OC Transpo Route 95

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Map with Route 95 shown in green

OC Transpo Route 95 is the Ottawa transit network's busiest route. It parallels much of the transitway across the city. One terminal is in Barrhaven, usually at Fallowfield Station. The other terminal is in Orléans, generally at Place d'Orleans. Weekday trips may be extended to Trim Station a few minutes east of Place d'Orleans. In addition, some trips also start or end at Baseline in the west end. During rush hour, a few trips start or end at Tunney's Pasture. Originally the route served only the city core but since the 1990s, the route has been expanded significantly to serve suburban areas starting with Orleans in the early 1990s and then Barrhaven in 2000. Since January 2007, some trips have been extended to Barrhaven Centre near Riocan Marketplace via Greenbank Road and the new Strandherd Station and Park and Ride.

1 History
2 Miscellaneous
3 See also
4 References
5 External links

[edit] History

During the 1970s and 1980s, the city of Ottawa approved the construction of a new transit corridor called the Transitway. The purpose of this busway was to speed up service city bound services from east and west. The first sections were built in 1983 in the southwest between Lincoln Fields and Baseline, and in the east between Lees and Hurdman. Those two sections gradually were extended through the addition of a central Transitway in the Westboro and Mechanicsville areas as well as in the downtown core along Albert and Slater Streets with the addition of designated bus lanes. There was also an eastern extension towards the St. Laurent and Cyrville areas built during the late 1980s.

Route 95 became more important when the transitway route was further developed. Priority measures were introduced on Woodroffe Avenue and on Regional Route 174 towards Orleans. The route rapidly became the city's busiest, requiring a very frequent service on weekdays and at weekends. In the early 1990s it was running from Baseline Station towards St. Laurent and then to Blair. As the suburbs grew in the 1990s and early 2000s, its coverage extended towards Barrhaven in the southwest and Orleans in the east. The Barrhaven extension was made after the construction of Fallowfield Station at the corner of Woodroffe and Fallowfield Roads in 2000, while the expansion to Orleans was possible when Place d'Orleans Station was open. Prior to the expansion of Route 95 toward the suburbs, the local service in Barrhaven served Baseline and/or Bayshore Stations, while the local Orleans service ended at Blair Station or further west. The route will further change in future years with the continuation of major developments in those two suburbs.

[edit] Recent Changes

In 2003, OC Transpo opened a new Park-and-Ride facility at the corner of Trim Road and Regional Road 174, which became Trim Station. Initially, they added rush hour trips from Lebreton to Trim. Due to increasing demand, additional trips were added and frequent service is now provided on weekdays between 6 AM and midnight. There is still no weekend service, but demand for a weekend service is expected to increase because of further development planned in southeastern Orleans.

OC Transpo built a new extension of the southwest transitway in 2005. The new roadway was built parallel to Woodroffe Avenue from the Nepean Sportsplex south of Hunt Club Road towards Fallowfield Station, a station which opened in 2000. The 95 and express buses from Barrhaven travel along that stretch. Service on Woodroffe, previously provided by the 95, was replaced by Route 157 which is a rush hour only route. The frequency of the 95 did not improve, over which there were public complaints, as Woodroffe Avenue was widened to four lanes at the same time resulting fater traffic flows. In addition, the VIA railroad track that crosses Woodroffe and the transitway is by a level crossing - a singularity on the exclusive busway network.^[1]

Following the 2006 TransPlan public consultations, OC Transpo extended the 95 south of Fallowfield Station to a new Park and Ride facility located at the corner of Greenbank and Strandherd. This is located near a bustling and expanding shopping district and neighboring residential developments. In the future, a new transitway extension will be built to connect the southern sections of Barrhaven. It will be completed with the creation of Strandherd and Marketplace Stations. Before its cancellation on December 14, 2006, the north-south light-rail extension project that would have linked downtown Ottawa to South Barrhaven, would have connected with the 95 near Chapman Hills. Those who opposed the light-rail project believed it would faster to take the 95 rather O-Train^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Future Changes

The City of Ottawa also conducted public consultations over the Greenbank Road extension and realignment. There are plans to add designated bus lanes along Greenbank from south of Strandherd to Cambrian Road and possibly further south in conjunction with future development growth. It is possible that the 95 and other bus services will use the corridor towards those new communities.

