Transitway | |||
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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 | ||
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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.
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 traveled 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 southeast 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 busway 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]
Multiple sections of the Transitway were permanently closed for O-Train Stage 2 construction in 2021 and 2022. In September of 2021, the Transitway was closed between Moodie and Bayshore, followed by the section between Bayshore and Pinecrest in April of 2022. Buses were detoured along Highway 417, with Moodie station being relocated to temporary bus stops at the interchange ramps, and some bus routes bypassing Pinecrest and Bayshore stations eastbound as a result. [6] [7] In June, the entirety of the central Transitway between Tunney's Pasture and Dominion stations was closed, as well as the southwest Transitway between Iris and Baseline. Buses were detoured along Scott Street parallel to the former central Transitway, with a temporary extension and bridge connecting to Dominion Station. Buses were routed along Iris Street and Woodroffe Avenue between Iris and Baseline stations. [8]
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 |
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39 | Millennium 39 Trim 39 Place d'Orléans | Blair 39 La Cité N39 Rideau |
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45 | Hospital / Hôpital | Hurdman N45 Rideau |
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57 | Crystal Bay Bayshore | Tunney's Pasture N57 Rideau |
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61 | Stittsville 61 Terry Fox | Tunney's Pasture 61 Gatineau 61 Pimisi N61 Rideau |
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61C | Stittsville | Eagleson | ||
61D | Terry Fox | Eagleson |
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62 | Stittsville 62 Terry Fox | Tunney's Pasture |
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63 | Briarbrook via Innovation | Tunney's Pasture via Briarbrook 63 Gatineau via Briarbrook 63 Pimisi |
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74 | Riverview Limebank (2024) | Tunney's Pasture |
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75 | Barrhaven Centre Cambrian | Tunney's Pasture 75 Gatineau 75 Pimisi N75 Rideau |
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97 | Airport 97 Airport via Uplands 97 South Keys | Hurdman N97 Rideau |
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98 | Hawthorne | Hurdman | ||
99 | Barrhaven Centre 99 Citigate 99 E.S. Pierre-de-Blois | Greenboro 99 Greenboro via Uplands 99 Hurdman 99 Riverview 99 Spratt / Limebank Limebank (2024) |
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Station | Rapid connections | Notes |
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Blair | 39 |
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Montréal | 39 |
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Jeanne d'Arc | 39 |
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Place d'Orléans | 39 |
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Trim | 39 |
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Millennium | 39 |
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The east Transitway currently consists of a series of intermittent bus-only lanes along Regional Road 174 between Blair and Place d'Orléans.
Station | Rapid connections | Notes |
---|---|---|
Hurdman | 45 97 98 99 |
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Lycée Claudel | 45 97 98 99 |
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Smyth | 97 98 99 |
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Riverside | 97 98 99 |
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Pleasant Park | 97 98 99 |
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Billings Bridge | 97 98 99 |
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Heron | 97 98 99 |
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Walkley | (future) 97 98 99 |
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Greenboro | 97 98 99 |
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South Keys | (future) 97 98 99 |
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Leitrim | 99 |
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Limebank (2024) | (future) 74 (future) 99 (future) |
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Airport | 97 |
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Hawthorne | 98 |
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The southeast Transitway is a dedicated busway adjacent to some rail corridors between Hurdman and South Keys.
Station | Rapid connections | Notes |
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Tunney's Pasture | (future) 57 61 62 63 74 75 |
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Westboro | (future) (future) 57 61 62 63 74 75 |
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Dominion | (future) (future) 57 61 62 63 74 75 |
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The central Transitway was a dedicated busway between Tunney's Pasture and Dominion. It was closed in preparation for O-Train Stage 2 construction in June 2022, with buses now running along Scott Street. A temporary Transitway was built from Dominion station to the intersection of Churchill Road and Scott Street. The new Transitway travels over the old one via the bailey bridge and then alongside until the intersection of Scott / Churchill.
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.
Station | Rapid connections | Notes |
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Lincoln Fields | 57 61 62 63 74 75 |
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Queensway | 61 62 63 74 75 |
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Iris | 74 75 |
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Baseline | 74 75 |
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Fallowfield | 74 75 |
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Longfields | 75 |
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Strandherd | 75 |
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Marketplace | 75 99 |
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Barrhaven Centre | 75 99 |
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Citigate | 99 |
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Cambrian | 75 |
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Beatrice | 99 |
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Nepean Woods | 74 99 |
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Riverview | 74 99 |
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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 traveling along reserved lanes to Riverview.
