As OC Transpo is preparing for a major test this fall as federal public servants return to the office and students head back to school, riders say they’re willing to give OC Transpo a chance — they just need to see it work. For Katie Kerrivan, reliability comes down to something pretty simple: whether the bus actually shows up. “I do feel like having more buses would be a good thing and is a good thing, but they also need to be a little bit more reliable in terms of showing up. Even the bus that I took this morning to get to the train was 15 minutes late and I’m at the beginning of the route,” said Kerrivan. Starting August 31, OC Transpo will introduce seven new express bus routes connecting transit stations with park-and-rides and key employment areas. Schedules are also being adjusted on 30 of the city’s busiest bus routes. The transit service says the new changes are designed to provide more accurate and reliable schedules. Kerrivan, who is a student, says she thinks the system can handle the influx of riders but acknowledges there will be challenges. “I think as long as it’s fairly staggered and there’s enough support for trying to get people into the right areas, that’ll be fine. But I do feel like it’ll be a challenge one way or another.” OC Transpo is also increasing weekday service on Line 1. Rush-hour trains will run every four minutes instead of five, while midday service will increase to every six minutes from every ten. Line 2 will also begin earlier service, with trains starting at 6 a.m. But some riders remain skeptical. “They said that they’re improving, like the buses are going to show up when they’re supposed to. Whatever. We’ll see what happens,” said Philippe Poirier. Others say the return of federal workers and students at the same time could put significant pressure on the system. “You’re talking about more people. And if it’s not reliable at this point, like that’s scary,” said Adela Polacek. Polacek says it can take her well over 2 hours to get to appointments and sometimes has to pay twice for fares. “If the buses were more reliable, there would be less traffic because people would be able to rely on the bus and take the bus. So, one affects the other and it’s a vicious cycle.” Beacon Hill-Cyrville Coun. Tim Tierney says the long-awaited eastern extension of the O-Train could help but the timing remains uncertain. “The English school board and federal government workers both coming back at the same time, you know, it’s going to be pure chaos,” said Tierney. “We’ve been watching the testing taking place. I feel extremely confident that we’ve heard from our general manager that it will be this fall. I’ve never ever believed it. I believe it this time, this fall, we will see the train service in the east.”
