Bus franchising has been used for many years in places such as Scandinavia and London. OC Transpo should consider it here.
The second week of the Ontario election campaign came with a surprising pledge: If either the Progressive Conservatives or the Liberals form government, the province will take over Ottawa’s rail transit system.
While it often feels like Ontario’s second largest city — yes, it’s this one — gets overlooked by the province compared to the relative vote-richness of the 905 region, there’s no doubt this promise would have a big impact in Ottawa. Our beleaguered O-Train could become something similar to the GTA’s GO Train (GO stands for Government of Ontario, after all), run by the Metrolinx Crown corporation. But would this shift make the LRT any less beleaguered?
Do a quick Google search of “LRT” and “beleaguered” and you’ll find it’s not just OC Transpo that has struggled to keep large transit projects on the rails. Metrolinx, our supposed saviour emerging from the hasty election call, also has its fair share of LRT woes. Any Torontonian could describe in detail the prolonged and costly failure to deliver the crosstown Eglinton LRT — now billions of dollars over budget and five years overdue. Metrolinx hasn’t had much better success on Toronto’s Finch LRT either.
And with a corporate culture that doesn’t invite transparency, getting to the bottom of these issues hasn’t been easy. In other words, you can expect just about the same from Metrolinx as you can from OC Transpo.
Still, that doesn’t mean the provincial upload of Ottawa’s trains isn’t worth trying. There is, of course, the financial advantage to this transaction: PC Leader Doug Ford claims that running the O-Train from Queen’s Park will save the City of Ottawa $4 billion. This money could, hypothetically, be spent on transit still within municipal purview: the bus system. At the very least, taking the administrative burden off OC Transpo would allow the organization to focus on improving service, according to Mayor Sutcliffe.
Given OC Transpo’s obvious shortcomings in running buses on time, a little more focus and money can’t hurt. But if the solution to our rail transit problems is handing over the reins to someone else, why not do the same with buses?
No, I’m not suggesting that Metrolinx take over the bus network too. Instead, OC Transpo should franchise certain routes to partners while maintaining control over the system. The franchisee would be held to specific standards in the fixed-term contract (e.g. five years) and would be motivated to deliver by performance-based incentives (and the desire to win another contract), while the franchiser (OC Transpo) sets the routes, fares and timetables.
Bus franchising has been used for many years in places such as Scandinavia and London (U.K.); Manchester completed its switch to a franchise system just this month. This model keeps transit in public hands while allowing the benefits of competition to improve reliability. And just like uploading the train system, franchising certain bus routes would allow OC Transpo to spend its money and time focusing on routes that require the most public subsidy.
What routes could be franchised? OC Transpo could start with the long-delayed Baseline BRT between Bayshore and Heron Road. The proposed crosstown transitway has been in consultation since 2012 and its basic plan was approved in 2017 — yet the project is still unfunded and unbuilt. In January, the city unveiled plans to complete “phase one” this year, but it involves just one intersection. (The second and third phases are the actual 14-km transitway itself. This is like calling an apple bonking Newton’s head “phase one” of the moon landing.) Franchising this route — and the similarly neglected BRT for Carling Avenue — might finally get these transit corridors operational.
The provincial takeover of the O-Train will not, on its own, improve transit reliability. But relieving even more burdens from OC Transpo by franchising key routes just might.
Jordan Moffatt is an Ottawa writer.
