Transitway reaches another milestone

A routine morning commute today became extraordinary for Kylee Mackay who stepped off the route 102 bus at Tunney’s Pasture Station to find out she was the 1.5 billionth passenger to ride the Transitway. The designation means she will receive free transit service for one year.
Mayor Larry O’Brien, Kitchissippi Ward Councillor Christine Leadman, Canadian Urban Transit Association (CUTA) President and CEO, Michael Roschlau and Transit Services Director, Alain Mercier presented the prize along with a travel mug and a plaque commemorating the event, as part of the Transitway’s 25th anniversary celebrations.
Kylee Mackay is an Ottawa resident who uses the bus to travel downtown everyday to her job at the CBC. She enjoys good bus service in her neighbourhood and appreciates the Transitway because it makes her trip to work fast and efficient.
“Ottawa residents like Kylee Mackay have made the Transitway a part of their everyday lives,” said Mayor O’Brien. “Thanks to our residents who use transit to move around our City, the Transitway is a world-class success – one that will only get better as we work towards a bright and promising future for our rapid transit system.”
The Transitway forms the backbone of OC Transpo’s current commuter system and offers commuters a faster, more reliable and convenient transportation option.
“More than half the people who travel into downtown Ottawa arrive by bus,” said Councillor Alex Cullen. "The Transitway has helped more people get to their jobs in a fast, convenient fashion, and saved the City millions in avoiding building and widening roads. This has helped to preserve Ottawa’s green space and nurture communities that are both efficient and sustainable, all at the lowest capital cost per passenger of any rapid transit system in North America.”
“The Transitway is a tremendous international success story that has enticed riders to take the bus for a quarter of a century,” said CUTA President and CEO, Michael Roschlau. “It’s a perfect example of how a cost effective idea can improve the transit experience for commuters a billion and a half times over.”
The Transitway is celebrating 25 years of transporting commuters across the city. In 1983, OC Transpo began running buses on two stretches of the Transitway that opened at the same time – Baseline to Lincoln Fields in the west, and Hurdman to Lees in the east. Today, the Transitway is fully operational with 34 kilometres of bus-only roadways, 38 stations and 11 park-and-ride lots.
In 2001, the Canadian Public Works Association recognized the Transitway as a Canadian Public Works Project of the Century. The Transitway is the largest project in the City’s transportation history to date, and was North America’s first bus-based rapid transit system.

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