Transitway (Ottawa)
Transitway | |||
---|---|---|---|
Overview | |||
Owner | City of Ottawa | ||
Locale | Ottawa, Ontario, Canada | ||
Transit type | Bus rapid transit | ||
Number of lines | 11 | ||
Number of stations | 44 | ||
Website | OC Transpo rapid network | ||
Operation | |||
Began operation | 1983 | ||
Operator(s) | OC Transpo | ||
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The Transitway is a bus rapid transit network operated by OC Transpo in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It began service in 1983. Many of the Transitway roads are above or below the grade of normal streets in Ottawa, by the use of overpasses, bridges, and trench highways. Thus, they rarely intersect directly with the regular traffic, and make it possible for the buses (and emergency vehicles) to continue at full speed even during rush hour. Buses that travel on the Transitway can cross long distances (especially outside the downtown area) without stopping for a single traffic light. Most sections of the Transitway have a speed limit of 70–90 km/h (43–56 mph) between stations, and 50 km/h (31 mph) in the station areas.
Routes
The following routes are BRT routes, branded "Rapid" routes by OC Transpo. These routes travel on large stretches of the Transitway, or travel exclusively on the Transitway.
# | Terminus | Terminus | Notes | Map |
---|---|---|---|---|
39 | Millennium | Blair 39 La Cité |
Replaces route 95 between Blair station and Trim station, but will follow route 22 routing to/from Millennium station via Trim. Select trips will extend to/from La Cité collegiale and Samuel Genest school. Overnight extension to Rideau Station numbered N39. | [1] |
45 | General Hospital | Hurdman | Operates 24/7 between Hurdman station and the Ottawa Health Sciences Complex. Overnight extensions to Rideau numbered N45. | [2] |
57 | Bells Corners Bayshore |
Tunney's Pasture | Replaces the western portion of current route 97 via the same routing. Select trips start/end at Bayshore station. Overnight extension to Rideau Station numbered N57. | [3] |
61 | Terry Fox, Stittsville | Tunney's Pasture 61 Gatineau |
Route 61C trips during the morning peak period travel directly from Castlefrank to Highway 417 and Eagleson, bypassing Katimavik and Terry Fox. Route 61C trips during the afternoon peak period serve Katimavik, but do not serve Castlefrank north of Katimavik, or Terry Fox station. Route 61D trips during morning peak travel via Highway 417 between Castlefrank and Eagleson station. Early morning trips travel via Pinecrest Garage on Queensview. | [4] |
62 | Terry Fox 62 Stittsville |
Tunney's Pasture | Before noon on weekdays, eastbound buses travel via Fringewood between Abbott E. and Hazeldean, while westbound buses travel via Iber. After noon on weekdays, buses follow the reverse direction on both roads. | [5] |
63 | Innovation | Tunney's Pasture 63 Gatineau |
Serves the community of Briarbrook in north Kanata, the Kanata North Business Park, and travels via Highway 417 and the Transitway. Eastbound AM peak period trips travel via March instead of the business park and are extended to Gatineau; the reverse occurs in the PM peak for westbound. Extra service is provided by local route 64. | [6] |
74 | Riverview | Tunney's Pasture | Replaces the western portion of current route 94 via the same routing. | [7] |
75 | Barrhaven Centre Cambrian |
Tunney's Pasture | Overnight extension to Rideau Station numbered N75. | [8] |
97 | Airport |
Hurdman | Select late evening southbound trips travel via Hunt Club and Uplands instead of the Airport Parkway. Overnight extension to Rideau from Hurdman is numbered N97. | [9] |
98 | Hawthorne | Hurdman | Serves the Greenboro and South Keys neighbourhoods in South Ottawa. | [10] |
99 | Barrhaven Centre | Greenboro 99 Hurdman |
Extended from Greenboro to Hurdman during peak hours, two-way service. | [11] |
Some Greyhound intercity buses used the Transitway from St-Laurent to Laurier either to/from the city's main bus terminal.
Type of buses
All OC buses are now low floor "accessible" buses, with an aim to improve access to the service by the elderly and handicapped, and to speed up boarding by other passengers; most of these are high-capacity articulated buses. Route 61 (formerly known as route 96) has used the new Invero low-floor buses since September 2005 and route 101 (formerly known as route 99) since the start of spring 2006. Route 94 experimented with three Alexander Dennis Enviro500 double decker buses. The three demo models were sold to BC Transit in the summer of 2012, but OC Transpo purchased 135 more Enviro500 double decker for use on its express routes, of which 132 are in revenue service (bus 8017 was involved in a major accident with a Via Rail train on September 18, 2013 and is presumed retired), while bus 8010 was destroyed by a fire.
