LRT builder has 'failed' residents, city manager says

Making a rare appearance before Ottawa's transit commission Wednesday, city manager Steve Kanellakos laid the blame for the problems bedevilling the Confederation Line squarely on builder Rideau Transit Group (RTG).

"They have failed the city and its residents," Kanellakossaid."We have not received what we paid for."

The city has experienced"inadequate management oversight,poor planning, under-resourcing and failure to anticipate predictable issues" from RTGsince the $2.1-billion Confederation Line's launch in September, Kanellakos complained.

Those issues have multiplied since dozens of bus routes were retired on Oct. 6, funnelling commuters onto the LRT, where long delays have become commonplace.

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"Our system is not operating at the level it should be.I acknowledge that we have not met your expectations, and I apologize for the fact that a system has inconvenienced so many people in this city," Kanellakos told the transit commission. "As it stands, it has not been good enough."

The city's manager of transportation services, John Manconi, joined Kanellakos in condemning the consortium, calling out its senior officialsby name.

Manconi said Rideau Transit Group is not being paid for maintenance, and is holding back the entire $4 million monthly payment for October, and also $2.8 million for part of September after the train launched.

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The LRT contract calls for the city to payout about $4.5 million monthly to Rideau Transit Maintenance over the next 30 years.Similar deductions will be made until the performance of the system improves and stabilizes, according to the mayor.

"We're the clients, we're not happy with it, the passengers aren't happy," Watson said Friday.

The city manager's remarks came before senior OC Transpostaff began anearly two-hour-long PowerPoint presentationdetailing the issues with the transitsystem.

Troy Charter, the city's director of transit operations, said the LRT problems fall into four main categories: the central computer system, the onboard computer system on individual rail vehicles, doors and rail switches.

The new Confederation Linehas run reliably 97.6 per cent of the time, butKanellakos saidthe two per cent of the time it hasn'tisa problem, especially if it happens during rush hours and thousands of people are affected.

"You have to get better," he told RTG. "Because you're leaving us hanging at the worst possible time."

'We have not received what we paid for'

5 years ago

Duration 1:06

City manager Steve Kanellakos had harsh words for Rideau Transit Group on Wednesday, slamming the consortium for "poor planning" and a "failure to anticipate predictable issues."

Councillors pepper managers with questions

Members of the transit commission and city councillorsgrilled staff on myriad LRT-related issuesas the meeting stretched into the evening.

They've been compiling questionsfor weeks, as the commission has not met since the big switch to LRTon Oct. 6.

Coun. Catherine McKenney demanded to know why Ottawa didn't complete 12 days of testing before RTG handed over the line.

"There's nothing magical in the industry about 12," Manconi answered. Thecity's original target for testing was 96 per cent reliability on nine of 12 days, he said, and they didn't think Rideau Transit Group would hit the higher target.

"The things you're seeing now were not evident in any of those testing days. None of them," he added.

When will linebe reliable?

Commissioners also got to the bottom of bad odoursat Parliament Station and slippery staircasesat multiple stations.

The smell was caused by a punctured sewage pipe that should be repaired this week, while the stairs will be covered with a grittier surface and the costs billed to RTG.

OC Transpo put forward somesolutions in the 2020 draft budget also tabled on Wednesday, including adding 59 old and new buses to the roads by January and hiring 15 permanent customer service staff.

But Coun. Rawlson King asked the bottom-line question manytransit riders care most about: When will OC Transpo become reliable?

"RTG has not given us that,"Manconi said, pointing out while he and Kanellakos are in daily contact with RTG, theconsortium has yet to give a timeline for resolving technical issues.

"Will we at least get a timeline for when they'll have a timeline?" King asked?

"We're trying," Manconi said.