Tag Archives: Public Transit
Light Rail Dreams
Apparently Kevin Costner wasn’t completely accurate in the movie Field of Dreams when he said “if you build it they will come.” The Ottawa version is “we have built it, and we are going to make sure you come. You have no choice” Ottawa’s transit provider, OC Transpo, unveiled a complete revamping of its system […]
The Inspection
On this Flashback Friday we go back to the post from December 20, 2016. Our local bus service was running a $120 million deficit last time i looked, and fare inspectors aren’t cutting into that much. Of course, if the buses ran on time or when they are scheduled, ridership might improve. Apparently though, the […]
Where Is It?
It’s Flashback Friday, when I share an older post from years past. Today’s is from March 8, 2018, some thoughts on dealing with a new-to-me transit system. If you visit here regularly you know I am a big supporter of public transit. No matter where I am. My home town is Ottawa, and the system […]
The First One
The first real storm of the winter has started. It’s Tuesday afternoon and I have been shoveling already. There’s another 15-20 centimeters on the way. Snow isn’t the problem. It is the freezing rain and ice pellets that are coming overnight. The online “snow day predictor” tells me there’s a 99% school buses will be […]
Back On Track?
Did you know Ottawa gets snow in the winter? And sometimes freezing rain? Of course you did. Do you know who apparently didn’t know that? The people who run our transit system. That has to be the explanation. The people in charge cannot possibly live here. Nor can they be aware of the weather we […]
Only In Ottawa
The commission of public inquiry report on Ottawa’s light rail (LRT) system is out and the results are not pretty. As expected, the report isn’t complimentary towards those in charge of the multi-billion dollar project. Ordinarily you would expect repercussions for those who made bad, possibly illegal, moves while misleading the public and city council. […]
The Train
Homesickness is a weird emotion that can strike at the most unlikely times in the most unlikely places. I shouldn’t get it in Canada, should I? As I took public transit downtown Wednesday morning, I had a flash of homesickness as the train pulled into the station. There’s a warning announced in English and French telling […]
Unmasked
At first I thought I had missed the announcement. There was only one person on the bus, besides me, not wearing a face mask. Was the mask mandate back in force? I checked my news feed. Apparently not. A day after the mask mandate for public transit was dropped, the vast majority of people were […]
Never Thought of That
I heard the sounds before I saw the workers. The familiar sounds of a water truck cleaning the street. In Canada, as Spring comes they send out trucks with high pressure spray nozzles to hose down the streets, clearing away a winter’s accumulated grit with a pressure wash. The streets don’t stay clean for long, […]
COVID Silver Linings
City officials in Ottawa, Canada, probably won’t admit it, but the timing of the COVID-19 pandemic has been a blessing for them. People are focusing on health and not the city’s under-performing light rail system. The multi-billion dollar project was opened to the public with great fanfare in September, and the breakdowns started almost immediately. […]
random thoughts from lorne 
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