History
2009 Transit Service Plan
In June 2006, the City of Ottawa released a 2009 service plan for O-Train LRT services, the Transitway and new bus routes. (This plan was cancelled shortly after the 2006 municipal election.)
To the west, there are new Moodie, Bells Corners, Queensway-Carleton, Hazeldean and Kanata North Transitway stops. To the south, there is a new Nepean Sportsplex stop, and proposed stops for Strandherd and Marketplace. To the east, the Southeastern transitway is extended to Hawthorne, and the Eastern to Blackburn Hamlet and beyond. To the north, there is a planned stop at the Les Terrasses Complex. It also investigates the possibility of transitway buses along Baseline, another downtown location, and from further east on the Queensway from Kirkwood all the way to Eagleson.
Central Transitway
The downtown section of the Transitway, known as the Central Transitway, consisted of two single bus-only lanes on Albert and Slater Streets (one-way public streets in opposite east and west directions). Traffic congestion here, where the buses mingle with private vehicles, sometimes causes service delays and is seen by some as the main weakness in the Transitway system.
Initial plans for the Transitway included a bus-only tunnel in this section but the cost of a ventilated tunnel for conventional buses was deemed too expensive and was not warranted at the time. In 2006, it was proposed to extend the O-Train downtown as a tramway over the same streets while keeping existing bus and car traffic. The idea was met with objections from businesses along those streets, as normal access to the businesses would be impeded.
In 2019, the Confederation Line opened, replacing the downtown portion of the Transitway with an underground, high-capacity rapid transit rail line. This service change greatly reduced the number of buses travelling on Albert and Slater streets.
Stations
This section needs to be updated.(October 2019) |
East
Station | Rapid connections | Notes |
---|---|---|
Blair | 39 | Park & Ride |
Montréal | 39 | |
Jeanne d'Arc | 39 | Park & Ride |
Place d'Orléans | 39 | Park & Ride |
Trim | 39 | Park & Ride |
Millennium | 39 | Park & Ride |
Southeast
Station | Rapid connections | Notes |
---|---|---|
Hurdman | 45 97 98 99 | |
Lycée Claudel | 45 97 98 99 | |
Smyth | 97 98 99 | |
Riverside | 97 98 99 | |
Pleasant Park | 97 98 99 | |
Billings Bridge | 97 98 99 | |
Heron | 97 98 99 | |
Walkley | 97 98 99 | Park & Ride |
Greenboro | 97 98 99 | |
South Keys | 97 98 99 | |
Airport | 97 | Located at the Ottawa Macdonald–Cartier International Airport |
Hawthorne | 98 | |
Leitrim | 99 | Park & Ride |
Southwest
Station | Rapid connections | Notes |
---|---|---|
Iris | 74 75 | |
Baseline | 74 75 | Park & Ride, located across from Algonquin College |
Fallowfield | 74 75 | Park & Ride, connection to Via Rail services |
Nepean Woods | 74 99 | Park & Ride |
Riverview | 74 99 | Park & Ride |
Longfields | 75 | |
Strandherd | 75 | Park & Ride |
Marketplace | 75 99 | |
Barrhaven Centre | 75 99 | |
Cambrian | 75 | |
Beatrice | 99 |
West
Station | Rapid connections | Notes |
---|---|---|
Tunney's Pasture | 57 61 62 63 74 75 | |
Westboro | 57 61 62 63 74 75 | |
Dominion | 57 61 62 63 74 75 | |
Lincoln Fields | 57 61 62 63 74 75 | |
Queensway | 61 62 63 74 75 | |
Pinecrest | 61 62 63 | |
Bayshore | 57 61 62 63 | |
Bells Corners | 57 | |
Moodie | 61 62 63 | |
Eagleson | 61 62 63 | Park & Ride |
Terry Fox | 61 62 | Park & Ride |
Canadian Tire Centre | 62 | Park & Ride |
Stittsville | 61 62 | |
Teron | 62 63 | |
Innovation | 63 | Park & Ride |
See also
- O-Train, OC Transpo's light rail transit system
- Other bus rapid transit systems in Ontario
References