In 2006 and 2007, OC Transpo evaluated a double-decker bus on the Transitway and express routes. This bus, an Enviro500 built by British firm Alexander Dennis, can carry nearly 100 passengers. The initial service demonstration ran from June 28 to July 12, 2006, with a further demonstration under winter conditions in February 2007. The City of Ottawa purchased three Enviro500 buses and they were delivered in November 2008. OC Transpo decals were added to the buses in December, but the strike delayed the introduction of these buses. The buses started service in February.
OC Transpo has created a business plan for their bus fleet. The plan includes a purchase of 75 more Enviro500 triple-axle double-decker buses to replace the older 40-foot models currently in service (namely the buses purchased between 1997 and 1999). These extra double-decker buses would be used mainly on express routes. Double-decker buses use about the same amount of fuel as an articulated 60-foot bus, but only take up the same road area as a regular 40 foot bus, meaning they free up space (especially downtown), and provide increased seated passenger capacity for the longer express bus routes. This will help lower OC Transpo's operating costs. As a result of the purchase, the 60-foot articulated buses will be moved from express routes to Transitway and other mainline routes, replacing the 40-foot models currently used on some trips by those routes. Those 40-foot models will replace the older 40-foot models currently used on local routes. The older 40-foot buses will be retired from service. This plan was approved by the Transit Commission on April 20, 2011. The extra 75 Alexander Dennis E500 double-decker buses are expected to be in service between fall 2012 and spring 2013.
However, not everything about the new double-decker buses is good news. Advocates against the purchase of the new double-decker buses have said the buses are too top-heavy and prone to tipping over. Loading times are longer than with the triple doors of an articulated bus and some passengers have concerns using the stairs when the buses accelerate or decelerate, especially when snow and rain are carried inside. People over 5'8" must bend down due to the low ceiling on the upper deck. The maintenance of the fleet was complicated by adding buses from another manufacturer (OC Transpo already had buses from New Flyer and Orion before purchasing the double-deckers from Alexander Dennis). In cold and wet weather, condensation is prone to collecting on the roof of the upper deck, dripping on passengers below. Accessibility is also an issue with new buses, because the ramps on the double-deckers are also not well suited for express routes, where buses travel on various roads without proper sidewalks, and the wheelchair spots have seat belts that do not function as well as those found on the rest of the fleet.
The first few double-decker buses arrived in Ottawa on August 23, 2012. The following day Ottawa mayor Jim Watson and transit chair Diane Deans introduced the first of the 75 double-decker buses at a ceremony at Ottawa city hall. The new double-deckers are starting to enter service in October 2012, and will be primarily used on express routes from Kanata, Barrhaven, and Orleans. Express routes 35, 61, and 77 were the first three routes to use the new buses, with several other express routes receiving them over the following months, as they became available. Rapid transit route 93 is also using the new buses.
Two of the new double-decker buses were in service as of September 10, 2012, and were temporarily used on express routes 22 and 30 (serving Orleans). This lasted until a sinkhole on Regional Road 174 was fixed in mid-September.
Eight double-decker buses entered service on October 15, 2012, on routes 30, 35, 38, 60, 61, 62, 70, 71, 76, and 77. Six more entered service on October 29, 2012, on routes 20, 21, 31, 34, 41, 68, and 93. On November 5, 2012, six more entered service, bringing the total number of double-deckers in service to 20 buses, and introducing them on route 66 in addition to the aforementioned routes. As of April 21, 2013, all 75 buses are in service, with these buses being used on routes 40 and 67 in addition to all previously mentioned routes.
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18th September 2013, 17:38
