Transitway (Ottawa)

Transitway
Overview
Owner	City of Ottawa
Locale	Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Transit type	Bus rapid transit
Number of lines	11
Number of stations	44
Website	OC Transpo rapid network
Operation
Began operation	1983
Operator(s)	OC Transpo
System map

The Transitway is a bus rapid transit (BRT) network operated by OC Transpo in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It comprises a series of bus-only roadways and reserved lanes on city streets and highways. The dedicated busways ensure that buses and emergency vehicles on the Transitway rarely intersect directly with the regular traffic, and make it possible for them to continue at full speed even during rush hour. OC Transpo operates a network of rapid routes which use the Transitway to connect communities with the O-Train light rail system. Additional bus routes also use segments of the Transitway.

The Transitway opened in 1983 with five stations. The network expanded greatly to include over fifty stations at its peak. Beginning in 2015, segments of the Transitway were closed to be converted to light rail. Ottawa's Stage 2 and 3 O-Train expansions will see additional segments of the Transitway converted.

History

During the 1970s and 1980s, the Regional Municipality of Ottawa-Carleton approved the construction of a new transit corridor called the Transitway. The purpose of this busway was to increase the speed of city-bound services from east and west. The first two sections opened in 1983: the southwestern transitway between Lincoln Fields and Baseline and the east between Lees and Hurdman.^[1]

The central transitway was then added in the Westboro and Mechanicsville areas. In the downtown core, buses travelled along dedicated lanes on Albert and Slater streets. The eastern transitway was extended in both directions, towards Laurier in the northwest and Blair in the east. These segments of the Transitway were serviced by route 95, travelling the full length of the Transitway from Baseline to Blair. Priority measures were later added to Woodroffe Avenue and Regional Road 174, extending service into the suburbs of Barrhaven and Orleans.^[1]

In the 1990s, a rail corridor was gradually converted into the southeast transitway, spanning from Hurdman to South Keys. This new section necessitated the creation of route 97. Route 97 followed the new southwest transitway before joining route 95 along the existing transitway segments. The 97 was extended to service the suburb of Kanata. The Kanata section was later split off into route 96.^[1]

In 2001, the O-Train's Trillium Line (then simply the "O-Train") opened. Its northern terminus was at the new Bayview station on the central transitway and its southern terminus at Greenboro on the southeast transitway.^[2]

The southwest transitway was gradually extended southward, first to Fallowfield in 2005 and then to Barrhaven Centre in 2011. A median busways section was added along Chapman Mills Drive to Nepean Woods in 2014. The first segment of the western transitway opened in 2009 connecting Pinecrest and Bayshore. This was extended to Moodie in 2017.^[3]

Beginning in 2015, sections of the transitway closed for conversion to light rail for the Confederation Line. Buses were rerouted to bus-only lanes along Highway 417, Regional Road 174, and city streets.^[4] The Confederation Line opened in 2019, along with a major re-organization of the Transitway network. Rapid routes no longer travelled through downtown Ottawa. Instead, all rapid routes use the Transitway to connect communities to the Confederation Line at one of three stations: Tunney's Pasture, Hurdman, or Blair. Routes were also renumbered to correspond with their geographic service area, resulting in the retirement of route 95, the Transitway's busiest and oldest route.^[5]

From 2020, additional sections of the transitway will be converted to light rail as part of the Stage 2 expansion in the west, southwest, and east. Rapid routes will have to be rerouted to accommodate construction.

Routes

The following are OC Transpo's rapid routes, which travel along the Transitway with frequent service connecting communities to the O-Train. Additional OC Transpo routes also use segments of the Transitway.

#	Terminus	Terminus	Notes	Map
39	Millennium	Blair 39 La Cité N39 Rideau	Select peak trips extend to/from La Cité and Samuel Genest school Overnight extension N39 terminates at Rideau	[1]
45	Hospital / Hôpital	Hurdman N45 Rideau	Serves the Ottawa Health Sciences Complex, including The Ottawa Hospital's General Campus and Rehabilitation Centre and the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario Overnight extension N45 terminates at Rideau	[2]
57	Bells Corners Bayshore	Tunney's Pasture N57 Rideau	Select trips start/end at Bayshore station Overnight extension N57 terminates at Rideau	[3]
61	Terry Fox Stittsville	Tunney's Pasture 61 Gatineau N61 Rideau	Route 61C trips during the morning peak period travel directly from Castlefrank to Highway 417 and Eagleson, bypassing Katimavik and Terry Fox Route 61C trips during the afternoon peak period serve Katimavik, but do not serve Castlefrank north of Katimavik, or Terry Fox station Route 61D trips during morning peak travel via Highway 417 between Castlefrank and Eagleson station Early morning trips travel via Pinecrest Garage on Queensview Overnight extension N61 terminates at Rideau	[4]
62	Terry Fox 62 Stittsville	Tunney's Pasture	Before noon on weekdays, eastbound buses travel via Fringewood between Abbott E. and Hazeldean, while westbound buses travel via Iber After noon on weekdays, buses follow the reverse direction on both roads	[5]
63	Innovation Briarbrook	Tunney's Pasture 63 Gatineau	Eastbound AM peak period trips travel via March instead of the business park and are extended to Gatineau; the reverse occurs in the PM peak for westbound	[6]
74	Riverview	Tunney's Pasture		[7]
75	Barrhaven Centre Cambrian	Tunney's Pasture 63 Gatineau N75 Rideau	Overnight extension N75 terminates at Rideau	[8]
97	Airport	Hurdman N97 Rideau	Select late evening southbound trips travel via Hunt Club and Uplands instead of the Airport Parkway Overnight extension N97 terminates at Rideau	[9]
98	Hawthorne	Hurdman		[10]
99	Barrhaven Centre	Greenboro 99 Hurdman	Extended from Greenboro to Hurdman during peak hours, two-way service	[11]

Stations and segments

East

Station	Rapid connections	Notes
Blair	39	Bus terminal Park & Ride
Montréal	39	Curbside
Jeanne d'Arc	39	Curbside Park & Ride
Place d'Orléans	39	Bus terminal Park & Ride
Trim	39	Curbside Park & Ride
Millennium	39	Bus terminal Park & Ride

The east transitway currently consists of a series of intermittent bus-only lanes along Regional Road 174 between Blair and Place d'Orléans.

