Tag Archives: Public Transit

Presto!

I broke the law and have no regrets. They didn’t catch me. Well, technically it wasn’t a law, but I think a city bylaw. I didn’t ask what rules I was about to break, just told the transit employee I was going to take my chances and be riding the bus without paying. Now before […]

Presto Woes

I’m finally getting my money’s worth on my daily commute. I am riding for free. My schedule this month has me not going into the office as much as usual. It didn’t make financial sense to purchase my usual monthly transit pass. I decided to “pay as you go.” Ottawa, like many cities, offers a […]

Transit Blues

When the fare inspector steps onto the bus you can feel the tension mounting. Ottawa’s transit system works on the honour system, at least for the articulated buses that allow rear-door entry. You are supposed to swipe you payment card and a record is made of your trip. The key words in that sentence are […]

Keep Calm and Drive Over

For some reason the City of Ottawa installed traffic calming devices on my street a couple of weeks ago. There was no warning, no consultation with the community, just the installation of black and yellow dividers in the middle of the street. I’m assuming the intent is to slow traffic, though I’ve never noticed speed […]

Public Transit

Taking the bus is relatively boring. You get on, you pay your fare, you get off at your destination. One bus looks just like every other bus. It wasn’t like that when we visited Malta. The buses had a uniform colour scheme, but there was room for personalization and individuality. They’ve changed the system since […]

Bus Etiquette

I pushed my way through the group of four young adults blocking the bus’s exit. Clustered in front of the door you would think they were planning on getting off when I was, but that was not the case. I did a quick count as I exited. There were at least six empty seats in […]