LRT boasts 99% reliability since winter outage

The only major disruption came after a Derecho storm in May knocked out power to much of the region.

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As a provincial commission continued to dissect what was wrong with the design, construction and operation of Ottawa’s LRT on Wednesday, city transit officials were bragging about the system’s recent reliability.

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The Confederation Line has been 99 per cent reliable for the past three months, Transit Commission members said at their monthly meeting. The only significant service interruption occurred after the May 21 derecho windstorm knocked out power to much of the region.

The longest outage before the derecho occurred in late January, when extreme cold caused a clamp to move on the overhead catenary that supplies power to the Confederation Line.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Transit Commission Chairman Allan Hubley deflected a question about the work of the LRT Commission and allegations that the city wanted to put the LRT into service before he is not ready.

« In terms of what’s going on with the investigation, I don’t think it’s appropriate for me to comment on anything at this time, » Hubley said.

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In other developments, passengers will soon be able to pay for their journey with a credit card when boarding buses. OC Transpo is gradually installing new card readers to replace the Presto green card readers now installed on buses. The new red readers will accept payments by Visa and Mastercard as well as existing Presto cards. Users can also scan barcodes or QR codes of transfers or special event tickets.

OC Transpo general manager Renée Amilcar said the conversion should be complete by the end of the year. O-Train travelers already have the option of paying by credit card if boarding at any of the 13 Confederation Line stations.