If I may add to Mr. Jeanes comments:

I spent some time at Bayview O-Train Station this morning,
I got there at about 7:48, a few minutes after the 7:45 would have
left.

Judging by the large # of people still on the platform, the
7:45 train was not running.

The O-Train was leaving there at 8:00 8:30, 9:00 etc.

A sign near the platform said that a replacement bus would
be running on the north side of SCOTT St. The sign said that the
replacement bus would be running at 7:45, 8:15, 8:45, etc.

(Please note that the sign mounted on the edge of the bridge
over the station says "WELLINGTON St.", but that legally,
the name of the street on that bridge, from the intersection of
Bayview Road and Scott St., all the way east through downtown,
is now ALBERT St. - Please ensure that these various
signs are all changed, as soon as possible, to reflect this, to
prevent confusion.)

Most people, however, ignored the replacement bus, and
simply waited for the next train.

When I spoke to some of them about it, they said that
the bus would not save them much time, compared to waiting
the full half hour for the next train.

The train scheduled to depart at 8:30 did not arrive until
8:33, probably because it was so overloaded from Greenboro
to Carleton, that it would have taken a long time for passengers
to get off and board.

It took four minutes to get everyone off and on, at Bayview,
so that the train did not leave until 8:37, seven minutes late.

The main reason for the delay was the single narrow exit from
the platform at Bayview, and at Carleton, where the heaviest
passenger loads have to be handled.

Fixing this by adding an additional exit from the platform
would make boarding and alighting much faster, as well as
safer, and would allow the train to maintain its schedule
more reliably.

Fortunately, the fix for the platform exit problem is simple,
as well as inexpensive, and could be done in a day.

I will be happy to do a site visit with a City engineer, to show
how it could be done.

I took the 8:45 replacement bus, which was only signed up "Special",
i.e., nothing specific to indicate that this was the O-Train replacement
bus.

Only 2 other passengers, who had aimed to take the train, took
the bus.

One of them asked me how many buses were running to replace
the train.

I said, "Well, it would have to be at least 2 buses, because the
bus would take at least twice as long as the train to cover the
route."

The bus driver overheard this, turned around, and said, "We are
running THREE buses to replace the train."

Councillors, consider this - that's THREE buses, to do a 30 minute
frequency, to replace the ONE O-Train that is out of service.

To do a 15 minute frequency (Note - I am talking FREQUENCY
here, NOT travel time, which is much longer by bus) it would take
SIX buses to cover the service provided by 2 O-Trains.

But, if you wanted the same CAPACITY as the O-Train, which holds
THREE times the passengers of an Articulated bus, and FIVE times
the capacity of the 40 footers that were running the replacement
today, you would need something like 15 (FIFTEEN!) buses to
replace the two trains.

To prove the point, the replacement bus took six minutes to go from
Bayview to Carling O-Train station.

The train normally takes 3 minutes, half the time, to go Bayview to
Carling.

Mr. Cullen, I await the phone call from one of your engineers,
to arrange to meet me at the Bayview and Carleton O-Train stations,
to discuss the added platform exits.

My phone # is (613) 722-1317.

Thank You,
Tim Lane

----- Original Message -----
From: David Jeanes
To: Alex.Cullen@ottawa.ca ; Marianne.Wilkinson@ottawa.ca ; Georges.Bedard@ottawa.ca ; Rainer.Bloess@ottawa.ca ; Clive.Doucet@ottawa.ca ; Christine.Leadman@ottawa.ca ; Jacques.Legendre@ottawa.ca ; maria.mcrae@ottawa.ca ; Doug.Thompson@ottawa.ca
Cc: alain.mercier@transpo.ottawa.on.ca ; nancy.schepers@ottawa.ca
Sent: Monday, September 29, 2008 9:56 AM
Subject: Re: [foto-exec] Monday O-Train Service Cut in Half

From CFRA News:
>
> Monday Train Service Cut in Half
> Caroline Franks and Jason McIntyre
> Sunday, September 28, 2008
>
> O-Train commuters may have to adjust their Monday schedules.
>
> Only one train will be running due to maintenance.
>
> An OC Transpo official tells CFRA News that service will be reduced to every
> half hour at each station.
>
> Shuttle buses will be on the road to make up for the inconvenience.

CBC Radio has been reporting on Monday morning that one of the two O-Trains is out of service today. In fact they should be saying that two of the three O-Trains are out of service!

Signs on the O-Train platforms are saying that the O-Train will be running at half its normal service level until Saturday!

The reason for acquiring a third train, at a forecast capital or lease equivalent cost of about two thirds of a million dollars per year, was to protect against such service outages. This protection has therefore cost the city something like $4.5 million over the past seven years.

In the last year there have been multiple occasions where the spare O-train has not been available for service when needed, either because of missing spare parts, or because of problems with the floor in the maintenance shop which supports the jacking system.

The O-Train has become an essential service for over 10,000 trips per day. Based on OC Transpo's last Pilot Project report in December 2002, it is probably diverting 4000 trips per day from the congested downtown transitway.

With the cancellation of the north-south pilot project and the ill-advised plan to shut down O-Train service for a 3-year period, it is clear that reliable continuing O-Train service must be assured. In fact growing demand requires a near-term plan to increase capacity on this route.

What does OC Transpo require to rectify the problems such as spare parts shortages, maintenance shop deficiencies, or other root causes of these problems?

This should be addressed as an emergency by Transit Committee and Council.

David L. Jeanes, P.Eng.
President, Transport 2000 Canada