Carleton’s O-Train stop is under heavy construction as OC Transpo installs fare gates in front of the station. This is part of a modernization of fare systems coming to all train stops in 2017, according to Pat Scrimgeour, director of Transit Customer Systems and Planning for OC Transpo.
The fare gate system is expected to be ready at the Trillium Line stations-including the Carleton O-Train Station-in 2017 to allow for riders to get familiar with it before Confederation Line stations open in 2018, Scrimgeour said in an email.
“A new fare control strategy is required to provide a fully integrated multi-modal transit fare control system that meets the needs of customers, and allows for the efficient movement of people,” he said.
The fare gates will require machine-readable passes and transfers to enter through the gates, either as smart cards or barcodes. Currently OC Transpo has been working with U-Pass institutions to implement smart cards.
The University of Ottawa and St. Paul University students obtained smart pass cards in September, he said. Algonquin College students are expected to get them in January 2017, and Carleton students in September 2017.
Students are a significant portion of current O-Train users. According to Scrimgeour, approximately 90 per cent of trips on the Trillium Line are completed by U-Pass customers.
But the construction has been a set-back to some students. Julia O’Quinn, a fourth-year law student at Carleton, said the construction delays her commute by about 10 minutes.
“It’s a little bit frustrating, especially when I have early class,” she said. “I think [having fare gates] will make it easier to enforce instead of people getting on and off as they please. I think it’s fair.”
Accessibility is a key issue for OC Transpo, and Scrimgeour said the O-Train system will still be accessible even with the fare gates.
“All fare gate entrances will have at least one wider fare gate to accommodate customers using mobility devices, bicycles, strollers or service animals,” he said. “The fare gates will also issue an audible tone when a valid fare type is tapped or scanned on the readers, which will be mounted at an accessible height.”
Brett Babcock, programming co-ordinator of the Carleton Disability Awareness Centre (CDAC), said overall, OC Transpo is accessible, particularly more so than transit in other large Canadian cities.
But Babcock said the sidewalk at the O-Train stop could be difficult for people who have mobility-related disabilities.
“It was very uneven, definitely for someone in a wheelchair. The construction will definitely help in terms of safety,” he said, noting he has fallen out of his wheelchair a few times on campus because of uneven sidewalks. “I still feel comfortable using it myself, it would just be nice to have the sidewalk be more accessible so I don’t have to do wheelies to get over certain bumps, or have to be looking down at the ground especially at nighttime to avoid any bumps.”
“It’s definitely good that they’re doing this . . . Saying that OC Transpo is 100 per cent accessible is debatable, but I think OC Transpo definitely does a top of the line job on providing accessible features,” he said.
Babcock said people with disabilities may be more likely to use the Light Rail Transit system like the O-Train because it allows them to get to more areas.
“For a lot of us, wheeling in the snow isn’t ideal, or wheeling in between bus stops can pose a challenge. Having an underground system where you can avoid the snow and do transfers will help people with disabilities do transfers and [commute],” he said.
Scrimgeour said the total cost to implement the new fare control strategy is $25 million. This includes all fare gates, ticket machines, and the capital cost of hardware and software infrastructure on all Trillium and Confederation lines.
