Plans to ring in the new year thrown into chaos by LRT delays

Some commuters found themselves feeling frustrated after two LRT trains lost power Tuesday evening, forcing some Ottawans to be late to their New Year's Eve celebrations.

According to OC Transpo, the first train lost power at Cyrville station at 5 p.m., while the second train lost power west of the UOttawa station at approximately 5:50 p.m.

When the second one lost power, OC Transpo said it found alternative service plans to keep customers moving.

After the shutdowns, the trains operated on a loop from Tunney's Pasture to Parliament station and from Blair to Hurdman stations.

Dan Van Vliet was travelling downtown from Blair station when delays ahead of his train forced him off at Hurdman station around 6:30 p.m.

He wasn't impressed by the alternative service plans OC Transpo provided.

"They were just kind of grabbing buses and throwing people on them," said Van Vliet.

'I was really surprised'

Commuters were left stressed out trying to figure out how they would get to their evening's festivities, he said. Many people were calling their friends and loved onestrying to figure out what to do.

"I was really surprised as it was New Year's Eve. You figure it's gonna be a busy night on the transit system and it's a free night so you think they'd be ready for this and they were totally unprepared, again."

Van Vliet said the bus he travelled on meandered its way downtown, stopping at all of the LRT stations along the way. Eventually, he decided to just take an Uber.

The 45-year-old was over an hour late to the New Year's Eve celebration he was attending.

Didn't miss countdown

Luckily, he said the frustrating detour didn't cause him to miss the countdown.

And according to the city, full service resumed at 11:53 p.m.

Still, Van Vliet said the whole experience was chaotic.

"They should have all hands on deck for any rush hour, any big holiday, any big events that they expect to get any passengers," he said. "They should be ready for this. They just don't seem to have a contingency plan."