Reliable trains, not buses, needed to restore faith in LRT: commissioner

One of Ottawa's transit commissioners is welcoming Mayor Jim Watson's promise to increase bus service, but says that's not enough to restorethe confidence of frustrated LRT riders.

Sarah Wright-Gilbert said she wished public officials had been discussing the ongoing light rail problemsmore openly, rather than having thingsculminate with adramatic response from the mayor after two separate problems snarled Friday morning's commute.

"I wish this step had been taken several weeks ago and that we hadn't gotten to what I think was a breaking point," she told CBC News.

The mayor has announced 40 buses are being taken out of retirement to bolster routes that feed the LRT, including the 39, which Wright-Gilbert said has serious overcrowding problems.

"It doesn't really solve the underlying issue, which is the reliability of the trains," she said. "Until we have reliable trains, the public's confidence is not going to be there in our very expensive multi-modal system."

Chided for criticism

Wright-Gilbert, an unpaid volunteer on the transit commission, raised issuesabout the lack of buses, overcrowding and poor communicationearlier this week.

Coun. Allan Hubley,the chair of the transit commission, subsequently criticized herfor undermining confidence in the system.

Wright-Gilbert told CBC that Hubley'scomments were very distressing and made it difficult for her to go on with her work.

"To be made the reason why people have lost confidence in the system ... that comment was not only tone-deaf, it was insulting," she said.

After Watson tweeted that he was "furious" with the LRT problems, he wasasked if Wright-Gilbert was owed an apology. The mayor said the transit commissioner was expressing frustration, and that people are free to tweet if they want.

For her part, Wright-Gilbert said she is looking forward to next week's transit commission meeting, whentransportation services manager John Manconiis expected toexplain the fixes to the issues dogging the Confederation Line.

That meeting the first since the LRT launched in mid-September takes place Nov. 6.