For two decades, Mohammed Adam relied on his car to navigate Ottawa. This past fall, a change in circumstances forced him to trade his driver's seat for a spot on the bus and train. His four-month journey with OC Transpo, spanning the harsh winter months, delivered a stark reality check about the state of public transit in the capital.
The Learning Curve and the Grid's Limits
Armed with a monthly pass and the OC Transpo app, Adam began reacquainting himself with a system that had changed over the years. An early misadventure saw him on the wrong bus, winding through unfamiliar neighbourhoods far from his destination. Once he mastered the core routes, however, he found efficiency on major corridors. Travel from south-end areas like Riverside South to downtown, or from Orleans to the core, proved to be smooth via bus or rail, connecting at hubs like Bayview or Hurdman Station.
The fundamental flaw, he discovered, lies in travelling across the city rather than along its primary east-west or north-south spines. "Try getting to Barrhaven from Alta Vista," Adam writes, describing such trips as a "nightmare." One attempt to reach Billings Bridge from Carling Avenue involved a cold walk and two bus transfers. He acknowledges the economic reality of routing buses where ridership is highest but argues this leaves many residents in inner neighbourhoods without adequate service.
The Domino Effect of a Late Bus
While Adam notes that buses were generally on time and drivers friendly, the system's fragility is exposed by a single delay. A late arrival at the start of a journey creates a chain reaction of missed connections. This is a pain point recently highlighted by Carleton University student Brooke Anderson and one Adam experienced directly.
"Believe me, there is nothing more deflating than watching your connecting bus leave the station just as you arrive," he states. On two attempts to take Route 98 to connect with the 116 from South Keys to the T&T supermarket on Hunt Club Road, he missed the connection each time. The consequence is a 30-minute or longer wait, often in an unheated shelter.
The Cold Hard Reality of Winter Transit
The experience turned from inconvenient to intolerable in the depths of an Ottawa winter. On one occasion, stranded at a frigid shelter on Hunt Club Road, he was forced to duck into a nearby Greek on Wheels restaurant to order takeout just to warm up while waiting for the next bus. Another time, frustration and cold won out, and he abandoned the trip altogether, calling an Uber—a service he now uses more frequently.
His conclusion after four months is unequivocal. "I can’t say I have really enjoyed the last four months of getting around town by transit," Adam writes, suggesting the season may have played a role. Regardless, the experiment has reached its end. "Four months out in the cold is enough for me. I can’t wait to get back in the car." His firsthand account underscores a critical challenge for OC Transpo: making reliable, connected service a universal reality, not just a convenience for those on the main grid.
