By Glen Gower, Ottawa Citizen Op-Ed, November 22, 2023
...Since January, OC Transpo has engaged with 8,200 people through virtual and in-person open houses, online surveys, outreach at major transit hubs, and in direct discussions with major employers, advocacy groups and city councillors. Transit planners have combined that feedback with demographic information and transportation data to come up with a new network of routes.
Unfortunately, a lot of the news coverage has focused on “cuts” without emphasizing the new routes and service being added. It’s true that some 200-series rush-hour routes will be removed, but in almost every case they’re being combined or replaced by another route. There are also new routes being added, and additional service where there is high ridership. And there’s also the launch of Line 2 and 4 of the LRT, providing high-frequency, high-capacity train service to the south end.