Service on Ottawa's new light rail transit system was briefly delayed during Monday's commute home.
Transit commission chair Allan Hubley tells CTV News there was an eight minute delay on the Confederation Line in the late afternoon due to a default code that needed to be reset. The issue has been solved and trains are moving. The minor delay did cause some bus backlogs at stations like Tunney's Pasture.
Choke points remain Tunney’s lineups for buses are huge #lrtOttawa @ctvottawa pic.twitter.com/NX5i5WfYFG
— Graham Richardson (@grahamctv) September 16, 2019
City officials are reminding passengers that O-Train Ambassadors in red vests are at the LRT stations to help with the new service.
Many passengers took the LRT Confederation Line to work or school for the first time on Monday morning with relative success.
In an update over the noon hour, OC Transpo general manager John Manconi says Monday morning's launch was on time and the system ran without incident or delays. Manconi also said officials are investigating a tresspassing incident at the Tunney's Pasture station early Monday morning before service started.
Seamless. 3 double deckers empty out. People stroll into the train. People who missed...wait 3 minutes @ctvottawa @CTVOttMornLive @CFRAOttawa #OttLRT pic.twitter.com/YyXXmJ8R0a
— Graham Richardson (@grahamctv) September 16, 2019
The O-train Confederation Line opened to the public on Saturday at 2 p.m. to much fanfare.
Until Oct. 6, regular bus routes will be running alongside the LRT system. After Oct. 6, 86 OC Transpo bus routes will change, while 52 routes will remain unaffected by LRT. Visit OC Transpo's website for details on how your route might change on Oct. 6.
The 13-station, 12.5 km line extends from Blair Station in the east to Tunney’s Pasture in the west. A trip from end-to-end is expected to take 25 minutes.
During peak times, trains will arrive at every station every five minutes or less. There will be frequent service all day, and every 15 minutes after midnight. Each two-car train will have room for 600 passengers.
Fares to ride the Confederation Line will be the same as a bus fare. From Sept. 14 to Sept. 30, regular fares will be $3.50 for a single ticket, or $3.45 if you use a Prestor card. Fares are scheduled to increase on Oct. 1.
The new fare gates at Confederation Line stations will require a Presto card, U-Pass, STO Multi car or OC Transpo bus transfer. Passengers will need to tap a smart card or scan a transfer at the gate.
Let CTV News know how your first trips on the LRT are going by emailing: ottawanews@ctv.ca.