In a report written on November 15, 2007, the City of Ottawa also plans to add weekend service on the section between Fallowfield and Barrhaven Centre.^[2]

[edit] Buses

During the early years, GM articulated buses were used for the 95. During the late 1980s, the route was served by Orion III Ikarus articulated buses that were built during the second half of the decade. Some of those buses were purchased from the Toronto Transit Commission in the late 1990s. There were problems over the bodywork and rust on these vehicles. With the arrival of new articulated buses built by New Flyer Industries, OC Transpo gradually shifted to the New Flyer's D60LF models, a change completed in 2003.

[edit] Purpose

The very frequent service of the 95 compared to the 96 and 97 is no surprise it is the only transit route that serves more than one major suburban area (Barrhaven and Orleans). The 95 serves five major Park and Ride facilities, including Fallowfield, Strandherd, Baseline, Place d'Orleans and Trim. There are smaller facilities near Blair and Jeanne d'Arc Stations.

It also serves both of the city's Via Rail train stations.

In addition to providing a link for commuters from both Barrhaven and Orleans to employment areas downtown, it also serves major tourist attractions including Parliament Hill, the Rideau Canal, the Byward Market and the Canadian War Museum north of Lebreton Station.

It is also a major route for shoppers. In addition to new commercial district coverage with additional service to the Greenbank/Strandherd area, the 95 also serves College Square located at Baseline Road and Woodroffe, Lincoln Fields Shopping Centre on Carling, St. Laurent Shopping Centre, Place d'Orleans, the Rideau Centre, the Sparks Street Mall, the Bank Street Promenade and Shopper's City East near Blair Station.

Students can get to Woodroffe High School (near Lincoln Fields), Algonquin College (near Baseline Station) and the University of Ottawa which are located on this route.

[edit] Additional bus rapid transit routes

After the 2006 TransPlan public meetings, whose purpose was to discuss the improvement of transit services to across the city, three rapid transit routes were created or extended to Orleans. The main purpose of these changes was to offer east-end residents alternatives to Route 95 during the planned construction of the O-Train in the downtown core and to improve local service in growing communities in the east end. These three routes provide frequent service in addition to Route 95 on the eastern transitway corridor. It also followed plans by the Transportation Committee to improve travel times between the east and west ends of the city. Service to the 95 in Orleans was not modified.

[edit] OC Transpo Route 94

Route 94 is a new rapid transit route that travels from the community of Avalon to Tunney's Pasture. While its service was originally limited to rush hour, OC Transpo plans on improving the frequency due to new developments south of Innes Road between Navan Road and Trim Road as well as the increase of new big-box and department stores that are located along Innes. It is unclear whether Route 94 will use a future transitway road that will link South Orleans to Blair Station and Hurdman Station.

Midday service was added in September 2007 as it will run westbound from 6 AM to 8 PM and eastbound from 9 AM to 8 PM with 30-minute service during midday hours in both directions and westbound during afternoon rush hour. There are plans to add weekend service starting in 2008.^[3]^[4]

[edit] OC Transpo Route 101

Route 99, previously running from Blair Station to Bayshore Station (and rush hour trips to Kanata North Business Park) for over 25 years, was renumbered to Route 101 and extended to Orleans to allow residents to travel to the west end of the city (such as Bayshore) without travelling through downtown. However, most morning rush hour trips to and from Kanata do not serve Orleans (where service is provided by peak Route 102 that travels to Tunney's Pasture). Since April 15, 2007, four AM rush hour trips travel from Orleans to Kanata, while all PM peak trips do the opposite.

The route runs every 30 minutes and 6 days a week with frequencies of 10 minutes during rush hour to (AM) and from (PM) Kanata with supplementary service towards the Booth Street federal government complex near Dow's Lake and the Carling O-Train Station. 12-15 minute service is provided during rush hour in the other direction. Service outside rush hour has been improved with buses running every 20 minutes. However, it still ends before midnight and does not run on Sundays. During its first years of operation, Route 99 ran on Sundays and late on Saturday evenings, before service cuts were made. There are no immediate plans to re-introduce Sunday service despite being designated as a rapid transit bus route. It also previously served areas of Industrial, Innes, Star Top and Blair Roads before ending at Blair Station. Some trips ended at Hurdman Station before it was revised to remain on the Eastern Transitway. Those portions of the route were replaced by Routes 125 and 126. In its early years, the 99 did not travel via Carling Avenue and Booth Street.

