Campaign for Improved and Democratized Transit in Ottawa
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- Published on Tuesday, 18 February 2020 00:06
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A Socialist Project e-bulletin ... No. 2001 ... February 18, 2020
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Campaign for Improved and Democratized Transit in Ottawa
Free Transit Ottawa
Our ‘New Vision’ involves demands for a significant expansion of ‘Fare Free’ and accessible transit, improved service, and a governance structure that would make transit decisions more accountable to the citizens of Ottawa.
Campaign Demands
Affordability: We propose that transit should be free to use during off-peak hours (i.e. between 9:00 am to 3:00 pm; 6:00 pm to 6:00 am; and on weekends).
Improved Transit: In order to make transit more reliable, expansive, and convenient we propose that 50 buses should be added to the weekend service, neighborhood bus routes should be created to link citizens to local health and social services, shopping and entertainment (i.e. beginning in priority areas such as Vanier, Bay Ward, West Ottawa and Barrhaven), 40 vehicles should be added to the Para Transpo fleet, and bus-only lanes should be created on the most habitually late routes.
Democratized Transit: We believe that the transit system will be improved by allowing the citizens who use transit, and... the workers that operate it, to have input into the decisions that affect their lives. Therefore, we propose that the Transit Commission should include 4 directly-elected citizen representatives and 2 representatives from the transit workers union, ATU Local 279, and 6 (as opposed to the current 8) City Councillors.
This plan, including the loss of fare revenues, would cost roughly $95-million. We propose to finance it by devoting the increase in the federal gas tax to OC Transpo, increasing development charges on new single -- family suburban housing, raising parking rates, reducing the planned two lane road widening projects to one lane, and eliminating the wasteful tax break for building on Brownfield (previously used) lands.
