tomsbuspage

OC Transpo's June 2017 system map is now available online: http://www.octranspo.com/images/files/maps/system_map/systemmap.pdf

The STO have announced their detours for Canada Week, from 27 June until 4 July: http://www.sto.ca/index.php?id=335&L=en

Here's a question for the Ottawa-Gatineau residents on this board: What is the earliest date you've seen on a route map installed at a bus stop? For instance, I was waiting for the 14 on McArthur Avenue last week and I noticed that the map is dated 25 June 1989, which would mean that that was the last time the route was changed. The map was of a recent design, but it was dated to the time when route 14 was extended along Rideau Street, McArthur Avenue and St. Laurent Blvd. to replace route 16, which had been serving McArthur since the Cyrville bus route was acquired when the OTC purchased Eastview Bus Lines in 1950, later operating as route 52 between 1959 and 1985. Sorry, couldn't resist putting a little history in there!

Here is a photo of 7801 from OC Transpo's twitter account, taken at St. Laurent Shopping Centre in 1979:

City releases finalist bidders for next stage of light rail

I checked my copy of the latest OC Transpo map and for the first time since the early 1980s, there was no list of routes which do not operate on Sundays. However, based on last year's map, I was able to compile a list of routes which will not operate on Canada Day. Most are local routes and some are former peak-period routes which have changed from red to grey numbers: All red peak-period routes All purple Connexion routes [21] (former 194) [23] (former 123) [31] (former 193) 33 [47] (former 192) [50] (former 150) [56] (former 6) [66] (former 182) [81] (former 151) [84] (former 178) (91) (will operate after the fireworks show) 101 137 [158] (former 180) 161 162 165 173 174 [179] [187] (former 157)

Effective: 6/26 New Schedules | Service Changes - Syracuse Service Changes - Utica Service Changes - Oswego / Fulton / Mexico Service Changes - Auburn Service Changes

Routes 6 (formerly 1) and 5 connect at both the Rideau Centre and at Billings Bridge, so it is very possible to travel south on one route and north on the other. Since Rideau and Wellington Streets are both closed all day on Canada Day, these routes will travel to the Rideau Centre on the Mackenzie King Bridge. OC Transpo will be operating an enhanced Sunday service, which means that the routes operating to downtown will have extra buses in service, but I would expect that most local routes will have Sunday frequencies. OC Transpo usually publishes a list of routes not operation on Sundays or in certain time periods on the back of their system maps, but I can't seem to find it online. A while ago, I scanned in a copy of the list from 2008, and though it may be dated, it will give you a rough idea of which regular routes will not be operating on Canada Day. As part of the enhanced service, double deckers are often used on routes for which they are not normally assigned. As for the route colours, OC Transpo is introducing a new route classification scheme, which is fairly well-explained here: http://www.octranspo.com/ready4rail/new_service_types. Basically, the old black, grey, red, and green route numbers will change to blue (Rapid), orange (Frequent), grey (Local, but including downtown) and purple (Connexion, which is peak only). If the stop shows a white number on a coloured background, that indicates full service, while a coloured number on a white background indicates part-time service. Right now, the network is in a transition period, so new routes will appear on the map and stops with the new colours, while old routes will still have the old colours. Complicating things is that all new stops being installed will use the new scheme, even for old routes, so route 7, for example, is still a black regular route on the map, but all the stops it shares with new route 6 along Bank and Wellington Streets will have orange numbers. At the same time, OC Transpo is undergoing a system-wide route renumbering plan, so the route numbers you see on the online map may not match the route numbers you see on the buses. Most of the routes affecting by the June changes are in the east end, but route 1 changing to route 6 will be the most noticeable downtown. I hope you enjoy your visit, especially since Ottawa is really rolling out the red carpet for Canada's 150th birthday!

I would also suggest route 5, which travels along Elgin St., Main St., and Riverdale Ave. through Centretown, Old Ottawa East and Old Ottawa South.

Personally, I found that the stripe livery looked great on the Fishbowls and other 1970s models, but began looking really dated by the time the D40 and Orion V buses were delivered in the early 1990s. The KFC livery looked good on the Orion V and Nova LFS buses, but not so much on the Orion II. The Maple Leaf livery looks best on the Fishbowls, Classics, Orion Vs, Inveros, and the double-deckers. Even the old green livery looked good on old buses such as 5931 and 6101, IMHO. A chacun son gout!

You mean like this bus? (Bob Hussey photo): http://images59.fotki.com/v1640/photos/9/2227239/11273498/octranspo8831f-vi.jpg I remember those signs well, and I cannot recall when they started being used and when they were replaced, though it may have had something to do with the 100-series bus routes introduced in 1980.

This list is based purely on my own personal preference. Of course, it's hard to rank some buses because they did not run concurrently (e.g. Orion I vs. Orion VII), but it basically boils down to which bus I'd rather ride if two of them pulled up to my bus stop at the same time: OC Transpo GM Fishbowl (pre-refurb ex-Santa Monica 1756-1770 - 8V71N/VS2-8 equipped) GM Articulated (8201-8222) GM Fishbowl (6001-7620 and 5701-5769 - 6V71N/VH-9 equipped) GM Fishbowl (7621-8240 - 6V71N/V730 equipped) Orion II ADL Enviro500 (all types) Orion V (1991/1992 6V92TA equipped) Orion I (all types) MCI/NovaBus Classic (6V92TA equipped) Flyer D800 (8704-8708 - 6V71N/Spicer 183 equipped) Flyer D800B (8709-8718 - 6V71N/V730 equipped) Orion VII NG hybrid Orion VI NovaBus LFS GM Classic (6V71N equipped) Orion III/Ikarus 286 (ex-TTC) Orion V (1997/1998 DD Series 50 equipped) New Flyer D40 (all types) New Flyer D60LF/D60LFR (all types) New Flyer Invero El Dorado EZ-Rider (9751) Cutaways (9750/9899/2601) Orion III/Ikarus 286 (OC Transpo originals) STO GM Fishbowl Orion II MCI Classic NovaBus Classic GM Classic NovaBus LFS Artic NovaBus LFS

5135 also has the wrap (rode it today).