Councillors want downtown buses back until LRT is more 'dependable'

Three Ottawa city councillors are calling on OC Transpo to restore bus service through thecoreuntil the transit agency can ensurethe new light-rail system is "dependable."

Coun.Jeff Leipersaidan LRT breakdown Tuesday which left commuters trudgingthrough snow was, in his mind, the"straw that breaks the camel's back."

"We saw social media discussions about people waiting for some long times in the cold, people being asked to walk on sidewalks that didn't look plowed," he told CBC's Ottawa Morning Wednesday.

"The train needs to work before we can ask people to continue relying on it."

It was -10 C at 4 p.m. at the Ottawa airport, with a wind chill making it feel like -19.

Train service between St-Laurent and Blair stations came to a haltfor approximately one hour Tuesday because of a stopped train at Cyrville station.

OC Transpo ran backup buses between the stations.

Councillors Catherine McKenney, Carol Anne MeehanandLeipertweeted to express their frustration.

"After careful consideration [Coun. Jeff Leiper] and I are calling for the restoration of all R1 busses until the trains are dependable," Coun. McKenney wrote in a Tweet.

R1 buses run along the Confederation Line route when rail service is disrupted, mirroring the routes which used to be served by retiredbusessuch as the 95.

The transit agency said 17 buses were used for Tuesday's replacement service, which also saw Routes25, 30 and 39 begintheir routes at St-Laurent the 30 and 39usually begin at of Blair.

Since the LRTtook over for major bus routes Oct. 6, more than a dozen delays have prompted OC Transpo to run backup buses.