The Last Ride

Over the years, especially ever since the Line 1 corridor for the O-Train opened, I've heard lots of complaints about OC Transpo on social media. Buses and trains running late or being cancelled. Riders left stranded, or worse, having to exit a train between stations and walking along the tracks.

OC Transpo used to be one of the best city transit services in North America. I remember, in the 70s, living on Chesterton Drive, in Nepean, along a bus route. I'd be able to walk out of my house just minutes before a bus was scheduled to arrive at a stop that was practically next door and see the bus coming around the corner.

Like clockwork.

In high school, when I had to use OC Transpo to get to class in the morning, it was reliable. I don't ever remember being late because the bus didn't come on time.

Even as little as a decade or so ago, when I would take the bus to work a couple of days a week, I rarely had to wait long for a bus. Yes, weather could slow things down but I rarely had to wait more than 15 minutes for the bus to arrive.

I worked in Gatineau, and had to transfer to an STO bus once I reached downtown, but I almost always arrived at work on time. Which is to say, at the time I expected to arrive (my company had flex hours).

Living in Barrhaven, it used to be fairly easy to get downtown. I'd walk 10 minutes to a transit station and would hop on one bus: the 95. In just over half an hour, I'd reach the Rideau Centre from Longfields Station.

Yesterday, I had a gig as an extra in a film production. I had to be on the set, in the Glebe, by 11:30. Because I knew that parking could be a bit dicey, with limits of anywhere from one to three hours, depending on the street, I wasn't sure that I'd be able to park my car for the number of hours I was needed.

You count on working all day but there are no guarantees.

Because I had to carry a second outfit, plus anything I thought I'd need, I didn't relish taking a bus. And when I searched for the fastest route to the Glebe, I was shocked to learn it would take almost 90 minutes to get there. To ensure that I arrived on set in time, I'd have to leave my house at about 9:15.

I then sought parking solutions and decided that I might as well park at TD Place. But when I checked rates, I learned that it could cost me up to $20 for the day.

I'm non-union and earn minimum wage as an extra. Parking would cut into my earnings for the day of shooting, so I didn't relish doing that.

I asked DW if she could take less than an hour out of her workday to drive me to the set. Even in traffic, it takes less than 25 minutes to drive to the Glebe. And because I offered to take her bicycle to the Glebe for a tune-up, on Tuesday, and had to go back later to pick it up. I felt DW owed me a favour.

I told her that I'd make my way home after the shooting wrapped up.

As it was, I worked for four hours. It was a good scene that we were shooting, which seemed to be one of the final ones for this production.

I searched Google for the quickest route home, and as luck had it, the bus stop was right outside the building in which I worked. The route indicated only one transfer, at Tunney's Pasture, and would take one hour and 19 minutes.

The bus was scheduled to arrive at 3:38, which was four minutes after I reached the stop, but when I double-checked the route, I learned that the bus was delayed, and would arrive at 3:47. This was fine, as it gave me a chance to remove some warm clothes and change my shoes. There were a couple of people from my background work who were also waiting, so we chatted a bit.

Three-fifty came and there was no sign of the bus. Nor did it come at 3:55 or 4:00. At 4:03, it finally showed up, 25 minutes late, by which time rush hour was in full swing.

We pulled into Tunney's Pasture about 45 minutes later and I had some searching to do to find the right platform to catch my transfer. This station had changed quite a bit since I last rode it, and I had to walk around the parking lot to the furthest platform to reach my place, all the while searching for the bus number to make sure I wasn't going to miss it.

As soon as I reached the right spot, I checked the information board and learned that I had an 18-minute wait for the bus. Incidentally, that put it at the time that I should have been home, had my first bus been on time.

The second bus was late and by this point, I was starving. I had skipped breakfast and was hoping that I could duck out of the holding area long enough to pick up something from a nearby shop, but I never got the time (in the previous shoots I've done, I've had lots of time). Snacks were supplied but they were only Bear Paws, a soft biscuit.

I had one pack, plus the water I brought with me.

The bus arrived at 5:17. I had been waiting for it for about a half hour, and I was not pleased, especially since my back was starting to hurt from carrying my knapsack and wardrobe bag, which had started to weigh on me.

The saving grace of this bus ride was that it made no stops between Tunney's Pasture and Barrhaven, though we were slowed by construction and traffic. The bus let me off a couple of blocks from my house and it took less than 10 minutes to reach home.

It was 6:02. It had been two minutes shy of two-and-a-half hours since I first stood at the bus stop outside the production set. It was almost two hours after I stepped onto the first bus.

All of the complaints I've read on social media do not exaggerate. OC Transpo sucks. Maybe there is a route that would have got me home faster, had I walked somewhere else to catch a bus. But getting around this city shouldn't be so complicated. It doesn't take this long to cover similar ground in Toronto.

My first time on OC Transpo in more than 10 years will be my last time. Yesterday was my last ride.

I'd say that I'd try it again if the O-Train comes out to Barrhaven and there's a direct line to downtown, like the 95 used to do, but I don't think that'll happen in my lifetime.

I think I'm stuck to driving or getting dropped off, as long as I can be picked up afterwards.