Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Ottawa universities offer shuttles to transit-hungry students

During the ongoing OC Transpo bus strike, students at the University of Ottawa and Carleton University can access shuttle services to some parts of the city. Beyond a bus from Merivale and Meadowlands to Carleton University, though, the west end is still largely left out.

This release went out to all University of Ottawa students just a few minutes ago (at about 10:45 p.m.):

Ottawa, December 10, 2008 In light of the recent transit strike, the Student Federation (SFUO) and the University of Ottawa will provide a free shuttle service to uOttawa students. The service will offer round trips within the City of Ottawa to the main campus during the exam period.

Starting at 7:00 tomorrow morning, December 11, 2008, ONLY University of Ottawa students will be permitted to use the shuttle service upon presentation of their uOttawa student cards.

1) Round trips from South Keys Mall (close to the Second Cup and O-Train platform) to University of Ottawa will operate between 7 a.m. and 11 p.m., approximately every hour (as possible), 7 days a week from December 11 to December 22 inclusively.

2) Round trips from Place d’Orleans (north side, near the Park and Ride) to the University of Ottawa will operate between 7 a.m. and 11 p.m., approximately every hour (as possible), 7 days a week from December 11 to December 22 inclusively.

3) The existing round trip shuttle service from the University of Ottawa to Carleton University will operate from 7:30 a.m. to 10:20 p.m. from Monday to Saturday. It is recommended to use mid-morning services for afternoon and evening exams. Visit the Parking and Sustainable Transportation's website for the schedule. http://www.protection.uOttawa.ca/en/shuttlecarleton.html

Please note that the drop-off and pick-up point on campus is near Montpetit Hall.

Students are asked to arrive extra early for access to the shuttle buses since they will be offered on a first-come, first-served basis.

Two additional bus routes will be added on Friday depending upon the demand.

Please see the following link for other possible ways to get to the University of Ottawa:

http://www.protection.uOttawa.ca/en/transit_strike.html

The Carleton University Students Association has released a similar plan to help its students:

The buses will run from 7am – 12pm, 6-11pm Monday to Saturday for the duration of exams in the event of an OC Transpo strike.

Buses will run from the following location:
Merivale and Meadowlands – pick up every 45 minutes
Place d’Orleans – pick up every hour
South Keys Mall (near the O-Train) – pick up every 30 minutes
Bank Street and MacLeod Street bus stop – pick up every 30 minutes

Please note that these times are approximate and there may be delays because of weather conditions and traffic. The shuttle service is available to Carleton students ONLY, and students MUST present their student ID to get on the buses.

We will be accepting donations of OC Transpo equivalent fare from students that take the shuttle service in order to help pay for the service. We also encourage those who have a ride or need a ride to exams during the strike to advertise through our ride board. All rides are posted on the CUSA office and on our website. We accept ride requests and postings via email at admin@cusaonline.com or by phone at (613) 520-6688

1 comment:

Milan said...

A few private shuttles from centretown to Gatineau would be very useful for civil servants, and could be much cheaper than taxis.