Both Route 101 and 102 use the Queensway in addition to the transitway. While Route 101 is generally much faster than crosstown Route 2 that links Blair to Bayshore, it is more susceptible to lengthy delays due to accidents, traffic tie-ups and construction on Highway 417. Future transitway extensions in the west end from Queensway Station to Bayshore Station will minimize the risk of delays on the 101.

In September 2007, the 101 expanded its service hours to include Sunday service between Kanata and Queensway Station for employees working at Kanata North Business Park. Some Orleans trips on Saturdays were also extended to Kanata during the morning westbound and in the afternoon and evening eastbound^[5]

[edit] OC Transpo Route 102

Route 102 offers similar service during rush hour towards Tunney's Pasture. It follows most of Route 101 until the Ottawa Civic Hospital on Carling Avenue. The City of Ottawa, in collaboration with the local newspaper, Orleans Express, have offered coupons for free rides for one day to those who were travelling or trying the route from Orleans to Tunney's Pasture. Its service has replaced the supplementary trips of Route 99 from Blair to Carling but extended to Tunney's Pasture via Holland Avenue. It also replaces Route 101 for rush hour service to (PM) and from (AM) Orleans with 10-12 minute frequencies.

[edit] Miscellaneous

[edit] Frequencies

A Route 95X Baseline articulated bus at Westboro Station

This route is considered the busiest of all the OC Transpo network as it serves two booming communities and key transit stations such as Mackenzie King, Lincoln Fields, Baseline, St. Laurent and Blair which are all major transfer hubs to local or STO service. It also travels through the heart of the touristic area and the biggest employment area. It also serves three of the biggest shopping centers across the city as St. Laurent, Place d'Orleans and the Rideau Centre are all served by the 95. The heavily commercial area of Barrhaven was also added on the 95's route. In addition, Route 101 serves the Pinecrest and Bayshore Shopping Centres in the west end.

The 95 is the route that is the most used every day as it runs every 3-4 minutes (7-8 from Fallowfield, 14 from Barrhaven Cenntre, and 11-12 from Trim) on weekdays and only every 2-4 minutes during rush hour. During Saturdays, the frequencies are as short as 6 minutes (12 from Fallowfield) and on Sundays as short as 7-8 minutes (13-15 from Fallowfield). It runs every 15 minutes until midnight on most days and starts even before 4:00 AM on weekdays and ends at 2:30-3:00 AM each day.

[edit] Destination Signs

The 95 has several different destinations depending on the trip.

[edit] Eastbound trips

Eastbound trip signs include:

95 Orleans - All weekend trips and more than half of weekday trips end at Place d'Orleans. All trips that are detoured on St. Joseph Boulevard during the overnight hours, those that are detoured on Belfast and St. Laurent during the early morning hours and those that travels on Rideau Street after 1 AM are also signed 95 Orleans (95 Fallowfield for westbound trips).
95X Cumberland/Trim Road via Orleans - Some trips are extended to Trim Station & Park and Ride between midnight and 6AM on weekdays. As the main ridership at this station comes from Park and Ride users travelling downtown to work and workers at the nearby Taylor Creek Industrial Park, there are no weekend trips there. Some trips come from either Fallowfield or Baseline during most days, with some from Tunney's Pasture during the afternoon rush hour.
95X Hurdman - Mostly on the weekends this trip is used as an Extra Route, such as special events such as Remberence Day, Canada Day, and on the days when there has been a bus breakdown.
95X Baseline - This route is on Saturday and Sunday mornings, it is when there is a 40 foot bus instead of a 60 foot Articulated model on the route. This runs from Barrhaven Center/Fallowfield to Baseline station, where the passengers can transfer to a sixty foot bus.

[edit] Westbound Trips

Westbound trip signs includes :

95 Fallowfield (some signs say Nepean S./Fallowfield) - Every 1 out of 2 or 3 trips goes to Barrhaven during most of the day. All early morning and late evening trips end there.
95 Barrhaven Centre - All trips that have been extended to Marketplace Station.
95X Baseline - Most midday trips end there.
95X Downtown/Centre-Ville/Tunney's Pasture (AM rush hour only) - These are generally rush hours trips that depart from Trim Station and end at Tunney's Pasture. These trips do not serve Place d'Orleans Station, but its Park and Ride facility only.