Misaligned screw caused cracked LRT wheels, city says

OC Transpo officials say some of the LRT's wheelsdeveloped cracks earlier this summerbecause of an "improperly alignedscrew"that put stress on a part of the wheel.

During an update at transit commission on Wednesday, transit operations director Troy Chartersaid that was the root cause determined byRideau Transit Group and train-maker Alstom.

But transportation general manager John Manconilater emphasized that the Transportation Safety Board itself hasn't reached that conclusion yet and is still investigating. That investigation could take up toa year, he said.

• TSB launches formal investigation of LRT train wheel cracks

Alstom replaced the few wheels that had cracked and intends to replace every last train wheel by spring 2021, Charter said.

But cracked wheels were just one of many issues that officials covered, as they brought commissioners up to speed on how Rideau Transit Group has been workingthrough itsplan to fix theLRT's problems.

New software, new track heaters

"There are no debates about what needs to be fixed," Manconi told commissioners, and he praised the new CEO at Rideau Transit Maintenance, Mario Guerra, for dealing with the list.

"We have collectively made significant, significant progress, and we're in a much better place than we were months ago," said Manconi, adding thetrain has run reliablyfor the past couple of months.

• LRT marks 1st birthday with few riders and fewer issues

"This not a fluke," said Manconi, "It's not just because of low ridership."

RTG has installed new software so that jammed doors are rarely a problem. A software upgrade has also dealt with automatic braking issues that were causing wheels to develop flat spots. The overhead power lines, known as the catenary, have been adjusted from end to end.

Problematic track switches in the east end are getting "more powerful"natural gas heaters rather than electric ones to keep them free of ice and snow, said Charter.

The consortium remains in default on its contract, however, and Manconi said RTG"has to climb themselves out" by providingmonths during which the LRT performs well.

Financial forecast

Councillors and commissioners also learned ridership sits at just 28 per cent of normal levels, and the city's financial projections see COVID-19 causing $123.7 million in pressures for transit, of which upper levels of government have so far promised to cover$75million.

Coun. Theresa Kavanagh wondered if the city should consider moving away from its long-held ratio of having transit operations paid half by fares and about half from property taxes.

"Shouldn't we be looking, since everything is on the table, at moving away from a fare-revenue system and more of a tax-based system, if we're considering [transit] an essential service?"

It's an idea a few of her colleaguesalso feelthe city should pursue.

But Coun. Riley Brockington sees empty buses travel past and said transit service should match demand, especially given how transitis expected to causethe biggest issues forthe upcoming 2021 draftbudget.

"That is a significant thing we need to wrestle," said Brockington. "There has to be a better way for us to control our costs."

Manconisaid both Kavanagh's and Brockington's ideas would call for a significant change in policy.

Despite fears the federal and provincial governments might not provide extra funding to help cities close the gap on their transit losses from COVID-19 shutdowns, he saidservice cuts would be a "tricky slope to go down" and it's "premature" to talk about them now.