Is this Ottawa’s worst commute? Kanata South to downtown Ottawa

CTV’s Dylan Dyson rode public transit from Kanata South to the Department of National Defence building downtown, a commute many say is a daily grind.

Ottawa’s Worst Commute: CTV News Ottawa travels with viewers on OC Transpo buses, the O-Train and Para Transpo to see what’s happening on the transit system. Visit our special Worst Commute page for more coverage.

In today’s edition of CTV News Ottawa’s worst commute series, we simulated a federal government worker’s trip to work by commuting on public transit from Kanata South to the Department of National Defence (DND) building in downtown Ottawa.

We started by planning our trip using OC Transpo’s online trip planner, which said we would arrive at DND by 9 a.m.

CTV News Ottawa boarded the Route 60 Terry Fox/Tunney’s Pasture bus at Eagleson Road and Cope Drive. The bus was scheduled to arrive at 7:30 a.m. and showed up at 7:33 a.m.

Also getting on at that stop was Gatineau resident Frank Kasujja, who works overnights at a nearby grocery store.

Kasujja says his one-way trip to or from work is typically three hours long.

“I take the 59 bus, which is STO, to Lyon station, and I take the train to Tunney’s Pasture,” he tells CTV News.

“Then I take another bus and I get to Terry Fox. Then at Terry Fox, I take another bus.”

The worst part of his commute is the waiting.

“Because if you miss one bus or one is late, most of the time you wait half an hour for the next bus.”

OC Transpo’s trip planner said it would be a 61-minute ride to Tunney’s Pasture to transfer to the O-Train Line 1, but we did not arrive until 9:13 a.m., 100 minutes from the time we boarded the route 60 bus.

On the morning of our commute, snow started falling early, slowing the drive with vehicle collisions seen along the way.

Once at Tunney’s Pasture, boarding the LRT was a new challenge. Due to delays, the O-Train eastbound platform was packed with commuters.

Among the crowd was federal government worker Dorna, who said she is typically late to work half the time.

“It could range from 25 minutes to an hour and 15 minutes,” Dorna told CTV News.

“It’s completely unpredictable. It should take an hour from where I start to end, but typically, it’s taking an hour and a half to two hours and 20 minutes both ways.”

Dorna says the worst part of her commute is not knowing when she’ll get home any given day.

“For anyone who has responsibilities, whether it’s childcare or any other kind of care, not knowing when you’ll be able to get home to take care of your children.”

She would like to see more options for commuters coming from Ottawa’s west end.

“I would like to have a bus from Kanata that goes to downtown, so there’s two alternatives to get to my work location.”

More than two hours after boarding our first bus, we got off the LRT at Rideau Station and walked through the Rideau Centre to the Mackenzie King Bridge, where the entrance is for federal workers at the downtown DND location.

Our arrival time to the building’s entrance is 9:35 a.m., 35 minutes later than OC Transpo’s trip planner said we would arrive.

Dorna says an everyday morning commute shouldn’t have to be like this.

“(Whether) working from home or having a more reliable transit system. I have no problems being in the office. Honestly, it’s the transportation.”

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