The reviews are in; riders of Ottawa’s new light rail service are impressed on day 2.
Anne Roberts and her husband of 28 years have waited nearly a decade to ride the LRT.
“It was great, I feel proud to be a citizen of Ottawa today, about time,” said Roberts. Her husband, Ward expressed enthusiasm was infectious aboard the trains from Blair Station to Rideau; where they exited from the underground system.
“Loved it, it's great, a lot of people smiling on transit, which you usually don't see.”
Riders Kyle Turcotte and his mother Sarah Kennedy rode the rails for the first time Sunday afternoon.
“It was really fast underground and the tunnels are really long,” said the youngster. His mother said the system works and there were no problems on their commute.
One woman, visiting from Washington, D.C. rode the system from Tunney’s Pasture to Blair to see how it works; excited to see the Canadian capital get a new, more modern comprehensive transit system.
Luc Martin was back at Pimisi station with his family; who wanted to ride the train after Martin was one of the first to experience it Saturday.
“I want to go again with my niece and her girls,” said Martin, who describes the LRT as opening up the city to those who often don’t get to see everything the region has to offer.
The city expects more than a million riders to use the system in the upcoming week; the weekend served as a test period for officials and commuters.
“Maybe chaotic but I think eventually everybody will adapt and it will be smooth and we'll just get used to it,” said Barbara Parker.
The LRT runs Monday to Thursday starting at 5 a.m. until 1 a.m. and Fridays from 5 a.m. until 2 a.m. Saturday. Weekend hours are 6 a.m. until 2 a.m. and Sundays and holidays, 8 a.m. until 11 p.m.
