

And double kudos to Councillors Tierney and Wilkinson!

Trashy,
Ottawa, Ontario

What a great idea!

As reported by the O dot, Ottawa’s bus service will soon included an executive fleet!

I’ll like not having to step over the vomit while exiting the 95 at Hurdman!

OC Transpo President Gilles DuMont hails the new transit option as a breakthrough in city transit service, and hopes people will enjoy the increased commitment to comfort and superior customer satisfaction within the new buses. “The new OC1 option will give riders a chance to actually get to their destination on time and without the inconveniences of regular route service, such as staring through a window covered in head grease or side stepping over a pool of vomit.” DuMont explained. The OC1 bus service will utilize a fleet of 10 new ultra-luxurious coach class buses imported from Switzerland and feature bone china and silverware meal service, beverage options and hot towel service from a tuxedo clad OC Transpo service attendant.

Trashy,
Ottawa, Ontario

… Bus version… Barbados buses versus OCTranspo. Based on recent experience.

There are 3 types of buses to take in Barbados: the full-sized buses that we have here in Ottawa (no A/C though), smaller versions of said buses… and minivans whose sole goals seem to be to cram as many peeps as possible into the van all the while tooting their customised horns and breaking land speed records. We rode on the first two but not the last. Didn’t know if my travel insurance would cover such recklessness.

Commonalities between buses here and buses there…

Lots in common, actually.

• Land speed records are tested.
• Timing is unreliable.
• Corners and braking are for playing the “knock down the rider” game.
• “Interesting” clientele

Differences:

• The drivers on the island try to be helpful. Might not understand a word that they’re saying due to the accent… but they are trying. OCTranspo? Well… there ARE exceptions, but…
• $2 Bajan ($1 US) will pretty much get you anywhere on the island.  Might take a while… but you will get there. OC? What is the cash fare now? $3? And, most of the time, one must change buses at least once to get to where they are going to.
• The Bajan Transport Board website ain’t very fancy… yet the bells and whistles on the OCTranspo site doesn’t really help much, now does it?

All in all, the two systems are pretty comparable.

Yay for us! Our modern and complex system in Ottawa compares favourably to that on a far-off tropical island.

Trashy,
Ottawa, Ontario

… is why OC Transpo just doesn’t “get” why it has an image problem.

Put aside singing drivers, yelling drivers, drivers on phones, etc. for a sec and just consider scheduling. This should be fairly simple. After thousands of runs, you’d think that the gurus who work for Mr. Mercier should have a handle on the number of buses needed on a certain route at a certain time of the day. Furthermore, one would assume that when these same gurus alter a route that has the effect of removing about 50 percent of the buses along a given stretch, that they would increase the frequency of the remaining route to make up for the loss.

But no, I am writing this post on a jam-packed 148. Been jam-packed since the middle of Kilborn, in fact. Standing room only and yes, some have been left at the curb.

This should have been foreseen.

We can only hope that when the gurus go back to their data in planning the winter route changes that it will dawn on them that adding a run or two might go a bit of a way in keeping we paying riders a bit happier.

Trashy,
Ottawa, Ontario

This guy has gall.

And is about as arrogant as one can get. Way to build positive relations, you idiot!

For the record, I have ridden these buses for more than 14 years. And only once have I seen an incident where a driver was verbally abused by a customer. Only once.

However, I have witnessed operators:

- yell at customers for not holding their passes right side up
- slam the front door shut as someone is boarding
- do a hard brake for nor apparent reason and chuckle about it as passengers were thrown forward

- tell a young Mom of two with a large stroller : “didn’t you learn when you got knocked up the first time?”
- countless times, drive away from the curb when a customer was within a few feet of the bus

And that is just the tip of the iceberg.

ATU? You can bite me.

Trashy,
Ottawa, Ontario

…sucketh so mightily?

I have been keeping a log of OC Transpo misfires over the past little while. And I guess it’s time to publish them.

For the record, I didn’t log those trips that were only a minute or two late… no need to be THAT fussy, but still, the 148 is the local run through Alta Vista. Aside from the odd wheelchair and stroller, there really shouldn’t be much of a delay to Hurdman to make the 15:23 run back to Elmvale.

So, for what it’s worth:

Sept 22 Hurdman 148, 15:38 bus…driver laid up until 15:45 for no reason apparent reason. He seemed to be reading the Ottawa Sun.

Sept 27. 15:22 148 showed up at Hurdman at 15:32

Sept 29 Hurdman 148, 15:38 bus arrived at 15:48

Oct 13 14:23 148 7 minutes late.149
at 15:21 was a no show

Oct 13 8:15 149 at Haig and Pleasant Park was a no show.

Nov 4 – Hurdman 15:23 148 arrived at 15:29

Nov 7 – Hurdman 15:23 148 arrived at 15:30

Nov 8 – Hurdman 16:38 148 arrived at 16:43

Nov 15- Hurdman 15:23 148 arrived at 15:33

Not pretty, is it?

Trashy,
Ottawa, Ontario