Councillor wants OC Transpo to extend 90-minute transfer window as some riders charged twice on trips

An Ottawa city councillor is calling for changes at OC Transpo as some commuters face being charged twice for a single trip to and from the suburbs.

A Barrhaven councillor wants to extend the transfer window for OC Transpo commuters, as construction and system reliability slow down travel times this summer.

Some commuters have complained that their trip from the downtown core or Gatineau to Barrhaven on the O-Train and buses has exceeded the 90-minute transfer window, meaning they may be charged twice for a single trip.

“It is wrong in every way and that’s the reason why I put forward a motion at the last Transit Commission for OC Transpo to fix this,” Coun. David Hill told Newstalk 580 CFRA’s the Morning Rush with Bill Carroll Wednesday morning.

• LISTEN: The Morning Rush - 90-minute transfer window leading to OC Transpo customers getting charged twice

Hill has introduced a motion at the Transit Committee to direct staff to review the 90-minute transfer window and “present options as part of the comprehensive fare review to temporarily increase the transfer window.”

Hill says there are a “number of issues at play” that are contributing to the delays for transit riders.

“The first one being that there is a significant construction delay between Algonquin College and Tunney’s Pasture for anybody that’s on those routes. So that’s a 15-minute, 20-minute addition, depending on the time of the day and traffic that comes with circulation that affects routes,” Hill said.

“The second one is that we need more reliability out of Tunney’s Pasture. If the buses come on time when they were supposed to be leaving Tunney’s Pasture to get people back, then that last path that people need to make with their Presto card at Fallowfield Station or Marketplace Station would happen within that 90-minute window, but the reality is right now is it’s not as reliable as we’d like it to be and we need that to improve.”

OC Transpo has a 90-minute transfer window from the time you tap a Presto Card, debit/credit card or pay a cash fare, while Gatineau’s STO has a two-hour transfer window. The Toronto Transit Commission and Montreal’s STM also have 120-minute windows for transfers.

In a statement to CTV News Ottawa, OC Transpo spokesperson Katrian Camposarcone-Stubbs says OC Transpo staff are currently analyzing the potential impacts of extending the transfer window as part of a response to a notice of motion from Hill.

“This analysis will include a review of whether any scheduled trips from Barrhaven to the downtown core consistently exceed 90 minutes. At this time, the scheduled duration of the majority of customer trips between Barrhaven and downtown take place in less than 90 minutes, however, staff will be investigating travel times further in response to the notice of motion,” she wrote.

“Customers who pay twice for the same trip due to their transfer window expiring can contact OC Transpo by calling 613-560-5000. Refund requests are reviewed on a case-by-case basis and require sufficient information to investigate and determine eligibility. It’s important to note that some refund requests may take longer to process depending on the complexity of the investigation.”

Hill says the New Ways to Bus system launched in the spring was designed to get people from Barrhaven to Tunney’s Pasture “super quick,” but construction and available buses are slowing down the commute.

“If the reliability of the system that was taking people from Tunney’s back to Barrhaven at the end of the day was on point, such that we had the buses there when they were supposed to leave and not bunched up, so you get three-four buses, all arriving within 90 seconds, and then the next bus comes in 40 minutes,” Hill said.

“We just need the reliability of that routing coming out of Tunney’s, that will address the root cause issue.”

The councillor says he’s had “regular conversations” with staff about extending the transfer window, and is hopeful the issue will be resolved.

In May, OC Transpo delivered 98 per cent of scheduled trips, with trips cancelled due to mechanical breakdowns on buses, not enough operators and on-street adjustments to service. Statistics showed 82 per cent of frequent routes were on-time in May.

“I have a lot of friends who live in Orléans, so when they come from Orléans to maybe Barrhaven, it takes a very long time. It takes multiple buses, and I think 90-minutes is definitely not enough,” said Mahmoud Naas, a Carleton University student.

“There have definitely been times that I have had to pay twice because the bus ride is either delayed or they don’t show up at all.”

Regardless of the potential to receive a refund from OC Transpo if they are charged twice, some transit riders say they would prefer to see the transfer window increased.

“Oh, my goodness, that would be amazing,” said Amy Wing.

“I have spent over two hours on the buses, but generally speaking, two hours would make a huge difference.”

Transfer window

Here is a look at the transfer window on other transit systems in Canada.

• Gatineau’s STO: A transfer is valid for two hours from the time of departure.
• Toronto Transit Commission: The TTC offers a two-hour transfer when they pay their fare using a Presto Card, Presto Ticket, debit or credit card.
• Societe de transport de Montreal: The STM says from the first time you validate your fare card, you have 120 minutes to complete your trip
• Vancouver TransLink: The transfer window for TransLink is 90 minutes for Compass Card and Compass Ticket users
• Calgary Transit: A transfer is valid for 90-minutes

LISTEN: Barrhaven West Councillor, David Hill, on the lack of reliability of OC Transpo

With files from CTV News Ottawa’s Austin Lee