Fix the basics / the Lawson plan for OC Transpo
Ottawa, transit isn’t working.
Buses don’t show up. The train opened before it met the standard it was supposed to clear before launch. We pay more every year and get less of everything.
Ottawa’s transit system is not short on money. It is short on management. Another $200 million dropped on OC Transpo tomorrow would not end up where we need it. The system is not ready for more money yet.
I’m running for mayor because I know how to fix things.
Fix the leaks first. The system is not ready for more money yet.
Alex Lawson
Builder, not politician
The six problems Ottawa riders live with every day
01
The train problem.
When the train fails, riders are stranded. Every cross-town trip now runs through a forced transfer, and when LRT is down, every transfer becomes a failure point.
02
The schedule problem.
A bus running an empty route at midnight still shows up late. The schedule itself was wrong before the bus left the yard.
03
The route problem.
Trips that used to be one ride are now three transfers. And some communities have no service at all.
04
The fare problem.
You should pay for your bus trip, not somebody else’s. Honest riders are paying $138 a month and watching half the bus board for free.
05
The safety problem.
Your bus should not be the most dangerous place in your day. Ottawa is the only major Canadian city of its size without an enforceable rider code of conduct.
06
The accountability problem.
A volunteer with a laptop reports cancellations more honestly than the agency. The published numbers don’t match what riders see on the road.
The full plan answers each of them. Twelve commitments, six problems, and public reporting against every metric.
No silver bullets. No paving the tracks. No blaming the workers.
Just the work, on a timeline you can hold me to.
Read the full policy document (PDF)
Fix the basics. We’ve got a lot of work to do.
Ottawa deserves better.
