Regional and Intercity Bus\Rail Transportation

[Truenorth00]

Originally Posted by roger1818

So getting back on topic, there is very little the city can actually do to prevent people living in rural communities outside of the city of Ottawa from commuting into the city. While I agree we shouldn't have to subsidize their this, no matter what mode of transportation they choose, it does cost the city something (be it actual dollars or increased traffic and congestion). Here are some of the modes they can choose from (feel free to suggest others):

1. Single occupant vehicle to destination,
2. Carpool to destination,
3. Single occupant vehicle to park and ride then city transit.
4. Carpool to park and ride then city transit,
5. Private bus to transit station then city transit, and
6. Private bus to destination.

All of those options end up costing Ottawa taxpayers in different ways. The questions are, which is best (least bad?) for the city and can we find ways to encourage it?

It's not like there isn't data on how many riders such services get or how much traffic there is from a given community.

The truth of the matter is that rural ridership is so pathetically low in Ottawa, that it's not worth debating really. We're talking a handful of coaches a day. But this is become a hot debate here because it's pretty clear some folks think this should be ramped up as a path to further investment into rural transport.

I really question whether Ottawa even needs GO bus service, to the extent that Toronto has it. As an amalgamation of some rural services, sure. But much more than that? For what?

OC Transpo can provide them with a dedicated bus bay at major transfer nodes, and that should be it. Let the townships decide on what level of service they want and let them pay for it.