One-on-one with Ottawa's new transit boss
Renée Amilcar began her new job as general manager of transit services on Monday, nearly a full month after an LRT derailment crippled the transit system.
Amilcar comes to Ottawa from Montreal, where she was the executive director of bus services for the Société de Transports Montréal. She is an industrial engineer with a degree from École Polytechnique de Montréal and an MBA from Université de Sherbrooke.
In an interview with CTV Ottawa's Chief News Anchor Graham Richardson, Amilcar discussed the challenges ahead as Ottawa's transit system remains hamstrung by the woes on the Confederation Line.
"The first thing I want to do is listen to people, listen to my team, and understand the issues to find solutions and put back the service in place," Amilcar said.
"I just arrived, but I think that it's impossible to not say the LRT problem is an issue. It's a technical problem and technical problems will be resolved by technical solutions."
She asked riders to be patient as she begins her new role.
"For sure, we'll find solutions to resolve the technical problems," she said.
An LRT train derailed on Sept. 19 just west of Tremblay Station and the system has been offline ever since. On Monday, City Manager Steve Kanellakos said in a memo that the Rideau Transit Group—the consortium that built and now maintains the $2.1 billion line—is aiming for a partial resumption of service on Nov. 1, six weeks after the derailment.
Kanellakos said, however, that RTG's return-to-service plan requires vetting, testing and independent verification by a third party before the city can safely decide when trains can start accepting passengers again. He expects some level of service to resume "within the first two weeks of November", which could mean up to two full months without LRT.
Ottawa's transit commission will meet Wednesday for what is expected to be a lengthy discussion on the plan to get the trains running again. Representatives from RTG and from TRA—the Philadelphia-based firm hired to independently verify RTG's plan—will be in attendance.
Amilcar also comes to Ottawa amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, which has contributed to a significant decline in ridership across the transit system. A report prepared for the transit commission said nearly half of Ottawa's workforce transitioned to working from home during the pandemic and that meant a significant number of transit users were no longer riding on buses and trains. Transit ridership fell more severely in 2020 in Ottawa than it did in other major Canadian cities, including Montreal and Toronto, according to the report.
Amilcar says one of her goals is restoring the confidence of riders in the transit system.
"I'm very concerned about that because for me, to restore the confidence, we have to restore the service," she said. "But, to do so, I need to make sure that the service will be reliable and safe."
Amilcar said the system is safe, but she and her team are working to improve it.
"The system is very new; it's a new technology, so we are working very hard with the team to make sure the reliability will be improved again."
Amilcar replaces John Manconi, the longtime head of OC Transpo, who oversaw the launch of LRT and became a public face for the system throughout its tumultuous beginnings, from stuck doors to wheel flats to the two derailments in August and September.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
NEW After hearing thousands of last words, this hospital chaplain has advice for the living
Hospital chaplain J.S. Park opens up about death, grief and hearing thousands of last words, and shares his advice for the living.
Some Canadian families will receive up to $620 per child today
More money will land in the pockets of some Canadian families on Friday for the latest Canada Child Benefit installment.
BREAKING Iran fires at apparent Israeli attack drones near Isfahan air base and nuclear site
An apparent Israeli drone attack on Iran saw troops fire air defences at a major air base and a nuclear site early Friday morning near the central city of Isfahan, an assault coming in retaliation for Tehran's unprecedented drone-and-missile assault on the country.
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer denied bail after being charged with killing Canadian couple
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer, one of two men charged in the killings of a Canadian couple in Dominica, has been denied bail.
Ottawa to force banks to call carbon rebate a carbon rebate in direct deposits
Canadian banks that refuse to identify the carbon rebate by name when doing direct deposits are forcing the government to change the law to make them do it, says Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault.
Ontario woman loses $15,000 to fake Walmart job scam
A woman who recently moved to Canada from India was searching for a job when she got caught in an online job scam and lost $15,000.
Prince Harry formally confirms he is now a U.S. resident
Prince Harry, the son of King Charles III and fifth in line to the British throne, has formally confirmed he is now a U.S. resident.
Colin Jost names one celebrity who is great at hosting 'Saturday Night Live'
Colin Jost, who co-anchors Saturday Night Live's 'Weekend Update,' revealed who he thinks is one of the best hosts on the show.
Nearly half of China's major cities are sinking, researchers say
Nearly half of China's major cities are suffering 'moderate to severe' levels of subsidence, putting millions at risk of flooding especially as sea levels rise.