Friday, August 14, 2009

More on OC Transpo calling out stops

A couple of weeks after OC Transpo was fined $5000 for failing to call out major and requested stops on buses, 580 CFRA announced that, for the month of July, OC Transpo drivers called out 81 per cent of stops. Although 81 per cent seems like a respectable number, it's far off the 100 per cent demanded by the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA), and amounts to one out of every five stops missed.

Earlier this week, OC Transpo Manager of Performance and Quality Vincent Patterson told 580 CFRA that--although the call-out rate could and should be higher than 81 per cent--drivers may not hit every stop announcement due to the distractions that come with operating a bus. For that reason, it's unlikely that drivers could ever reach a perfect 100 per cent call-out rate.

Meanwhile, Ottawa still has $7M budgeted for an automated system to call out stops, but has yet to award the contract. OC Transpo has already violated the CTA's deadline for having 100 per cent efficiency, and it is unclear how often the transit authority may fine Ottawa's transit utility.

5 comments:

Wallace B. said...

The only people who could believe OC's 81% claim are those who never use the system. As someone who rides the bus on an almost daily basis (both local & Transitway), I would put compliance at closer to 50-60%.

Anonymous said...

Sigh. This sort of ridiculous over-regulation ensures transit will always be an economic basket case.

Dean said...

Anonymous
OCtranspo and the drivers could have avoided this if they had only bothered to follow their own rules. I would guess had they the CTA would have allowed more leeway.

Anonymous said...

Calling out stops is the dumbest thing I've ever heard of. I would much rather know that the driver has both hands on the wheel, than fumbling around trying to find or turn on a microphone.

Keith said...

^ That's why an automated system with a scrolling announcement board is so much more safer, accurate and efficient than having drivers call out stops in a barely audible fashion. Check out what they've done on the TTC in Toronto. It's very handy.