OC Transpo Route 95

Map with Route 95 shown in dark green

OC Transpo Route 95 is the Ottawa transit network's busiest route, running on the Transitway across the city. The termination points are located in Barrhaven at Barrhaven Centre Station, and in Orléans at Place d'Orléans Station. Weekday trips may be extended to Trim Station, a few minutes east of Place d'Orléans. In addition, some trips also start or end at Baseline Station in the west end. During rush hour, a few trips start or end at Tunney's Pasture Station. Originally, the route served only the city core, but since the 1990s, the route has been expanded significantly to serve suburban areas, starting with Orléans in the early 1990s and Barrhaven in 2000.

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 sections were built in 1983: in the southwest between Lincoln Fields and Baseline, and in the east between Lees and Hurdman. Gradually, those two sections 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 very 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 weekends. In the early 1990s, it ran 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 Orléans in the east. The Barrhaven extension was made after the construction of Fallowfield Station at the corner of Woodroffe and Fallowfield road in 2000, while the expansion to Orléans was possible subsequent to the opening of Place d'Orléans Station. Prior to the expansion of Route 95 toward the suburbs, the local service in Barrhaven served Baseline and/or Bayshore Stations, while the local Orléans service ended at Blair Station. The route will further change in future years with the continuation of major developments in those two suburbs.

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 Station to Trim. Due to increasing demand, additional trips were added and frequent service is now provided on weekdays between 6 AM and 3 PM.

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, 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, due to which there were public complaints, as Woodroffe Avenue was widened to four lanes at the same time. 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, near a bustling and expanding shopping district and neighbouring residential developments. In the future, a new transitway extension will be built to connect the southern sections of Barrhaven, and 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 between downtown Ottawa to South Barrhaven would have connected with the 95 near Chapman Hills. Those who opposed the light-rail project believed it was faster to take the 95 rather than the O-Train

In 2009, 24-hour service was introduced on the 95 between Fallowfield and Place d'Orléans. Service during the newly operated hours is every 15 minutes.

TransPlan 2011 proposed to modify route 95 within Barrhaven by adding a dedicated Transitway segment between Fallowfield Station and Barrhaven Centre Station. Longfields Station was added, along with moving the current Barrhaven Centre Station South, near the corner of Jockvale/Chapman Mills (Chapman Mills is being extended to Jockvale). Buses no longer use Greenbank Road due to these changes. A lot of other changes to other Barrhaven routes also took place, including heavy modifications to existing routes, such as rapid-transit route 94, peak route 186 and local routes 170, 171 and 177. New local route 175 was added; local route 173 was to be removed, but remained in service as a result of public consultations.[2]

In April 2011, route 95, along with almost all other Barrhaven bus routes, was modified to improve service to, from, and within Barrhaven. The new leg of the Transitway (between Fallowfield Station and Barrhaven Centre Station) was opened at this time, prompting OC Transpo to provide modifications. Route 95 serves Barrhaven Centre Station 24/7. Frequencies on route 95 were also increased at all times of all days. Route 94, which used to start/end at Tunney's Pasture Station was extended to/from Barrhaven via Woodroffe Avenue and the Transitway to supplement route 95. Several other modifications also took place at that time, including local service (existing routes 170, 171, 173, and 177, and new route 175). Route 186 to/from Manotick also underwent changes.

Future Changes

The City of Ottawa has 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. As part of changes that will be made in preparation for opening the Confederation Line, it will be split into two routes, renumbered 39 and 75.

Buses

During the early years, GM articulated buses were used for the 95. During the late 1980s and 1990s, 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 mid 1990s. There were problems with the bodywork and rust on these vehicles. These buses were also not air-conditioned and the doors would sometimes get people's ankles caught in the door rail. With the arrival of new articulated buses built by New Flyer Industries, OC Transpo shifted to the New Flyer's D60LF model, a change completed in 2003. In late 2010 and early 2011, the New Flyer D60LFs were replaced by New Flyer's D60LFRs.

Purpose

The frequent service of the 95 (compared to the 61 and 97) is unsurprising, as it is the only transit route serving more than one major suburban area (Barrhaven and Orléans). The 95 serves five Park and Ride facilities, including Fallowfield, Strandherd, Baseline, Place d'Orléans 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. Several major tourist attractions are served by the 95, 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'Orléans, the Rideau Centre, the Sparks Street Mall, the Bank Street Promenade and Shopper's City East near Blair Station.

Educational institutes along this route include Woodroffe High School (near Lincoln Fields), Algonquin College (near Baseline Station), the University of Ottawa, Lisgar Collegiate Institute (both near downtown), and Gloucester High School.