Station | Rapid connections | Notes |
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Pinecrest | 61 62 63 |
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Bayshore | 57 61 62 63 |
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Moodie | 57 61 62 63 |
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Bells Corners | 57 |
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Eagleson | 61 62 63 |
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Terry Fox | 61 62 |
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Canadian Tire Centre | 62 |
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Stittsville | 61 62 |
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Teron | 62 63 |
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Innovation | 63 |
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The west Transitway consisted of a dedicated busway between Pinecrest and Moodie, however the section between Moodie and Bayshore closed permanently in September 2021, followed by the section between Bayshore and Pinecrest in April 2022. Buses also use reserved lanes on Highway 417 between Moodie and Eagleson.
OC Transpo is the public transport agency that operates an integrated hub-and-spoke system including bus rapid transit, light rail, conventional transit bus, and door-to-door paratransit in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
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uOttawa is a light rail transit (LRT) station on the O-Train Confederation Line, located on the University of Ottawa campus.
Hurdman is a station on Ottawa's O-Train Confederation Line, and bus rapid transit (BRT) system, transitway.
Bayview is an O-Train interchange station in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, connecting the Confederation Line and Trillium Line.
Greenboro is a transitway stop and future O-Train Trillium Line station in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is located at Bank Street and Johnston Road at the north end of the South Keys shopping complex. The station has a 678-space paid park and ride lot. The bus terminus was opened with the southern transitway on September 2, 1995.
The Trillium Line, also called O-Train Line 2, is a diesel light rail transit (DLRT) service in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, operated by OC Transpo. The line has been closed since May 2020 for service expansion.
Tunney's Pasture is the western O-Train light rail terminal train station in Ottawa, Ontario.
Iris station is one of the few grade-level stations on the Southwest Ottawa Transitway. It is located on Iris Street, a collector road in western Ottawa.
South Keys station is a stop on Ottawa's transitway system. Operated by OC Transpo, it is last station at the southern end of the Transitway, just north of Hunt Club Road. The station is located in the South Keys neighbourhood of Ottawa at the south end of the South Keys Shopping Centre beside the Cineplex Odeon South Keys Cinemas, between Bank Street and the Airport Parkway. The station was opened to traffic with the southern transitway on September 2, 1995.
Walkley is a bus station on Ottawa's transitway served by OC Transpo buses. It is located in the south-eastern transitway section at Walkley Road in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. There are also plans for mixed-use development all around the station which is vacant.
Bayshore is a station on the transitway in Ottawa, Ontario, served by OC Transpo buses. It is located in the western transitway section at the Bayshore Shopping Centre in the neighbourhood of Bayshore.
Airport is an under construction O-Train rapid transit station. It will be located at the Ottawa Macdonald–Cartier International Airport in the south end of Ottawa. Estimated for completion in 2024, it will serve as the southern terminus of the three-stop Line 4. The airport is currently served by an OC Transpo bus stop.
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Fallowfield station or Fallowfield Train Station is an inter-city passenger railway station and bus rapid transit station located at 3347 Fallowfield Road in the suburban neighbourhood of Barrhaven in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Riverview is an OC Transpo transit station located in the Riverside South community in Ottawa, Ontario. The station is located south of Earl Armstrong Road east of River Road.
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The Confederation Line, also called O-Train Line 1, is a light rail line operated by OC Transpo in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, as part of the city's O-Train light rail system. It opened on September 14, 2019, and is O-Train's second line. It operates on an east–west route, with a segment under Queen Street in the downtown core, complementing the north–south Trillium Line that operates to the west of the downtown core. Using light rail rolling stock and technology, the Confederation Line is completely grade separated.
The O-Train is a light rail rapid transit system in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, operated by OC Transpo. The O-Train system has two lines, the electrically-operated Confederation Line and the diesel-operated Trillium Line. Since May 2020, Stage 2 construction has temporarily shut down Line 2, with replacement bus service being offered at all stations. When Line 2 reopens in 2024, it will extend southward to Limebank station and incorporate five newly constructed stations, as well as an additional line linking Line 2 to Ottawa International Airport which will replace the current bus service from route 97. By 2026, expansions along Line 1 and the construction of Line 3 stations in the west end are expected to be complete, bringing the system's length to 64.5 km (40.1 mi), four lines and 41 stations. The O-Train network is fully grade separated and does not have any level crossings with roads.
Moodie is a station on Ottawa, Ontario, Canada's transitway served by OC Transpo buses. It is located in the western transitway section near the interchange of Moodie Drive and Highway 417 near Crystal Beach. The station opened on December 24, 2017 as a bus rapid transit (BRT) station, with later plans to convert it to light rail transit (LRT).
The 19-kilometre Trillium Line, also referred to as Line 2 of the O-Train, is under construction from Bayview Station to Riverside South, with a four-kilometre spur line to the Ottawa International Airport. The first of three extensions under the municipality's Stage 2 construction project, the Trillium Line was originally scheduled to open in time for the resumption of classes last fall. Best estimates by rail construction director Michael Morgan now see the City of Ottawa taking over that train line this October, after contractor Transit NEXT, a wholly owned subsidiary of SNC-Lavalin, does its final trial run in September.