The Carleton University Students’ Association (CUSA) is requesting OC Transpo provide better transportation services to students, according to CUSA vice-president (student issues) Gina Parker.
“CUSA believes students deserve the services that they pay for,” she said. “Students shouldn’t have full buses driving past them on Carleton-specific routes while they are trying to get to school, or have to leave class early in order to catch a ride home.”
Parker said CUSA has requested that more busses come for routes 4, 7, and 111 at the peak hours of 8:30 a.m., 2:30 p.m., and 6:00 p.m.
Another route 7 bus coming in time for the 9 p.m. rush was also requested for students coming out of late classes.
Parker also said bus route 111 should stop at Carleton on weekends, as many students rely on this route to get to campus.
She said Pat Scrimgeour, OC Transpo’s manager of transit service design, Paul Siedl, a staffer in the division, and Sue McCallum, a transit planning officer, met with CUSA Oct. 1 to discuss the issues.
Scrimgeour said via email that the issues addressed by CUSA are currently being reviewed and OC Transpo will update CUSA once they analyze and collect ridership data.
The data, according to Scrimgeour, will be used to “ensure that the service capacity planned on a route is sufficiently meeting ridership demand.”
Scrimgeour said there is hope for some increased service changes for Carleton changes to occur this fall.
Other services may require much longer to be implemented, he said.
He said some service increases have already taken place. The route 4 trip departing Rideau Centre at 8:02 a.m. and arriving at Carleton for 8:30 a.m. class was upgraded to a higher-capacity articulating bus, according to Scrimgeour.
