Ottawa commuters boarded buses for the first time in almost two months Monday as 70 per cent of the city's bus fleet hit the roads to mark the end of a crippling transit strike.

"I'm happy; it will save me money in parking. I was paying $20 a day downtown, so I'm pleased," said one transit user.

"It's been actually on time today. It said 7:10 a.m. on the (OC Transpo) website, and it's here at 7:10," said another.

Relief for motorists

The return of buses also caused relief for many motorists who have battled traffic gridlock and long delays for nine weeks.

Although weekend bus service resumed on Saturday, workers at the city's traffic control centre said they were uncertain what kind of traffic volumes to expect after many riders said they were reluctant to get back on the buses. However, at 6:30 a.m. Monday morning's commute was lighter than it had been in weeks.

"Today, it took me about 20 minutes from Montreal Road. But the last couple of weeks, an hour maybe," said one motorist.

Some buses running at capacity

Although some buses filled up quickly, the majority of transit users told CTV Ottawa they're thrilled to have OC Transpo back up and running.

"I'm happy of course! I'm not complaining," said one woman, who was left on the curb after her bus was filled to capacity.

However, the situation was not the same for all buses.

"I was the only one on the bus coming from Lebreton here to Tunney's, it was a smooth ride," one man told CTV Ottawa.

Space at Park n' Rides

OC Transpo officials also said there was lots of space at Park n' Ride lots across the city.

"The only station that's filled to capacity is Baseline. The others all have capacity and we'd like to emphasize to all of the car drivers out there that there is capacity," said Bob Goody, OC Transpo's manager of transit operations.

At midday, Goody said the following stations still had space for drivers looking to park their cars and hop on the bus:

  • Fallowfield and Strandherd lots were filled to 30 per cent capacity;
  • The Terry Fox Park n' Ride was only half-filled;
  • Greenboro and Orleans were running at 80 per cent capacity.

Smooth return

Still, OC Transpo officials say they are pleased with what they call a smooth return of bus service.

"I think that everybody's probably very pleased. I know our drivers are tickled pink to be back behind the wheel and greeting and meeting their passengers this morning," said Goody.

"There's been all kinds of positive feedback from the customers, showing not only respect for our operators but offering them coffee, cards of thank you for returning. It's been a very pleasant experience for both our drivers and our passengers," he said.

That view was echoed by OC Transpo workers, who marched the picket line for more than 50 days, and said they hadn't heard of any major problems with passengers on Monday morning.

"All passengers are very good with us, not any problems. So far, so good," bus driver Manjit Dhami told CTV Ottawa.

"Most are welcome to coming back, they're happy we're coming back," he said.

Suburbs left without service

Even though 570 buses are back on the roads, service remains limited. The O-Train, Transitway buses and most main routes are operating on a regular schedule, but other secondary routes are being phased in during midday and evening hours.

Meanwhile, buses that service the suburbs won't be back for several weeks, continuing to cause problems for many residents.

"I'm a little disappointed . . . my express bus still isn't running," said one woman.

In the meantime, transit riders who have a December bus pass, a fall semester student pass or annual bus pass can continue to use those until the end of March. December's express bus passes will be accepted until the end of April.

With a report from CTV Ottawa's Vanessa Lee