OTTAWA — OC Transpo’s General Manger of Customer Systems, Pat Scrimgeour, says the City has learned “hundreds of lessons” since the launch of the Confederation Line on Sept. 14.
But he admits Ottawa transit riders have suffered more than transit users in other big cities.
“Probably so, in the early days,” Pat Scrimgeour tells CTV Morning Live, Friday. “We’re stressing the system. We’ve done thousands of tests, the manufacturers have done thousands of tests, but now it’s real life, it’s live.”
Scrimgeour says the entire transit system, from the trains to the buses, is experiencing what it was built for.
"If there are adjustments to be made, we have to make them," Scrimgeour says.
His comments came just moments before another reported delay on the Confederation Line. OC Transpo said a train became immobilized at Tunney’s Pasture station just after 8:00 a.m. The issue was cleared by 8:30 with full service resuming.
R1 bus service wasn't required for this delay, but there were other delays this week where buses had to move passengers along part of the line. Scrimgeour says buses will always be ready for when they're needed but he says no amount of buses can replace a high-capacity rail line.
Scrimgeour says OC Transpo still wants to hear from riders who are experiencing problems.
“We want to hear from everybody about how what they’ve experienced affects them and what they’re looking for,” he says. “A lot of people have very high standards and we’re eager to meet them.”
Scrimgeour says the Confederation Line is the busiest light rail line in North America, which he attributes to Ottawa’s high level of transit ridership. The City says there were more than three million rides on the LRT in its first month of service.
But despite the fact that the City was expecting a high level of ridership—a press release on launch day said the Confederation Line is expected to carry 10,700 passengers an hour during peak periods—Scrimgeour says you can never be prepared for real life.
“You can never be prepared for what you’re going through in real life and you have to be prepared every day for what that day might bring,” he says, “and react very well.”
For information on how to contact OC Transpo click here.