Additional bus rapid transit routes

After the 2006 TransPlan public meetings, whose purpose was to discuss the improvement of transit services across the city, three rapid-transit routes were created and extended to Orléans. 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 Orléans was not modified.

OC Transpo Route 91

Route 91 is a supplementary rapid-transit route that entered service on 28 June 2015 while parts of the Transitway are closed for Confederation Line construction.[3] The route supplements route 95 between Baseline Station and Place d'Orléans Station on weekdays only (and only between 5:40 AM and 6:40 PM eastbound and between 6 AM and 6:10 PM westbound),[4] but as the 91 bypasses the Transitway between Campus Station and Blair Station (and only serves St. Laurent Station travelling toward downtown), it is several minutes faster than route 95.[3] As well, several rush hour trips on route 91 are shortened to/from Tunney's Pasture Station in the west and extended to/from Trim Station in the east to further supplement the 95.[4]

Frequencies on route 91 during morning peak periods are every 12 minutes from Baseline Station to Place d'Orléans Station eastbound. Westbound service is every 4–7 minutes to Tunney's Pasture Station, with 4- to 10-minute service to Baseline, some of which depart from Trim Station. Trips from Trim do not serve Place d'Orléans Station, but Orléans park and ride only. During weekday midday, the 91 runs every 7–8 minutes between Place d'Orléans Station and Tunney's Pasture Station, with 15 minute service to/from Baseline Station. Afternoon rush hour sees the 91 run eastbound every 4–7 minutes between Tunney's Pasture and Place d'Orléans Station, with 5-15 minute service from Baseline Station and 5-15 minute service to Trim Station. Westbound PM peak service on route 91 is 2 or 10 minutes between Blair Station and Tunney's Pasture Station, with 12 minute service from Place d'Orléans Station and 12 minute frequencies to Baseline.[4]

Starting on 4 August 2015, route 91 serves a new stop on Lees Avenue at Highway 417. This change is for eastbound trips only (to Trim Station and Orléans Station) and provides service closer to Lees Station. Route 91 still does not serve Lees Station directly. Service to Lees Station is provided by route 95.

Route 91 destination signs include the following:
Westbound:
91 ORLEANS: These are trips that end at Place d'Orléans Station and do not serve Trim Station. They operate during weekday midday and peak periods from both Baseline Station and Tunney's Pasture.
91 TRIM: These trips operate during weekday afternoon rush hour only, and generally start at Baseline Station, with some from Tunney's Pasture Station.

Eastbound:
91 BASELINE: These trips end at Baseline Station as a replacement of 95X Baseline trips during weekday daytime. Most come from Place d'Orléans, with morning peak trips coming from Trim Station.
91 TUNNEY'S PASTURE: These trips operate during peak periods only to supplement the 91 BASELINE trips. They start at Place d'Orléans during morning peak, with afternoon trips beginning at Blair Station.

OC Transpo Route 94

Route 94 is a new rapid transit route that travels from the community of Avalon to Tunney's Pasture Station. 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 Road. It is unclear whether route 94 will use a future transitway road that will link South Orléans to Blair Station and Hurdman Station.

Midday service was added in September 2007 as it ran 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. Midday service was increased to every 15 minutes during the spring of 2008 with earlier and later eastbound service added as well. Thirty-minute weekend service from 9 AM to 7 PM was added in September 2008 as well as more evening service in both directions up to 10 PM[5][6] and later until midnight in 2009 with headway increased to every 15 minutes on weekends.

TransPlan 2011 called for route 94 to be extended from its current Western termination point at Tunney's Pasture Station to Barrhaven as part of Barrhaven's bus route changes. Route 94 would follow the South-West Transitway to Fallowfield Station, where buses would then use Woodroffe Avenue to end at the intersection of Strandherd/Woodroffe. Rush hour route 94 trips would be diverted along Crestway Drive, Leikin Drive, Bill Leathem Drive and Longfields Drive back to Woodroffe Avenue, replacing route 195's service to the RCMP headquarters. When the Strandherd-Armstrong Bridge is completed (connecting Barrhaven to Riverside South), route 94 would terminate at Riverview Station. All of these TransPlan recommendations were approved and were implemented in mid-April 2011.[7]

In late 2011, service after 1 AM changed to operate along Rideau Street to being service closer to the Byward Market. These trips do not serve Barrhaven, and instead start/end at Tunney's Pasture Station.

