The three express bus routes that serve Barrhaven don’t have the capacity to meet our community’s demand. Since before the federal government mandated a third day back in office, I have asked OC Transpo for additional peak service between at least Fallowfield and Tunney’s Pasture, focusing mostly on a non-stop shuttle between the two terminals and/or improving frequency on our express routes. With a four-day mandate now in force, additional peak service is even more relevant and needed. Staff claim there are not enough resources, despite keeping the E1 bus route that runs parallel to Line 1 every 10 minutes between downtown and Blair in the east end.
I will continue advocating for the E1’s resources to be reallocated to improve peak service in the west. We pay the same fares and transit levies as they do in the east.
Back in 2023, I was the only city councillor on transit committee who voted against exclusively procuring electric buses going forward. My decision at the time was based on the cost differential between diesel and electric buses being almost double, the fact that nearby transit agencies were still running larger-scale tests of their e-bus fleets, and there being no market-tested high capacity e-bus available in Canada. Ideology prevailed, and we spent a lot of money that ended up decreasing the fleet’s overall passenger capacity.
Late last year, I successfully moved a motion at transit committee to reopen all propulsion options in future fleet procurement, prioritising service over ideology in decisions about the bus fleet. Next term, I will continue making transit decisions that put service and operations first. A good transit system is just as beneficial for the environment!
With the extension of Line 1 to Baseline Station (to be renamed Algonquin Station) likely in the next term of Council, I will ensure OC Transpo follows through with their plan to extend all of Barrhaven’s local buses to the LRT station, essentially eliminating the Fallowfield transfer. In the shorter term, I will fight for resources that will be replaced by the Orléans LRT extension, including the E1 bus route, to be reallocated to services in the west.
As part of the most recent Transportation Master Plan, the proposed Barrhaven LRT extension was broken into two projects–from Baseline to Fallowfield, then from Fallowfield to Barrhaven Centre. The intention is to prioritise getting the LRT to Barrhaven, then through later on. Although the project will rely on funding from the provincial and federal governments, decreasing the size of the proposed project, and therefore the budget ask, is a practical way to try advancing the project to benefit Barrhaven East.
Consider this: none of the world’s best transit systems are run by government–that governance structure is quite uniquely North American. By changing OC Transpo from a City department to its own entity with its own board (like HydroOttawa), it could make service-based decisions free from the political whims of City Council. It could also access new revenue tools by diversifying its portfolio and, for example, leveraging existing land and property assets for development and management, which can also help address the mismatch between public transit and development projects in Ottawa, and reduce transit’s exclusive reliance on taxes and fares.
Without addressing foundational and systemic issues, from corporate to governance to revenue, any improvements, fixes, or new initiatives are only as good as the politicians governing it. A successful public transit system is essential in any successful major city, but we are holding it back. Ottawa’s advantage is we know people are willing to use a good transit system, because a good transit system is still fresh in our collective memories.
I started working on this over the last year and intend to introduce it as a policy item next term of Council.
Priorities are listed above and throughout the website, but it doesn’t mean I’ll ignore everything else. Let’s chat about what’s important to you!