Transit commission denies Ottawa councillors’ request for emergency meeting
Posted Aug 17, 2021 01:47:00 PM.
A request from two Ottawa city councillors to hold an emergency meeting with the city's Transit Commission has been denied.
Councillors Diane Deans and Catherine McKenney made the request to Commission Chair Allan Hubley, on Monday, in order to discuss ongoing issues with the city's light rail trains and double-decker buses.
@dianedeans and I have requested an emergency meeting of the Transit Commission to discuss the ongoing and serious issues with the LRT trains and double decker buses. https://t.co/LjOMrajD3m
— Catherine McKenney (@cmckenney) August 16, 2021
O-Train services on the city's Confederation Line were recently suspended for five days after an issue in an axle bearing caused a derailment at Tunney's Pasture on August 8, and on August 9, a double-decker bus slid into a ditch, forcing the removal of 19 double-decker buses from service.
McKenney, a current commission member, and Deans, a past commission chair, said in a letter addressed to Hubley, that they are greatly concerned about ongoing problems with local transit services.
However, Hubley denied the request, writing a letter of his own, which stated that OC Transpo has already responded 'very professionally' to both of the incidents:'
“Councillor McKenney, Councillor Deans,
Thank you for your email. Be assured that I share your concerns, however, Mr. Manconi and his team at OC Transpo have responded very professionally to both of these incidents. They are working with RTM and Alexander Dennis day and night to identify the root cause of both events, as well as fully cooperating with the TSB in their review of the rail incident.
As they always do, staff have taken all precautions to prioritize the safety of our riders and operators, and inspections are ongoing on the remaining trains and double-decker vehicles to ensure they are safely brought back into service.
Throughout these events last week, Mr. Manconi has provided regular updates to City Council and Transit Commission – sometimes twice daily – as more information became available. It is inaccurate and unfair to say otherwise. Mr. Charter has also granted multiple interviews with numerous media outlets in order to keep the public informed on the progress and staff's efforts to safely restore service as soon as possible.
As you know, ridership remains below usual levels and the current fleet of trains and buses available to staff are more than sufficient to provide the capacity required to meet the service demand of customers.
Our staff's attention is currently directed to the inspection of vehicles and restoring full service, and I want Mr. Manconi and his team's undivided attention on that mission, to the benefit of OC Transpo riders.
Mr. Manconi will shortly issue a detailed memo on the root cause and the ongoing inspection, and his team will also provide a fulsome update on both issues at the September meeting of the Transit Commission. In the meantime, they remain available to answer questions from Transit Commission members, Councillors and members of the media.
Thank you for your understanding.”
McKenney has since tweeted that she is petitioning the members of the Transit Commission for a majority to request a special meeting in order to get a public briefing from city staff members and give councillors the opportunity to ask questions in an open forum.
Update: I have petitioned the members of Transit Commission for a majority to request a special meeting in order to get a public briefing from staff & an opportunity to ask questions in an open meeting. We are ultimately responsible for the transit system. cc: @dianedeans https://t.co/sAPz3rRjdF
— Catherine McKenney (@cmckenney) August 17, 2021