In April 2013, route 94 had its western terminus changed to the new Nepean Woods Station, located near the corner of Woodroffe/Strandherd in Barrhaven. A new park and ride lot was opened on 24 February 2014 at the new station.[8] Buses traveling to Nepean Woods Station are signed 94 NEPEAN WOODS.

On 19 July 2014, selected trips on route 94 that started/ended at Nepean Woods Station were extended to/from Riverview Station via Strandherd Drive and the newly completed Strandherd-Armstrong Bridge. This change is to provide improved connections between Riverside South and Barrhaven.[9]

As of 19 July 2014, route 94 operates every 4- to 10-minutes during morning peak to Tunney's Pasture Station and to Millennium Station in the afternoon, with selected trips extended to Riverview Station in the morning via Leikin, and from Riverview Station via Leikin in the afternoon. Trips to Millennium Station in the morning and to Barrhaven in the afternoon are every 10–15 minutes, with supplementary service between Baseline Station and Hurdman Station/Blair Station. Midday service is every 15 minutes between Barrhaven at Nepean Woods Station and Orleans at Millennium Station, with 30-minute service to/from Riverview Station. Evening service is every 15 minutes from Baseline Station to Millennium Station with 30-minute trips from Riverview Station, and 15 minute service is provided from Millennium Station to Nepean Woods Station, with 30-minute service to Riverview Station. Late evening and late night service is 30 minutes between Tunney's Pasture Station and Millennium Station, with 30-minute service between Fallowfield Station and Riverview Station. There is no service on route 94 between Tunney's Pasture Station and Fallowfield Station after approximately 10 PM.

Saturday service is generally every 15 minutes between Tunney's Pasture and Millennium, with 30-minute service to/from Riverview. Early morning, evening, and late night service is every 30 minutes, with no service between Tunney's and Fallowfield before approx. 8:20 AM, and after approx. 9:30 PM eastbound and 10:20 PM westbound. Sunday morning service is also every 15 minutes between Tunney's and Millennium. Afternoon service is every 15 minutes between Baseline and Millennium. Service to/from Riverview Station is every 30 minutes all day, with 15-minute Sunday morning service between Nepean Woods and Millennium. Early morning, evening, and late night service is every 30 minutes, with no service between Tunney's and Fallowfield before approx. 10:15 AM and after approx. 6 PM eastbound and 6:30 PM westbound.

As part of changes that will be made in preparation for opening the Confederation Line, it will be split into two routes, renumbered 25 and 74.

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 Orléans to allow residents to travel to the west end of the city (such as Bayshore Station) without traveling through downtown. However, most morning rush hour trips to and from Kanata did not serve Orléans (where service was provided by peak route 102 that travels to/from Tunney's Pasture Station via Holland). Since April 15, 2007, four AM rush hour trips traveled from Orléans to Kanata, while all PM peak trips did the opposite.

The route originally ran every 30 minutes, six days a week with headways of 10 minutes during rush hour to Kanata in the morning, and from Kanata in the afternoon. Ten- to fifteen-minute service is provided during rush hour in the other direction. Service outside rush hour has been improved, with buses running every 20 minutes until 9–10 PM. 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 Road, Innes Road, Star Top Road, and Blair Road before ending at Blair Station. Some trips ended at Hurdman Station before it was revised to remain on the Eastern Transitway. In its early years, the 99 did not travel via Carling Avenue and Booth Street.

Both route 101 and 102 used the Queensway in addition to the Transitway. While Route 101 is generally much faster than crosstown route 2 that linked Blair Station to Bayshore Station (route 2 was later split into two routes), 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 route 101.

In September 2007, the 101 expanded its service hours to include Sunday service between Kanata North and Queensway Station for employees working at Kanata North Business Park, but this service was later discontinued in September 2009. Some Orléans trips on Saturdays were also extended to/from Kanata during the morning westbound and in the afternoon and evening eastbound.[10]

In September 2011, route 101 was once again reduced, now, the buses travel between St. Laurent Station in the east end, and Bayshore Station in the west end. Service to Kanata North is provided by rapid transit OC Transpo Routes 63 and 64.

For the fall 2014 service change, route 101 is once again extended during peak periods to/from Orléans to replace peak route 102.[11] Morning rush hour trips start at Place d'Orléans Station and end at Bayshore Station, while afternoon trips start at Bayshore Station and end in Orléans, with increased frequencies of 10–15 minutes to Bayshore in the morning and to Orléans in the afternoon. All other trips operate between Bayshore and St. Laurent only. Weekday headways are every 15 minutes to St. Laurent in the morning and to Bayshore in the afternoon, with 20-minute midday and evening service. Saturday service is every 30 minutes in the morning, with 20-minute service otherwise. There remains no Sunday service.[12]

Route 101 has the following destination signs:
Westbound:
101 BAYSHORE / CARLING / QUEENSWAY: These are the westbound trips during all time periods, which come from St-Laurent Station.

