Passenger Bus, Rail and Motorcoach Industry News

The “downtown circulator” would mainly serve tourists and federal government workers and would be much more efficient than the current OC Transpo and Société de transport de l'Outaouais bus runs through the shared core of the capital now.

Despite appeals and a presentation from University of Ottawa students, the OC Transpo Transit Commission refused to change the $35-per-semester fee increase to its U-pass. Students dispute the transit system’s calculations, which set the new revenue-neutral price.

OC Transpo officials are looking into an incident in which a bus driver allegedly walked off the job after a passenger asked why the bus was frequently late. The rider claimed that the driver stranded him and 15 other riders on an idling bus.

OC Transpo plans to boost the UPass cost to $360 for an annual pass for Carleton and University of Ottawa students, $70 more than the current cost of $145 per semester.

The past two years of the pilot have seen support from the students at both universities, but an agreement to satisfy all students has proven to be just out of reach.

The new vehicles, called Coradia Lint, will be delivered in May 2013.

The agency claims that two Twitter accounts publishing updates on bus cancellations based on data pulled directly from OC Transpo’s website are unreliable. The agency does not have a Twitter account.

City plans universal student bus pass pilot program; pass would be mandatory for students at Carleton University and University of Ottawa. Students at both universities voted in favor of a referendum for the bus passes.

The center is expected to employ approximately 12 employees when it opens.

The Orion VII hybrids use up to 35 percent less fuel, and the entire fleet is expected to reduce carbon emissions by over 5,000 tons annually, depending on the duty cycle in which the buses operate.