Senack: It’s time Ottawa started building bus rapid transit again

Since last July, when I started relying on Uber to get around after the bus was either later or didn’t show up, I’ve spent more than $700 on 33 trips. That is not sustainable.

The city is relying on light-rail transit to answer all its prayers. That won’t work. If I wanted to go to Place d’Orléans Shopping Centre from my home, it used to be an hour-and-10-minute bus ride on the 95. Today, that trip would take me an-hour-and-42 minutes, including two buses and a train.

The way to fix this is not hard to figure out: it’s using infrastructure we’ve already built.

In 1983, OC Transpo introduced bus rapid transit (BRT). It started with dedicated bus lanes through the city’s centre, and eventually included separate busways. At its peak, more than 55 stops were in use. The system was branded as one of the best in North America.

Within the next few years, city council will be tasked with deciding whether to move forward with Stage 3 LRT construction to Barrhaven, Kanata and Stittsville. Mayor Mark Sutcliffe campaigned on building the entire system, stating it will fix the city’s crumbling transit system.

That tone-deaf answer doesn’t account for how Ottawa operates today. The bottom line is that transit riders don’t care how they get around the city; they just want it to be fast, reliable and affordable.

Barrhaven already has a BRT that works well. It should be expanded to reach farther south to Half Moon Bay. Meanwhile, if the entire Phase 3 LRT line were built today, it would cost at least $6.5 billion.

It’s an expensive price tag that won’t see results; the numbers don’t lie. Annual operating costs of Stage 3 would be $64 million, say OC Transpo officials. Ridership would only increase by 2.5 per cent, generating an extra $5 million in revenue annually.

Why lay pricey tracks over a piece of infrastructure that already works? Many councillors have stated that other proposed transit projects in Ottawa could be built with those funds, providing a greater benefit for riders across the city.

There is no shortage of wants. BRT was supposed to go down Carling Avenue, but is delayed by further safety studies. Bus lanes were also supposed to go down the middle of Baseline Road to keep up with intensification in that area, but this plan has seen no movement.

These are relatively simple projects with a much cheaper price tag than LRT, that will push the city forward while giving residents what they need now. Transit patterns have changed since the current LRT plans were first brought to the table over a decade ago.

The pandemic taught us it’s OK to pivot. Ottawa voted in this term of council to change the way business works at city hall, not move forward with the status quo. Many transit riders are fed up with a plan that hasn’t provided results. It’s time for BRT to be the vision again. 

Charlie Senack is an Ottawa writer and editor of the Kitchissippi Times newspaper. Reach him at: senack[email protected].