Egan: Start the car! When LRT pushes us back behind the wheel

By Kelly Egan, Ottawa Citizen, January 23, 2020

With all the sound and fury about OC Transpo and LRT this week, a profoundly important issue has escaped attention, one critical to transit’s longterm future: rider abandonment.

Thousands of commuters, doubtless, must be wondering about an alternative to a bus-rail system that is so unpredictable, often slower than the bus-only version we replaced, and showing no signs of settling into a reliable pattern.

Like Jamie and Melanie Chapman. Both federal public servants, they live near Holland Avenue and Wellington Street in a building that provides underground parking for their vehicle.

What happened last October should keep OC up at night. They looked at the $240 they were spending monthly on Presto passes, compared the sum to the $195 parking spot that became available in Jamie’s office building, considered the now-longer, more stressful commute to work, and did the easy thing —they ditched OC.

https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/egan-start-the-car-when-lrt-pushes-us-back-behind-the-wheel

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