LRT line to Ottawa airport not most convenient for tourists but city believes it best serves community

The City of Ottawa's light rail transit (LRT) line from Ottawa Macdonald-Cartier International Airport to its downtown core isn't finished yet, but with new funding announced by the federal government many are talking about it being an inconvenient option for travellers. 

“It obviously has problems,”  says David Jeanes, Director of Transport Action Canada. “If you're a business traveller or a tourist with lots of baggage and you're arriving at the airport and going downtown, its not going to be a very attractive trip because you'll have a double transfer. And, if you arrive in the morning, you'll be getting on trains that are already full because of commuters coming from the south or the west end.”

However, Vice-Chair of Ottawa's Transit Commission and City Councillor Jean Cloutier says that is actually the point; inconvenience for travellers is one thing, but tourists will likely only represent a fraction of the ridership.

“We expect that there's going to be a lot less traffic going to and from the airport than there would be going to and from Riverside-South,” Cloutier says. “We don't want empty trains going to and from the airport. We want to have the flexibility to adjust the schedule.”

The city councillor says most of the people who will use the LRT line to and from the airport will be residents — airport employees and Carleton-University students — which is why the transfers at South Keys Station and at Bayview Station are going to be necessary.

Cloutier adds, if there is a high demand to have trains go directly downtown the city could eventually make that change because of how the LRT is being built, but with respect to the expected number of passengers using the service, the city doesn't believe that it will be a requirement anytime soon.