Eastbound:
101 ST-LAURENT: These eastbound trips operate during all time periods from Bayshore Station. They do not serve Blair Station or Place d'Orléans Station, which is provided by route 103.

OC Transpo Route 103

Introduced during the winter 2015 service change, route 103 replaces route 101 between St-Laurent Station and Place d'Orléans Station. Route 103 also supplements route 101 between Bayshore Station and St-Laurent Station. Unlike route 101, route 103 does not serve Hurdman Station in order to improve the reliability of the route. The headways on route 103 are approximately every 20 minutes, with service to Bayshore in the morning and to Orléans in the afternoon.

For the fall 2016 service change, route 103 is extended west to Moodie at Carling Campus via Highway 417, to serve the new Federal Government complex.

Destination Signs:
Westbound:
103 MOODIE: Similar to route 101 (which route 103 supplements between St-Laurent and Bayshore), route 103 travels via Carling and Highway 417 primarily to Carling Campus. Some trips are signed 103 CARLING CAMPUS but the routing is the same.

Eastbound:
103 PLACE D'ORLEANS: Meant to supplement route 101 between Bayshore and St-Laurent, and replace route 101 between St-Laurent and Orleans. Travels via Highway 417, Carling, and Ottawa Road 174 primarily.

Miscellaneous

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 suburban communities and key transit stations such as Mackenzie King Station, Lincoln Fields Station, Baseline Station, St-Laurent Station and Blair Station, all of which are major transfer hubs to local or STO service. It also travels through the heart of the tourist area and the biggest employment area, and three of the biggest shopping centres across the city — St. Laurent, Place d'Orléans and the Rideau Centre — are all served by route 95. The heavily commercial area of Barrhaven was also added on the 95's route. In addition, route 101 serves Pinecrest Shopping Centre and Bayshore Shopping Centre in the west end.

The 95 is the busiest route every day and as such operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It runs every 10 minutes (12 minutes during the summer) between Trim Station and Barrhaven Centre Station on weekday midday and only every 1–4 minutes during rush hour. Weekday evening service is every 7–8 minutes between Baseline Station and Orléans, with 15 minute service to both Barrhaven Centre Station and Trim Station. Trips to Trim are provided until 3 AM on weekdays only. During Saturdays, early mornings are every half hour between Barrhaven Centre Station and Place d'Orléans Station, and every 15 minutes after 6 AM. Midday headway is every 15 minutes between Barrhaven Centre Station and Orléans, with supplementary trips between Baseline Station and Orléans, and between Tunney's Pasture Station and Orléans. Late night Saturday service is 30 minutes between Barrhaven Centre Station and Orléans, with supplementary trips between Fallowfield Station and Orléans. Sunday service is also every 15 minutes between Barrhaven Centre Station and Place d'Orléans, with supplementary trips between Tunney's Pasture Station and Orléans. Sunday early mornings and late evenings are every 30 minutes between Barrhaven and Orléans.

Destination signs

Route 95 has several different destinations depending on the trip.

Eastbound trips

Eastbound trip signs include:

Westbound trips

Westbound trip signs includes :

Communities served

Major attractions and locations along the route

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Southwest Transitway Extension".
  2. ↑ http://www.octranspo1.com/community-events/barrhaven_transplan
  3. 1 2 "OC Transpo - On Track 2018 - Transitway Closure". OC Transpo. Retrieved 19 June 2015.
  4. 1 2 3 "OC Transpo - Routes & Maps - Route 91". OC Transpo. Retrieved 19 June 2015.
  5. ↑ "Report to/Rapport au:".
  6. ↑ "Report to/Rapport au:".
  7. ↑ http://city.ottawa.on.ca/calendar/ottawa/citycouncil/tc/2011/01-20/04-ACS2011-ICS-TRA-0006%20Barrhaven%20Route%20Changes.htm
  8. ↑ "OC Transpo - News". octranspo1.com. Retrieved 2014-02-23.
  9. ↑ "OC Transpo - Routes 94 and 99 extended". octranspo1.com. Retrieved 2014-07-13.
  10. ↑ "service d'automne".
  11. ↑ "OC Transpo - New Fall Service". Octranspo1.com. Retrieved 2014-08-11.
  12. ↑ "OC Transpo Routes & Maps". Octranspo1.com. Retrieved 2014-08-13.
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