Southeast

Station	Rapid connections	Notes
Hurdman	45 97 98 99	Bus terminal
Lycée Claudel	45 97 98 99	Busway
Smyth	97 98 99	Busway
Riverside	97 98 99	Busway
Pleasant Park	97 98 99	Busway
Billings Bridge	97 98 99	Busway
Heron	97 98 99	Busway
Walkley	97 98 99	Busway
Greenboro	97 98 99	Busway Park & Ride
South Keys	97 98 99	Busway
Airport	97	Curbside Located at the Ottawa Macdonald–Cartier International Airport
Hawthorne	98	Curbside
Leitrim	99	Bus terminal Park & Ride

The southeast transitway is a dedicated busway adjacent to some rail corridors between Hurdman and South Keys.

Central

Bus congestion on the Central Transitway

Station	Rapid connections	Notes
Tunney's Pasture	57 61 62 63 74 75	Bus terminal
Westboro	57 61 62 63 74 75	Busway
Dominion	57 61 62 63 74 75	Busway

The central transitway is a dedicated busway between Tunney's Pasture and Dominion.

The former downtown section of the Transitway consisted of two single bus-only lanes on Albert and Slater Streets (one-way public streets in opposite westbound and eastbound directions, respectively), with stops in each direction at Bay, Kent, Bank and Metcalfe Streets as well as on the Mackenzie King Bridge. Traffic congestion here, where the buses mingle with private vehicles, often caused service delays and was seen by some as the main weakness in the Transitway system.

Initial plans for the Transitway included a bus-only tunnel in this section but the cost of a ventilated tunnel for conventional buses was deemed too expensive and was not warranted at the time. In 2006, it was proposed to extend the O-Train downtown as a tramway over the same streets while keeping existing bus and car traffic. The idea was met with objections from businesses along those streets, as normal access to the businesses would be impeded.

In 2019, the Confederation Line opened, replacing the downtown portion of the Transitway with an underground, high-capacity rapid transit rail line. This service change greatly reduced the number of buses travelling on Albert and Slater streets.

Southwest

Station	Rapid connections	Notes
Lincoln Fields	57 61 62 63 74 75	Bus terminal
Queensway	61 62 63 74 75	Busway
Iris	74 75	Busway
Baseline	74 75	Bus terminal Park & Ride Located across from Algonquin College
Fallowfield	74 75	Busway Park & Ride Connection to Via Rail services
Longfields	75	Busway
Strandherd	75	Busway Park & Ride
Marketplace	75 99	Busway
Barrhaven Centre	75 99	Busway
Cambrian	75	Curbside
Beatrice	99	Busway
Nepean Woods	74 99	Busway Park & Ride
Riverview	74 99	Bus terminal Park & Ride

The southwest transitway includes a dedicated busway from Lincoln Fields to Baseline. Buses then travel on reserved lanes before joining a busway before Fallowfield. This busway extends from Fallowfield to Barrhaven Centre. A separate median busway east of Marketplace connects Beatrice and Nepean Woods before travelling along reserved lanes to Riverview.

West

Station	Rapid connections	Notes
Pinecrest	61 62 63	Busway
Bayshore	57 61 62 63	Bus terminal
Moodie	61 62 63	Busway
Bells Corners	57	Curbside
Eagleson	61 62 63	Bus terminal Park & Ride
Terry Fox	61 62	Bus terminal Park & Ride
Canadian Tire Centre	62	Bus terminal Park & Ride
Stittsville	61 62	Curbside
Teron	62 63	Curbside
Innovation	63	Bus terminal Park & Ride

The west transitway consists of a dedicated busway between Pinecrest and Moodie. Buses also use reserved lanes on Highway 417 between Moodie and Eagleson.

References

^ ^a ^b ^c "Ottawa, Ontario: BRT Case Study" (PDF). Transportation Research Board. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
^ "Ottawa's O-Train rides the freight line". Canadian Consulting Engineer. February 10, 2003. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
^ "Bayshore to Moodie Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Conversion to Light Rail Transit (LRT) Environmental Assessment (EA)". City of Ottawa. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
^ "Ottawa light rail construction closing more of Transitway in December, January". CBC News. October 14, 2015. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
^ "New route numbers". OC Transpo. Retrieved April 16, 2020.

External links

List of all Transitway stations and map

[trb-1] "Ottawa, Ontario: BRT Case Study" (PDF). Transportation Research Board. Retrieved April 16, 2020.

[2] "Ottawa's O-Train rides the freight line". Canadian Consulting Engineer. February 10, 2003. Retrieved April 16, 2020.

[3] "Bayshore to Moodie Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Conversion to Light Rail Transit (LRT) Environmental Assessment (EA)". City of Ottawa. Retrieved April 16, 2020.

[4] "Ottawa light rail construction closing more of Transitway in December, January". CBC News. October 14, 2015. Retrieved April 16, 2020.

[5] "New route numbers". OC Transpo. Retrieved April 16, 2020.

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