By Gerry Bedard, Julie Newsland, John Hollis and others, Ottawa Citizen Letters to the Editor, November 9, 2019
Charge a fee for cars in the core
Re: Four ideas to help boost Ottawa’s bus and LRT service, Nov. 7.
Brigitte Pellerin has some good ideas about boosting public transit. One of the best solutions she is has not mentioned would be the introduction of transit fees for cars entering the inner city. A simple electronic system charging vehicles coming in on Highway 416 or 417 east and westbound, and of course all the bridges coming from Quebec. A $2 charge for every vehicle from 6:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. Monday to Friday on all incoming traffic. Weekends would be free. Outgoing would also be free.
(...)Stop making cars the priority
Congratulations, Brigitte Pellerin, for making suggestions that would improve bus service and ease road congestion. Ottawa politicians recognize the necessity of public transit but are reluctant to upset motorists.
(...)A better use for St-Laurent station
Re: 40 buses returning to service as mayor says he’s ‘furious’ with poor LRT performance, Nov. 2.
It was evident by 1990 that the bus transitway through central Ottawa had inadequate capacity to handle the volume of passengers in the afternoon rush hour. It has taken three decades for the city of Ottawa to begin to address that problem. And the immediate solution has significant difficulties with the connection between train and bus.
https://ottawacitizen.com/opinion/letters/todays-letters-dreams-and-fixes-for-ottawas-public-transit-system