A morning rush-hour race from Barrhaven to downtown Ottawa highlights both the advantages and frustrations commuters face as more federal public servants make the return to office. For the second part of CTV News Ottawa’s commuter stress test, I raced my colleague Peter Szperling from Marketplace Station in Barrhaven to our studio in the ByWard Market. My plan was to board OC Transpo’s route 275 to Tunney’s Pasture Station, transfer to O-Train Line 1 and continue to Rideau Station. Szperling would be driving downtown. Marketplace Station is a central point in the growing community. And while there are three OC Transpo park-and-ride lots in Barrhaven—Fallowfield Station, Strandherd Station and Nepean Woods Station—Marketplace does not have one, making it a popular drop-off spot. The race didn’t get off to the planned start. The route 275 bus was late and eventually failed to arrive, before I decided to change plans and board a route 75 bus instead. On Thursday, at 7:57 a.m., the articulated bus was packed. Alexa Hanna, a federal public worker who commutes to Gatineau three times a week, says crowded buses, delays and inconsistent service are familiar problems. “Especially the 74 and 75, it barely shows up,” she says. “But the busses are always packed. And this is honestly a miracle that they send the [articulated] bus. Usually, they send the really small one and then we’re cramped in like sardines.” Hanna says the route 75 will take her toward Gatineau for the first time under OC Transpo’s new fall schedule. “Usually I do bus, LRT, then bus again,” she says. But the new direct trip only departs twice, at 7:20 a.m. and 7:35 a.m. Today, Hanna will still need to make another connection. “I’m going to have to take the 13 and try to connect or take the LRT. So yeah, flop.” The trip to Tunney’s Pasture took 42 minutes, with no seats available during the ride. Once there, the commute improved. The train arrived on time, the transfer was smooth, and there were plenty of available seats. Meanwhile, Szperling’s drive downtown was slowed by a collision on Highway 417. Less than 15 minutes into his trip, traffic was already backing up. Google Maps repeatedly changed his route as he encountered stop-and-go traffic and delays. As I approached Rideau Station, it appeared transit might win the race. I arrived at our station at 8:57 a.m., exactly one hour after boarding the bus at Marketplace Station. The late bus and standing-room-only ride had slowed the first half of the trip, but the connection to the O-Train worked smoothly and helped make up time. Szperling’s drive, though, was unusually slow because of the highway crash and resulting congestion. The race was ultimately called a tie, with a caveat; the drive was significantly affected by an unexpected collision, while the transit trip ended up moving faster than expected after the missed route 275 bus. For Hanna, the biggest issue with taking transit remains consistency. “I drive some days but with parking you have to leave much earlier and it’s obviously more expensive, but as for travel time it’s about the same, but with the bus it varies,” she says. “Honestly, it’s not reliable.” As Ottawa prepares for increased commuter traffic with more people returning to workplaces, the morning race showed transit can compete with driving. But for riders like Hanna, reliability remains key if OC Transpo hopes to convince more commuters to leave their vehicles behind.
