Pellerin: What if OC Transpo had a strong, capable leader?

Ottawa Citizen

05-06-2025

OC Transpo general manager Renée Amilcar is leaving next month, to become head of a new Quebec government transportation agency, Mobilité Infra Québec. It must be nice to be mobile. Unlike, say, Ottawans who rely (if that's the word) on transit for their everyday transportation needs.
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I'm sure Amilcar thinks she did a great job in the last four years running our beleaguered system. And in fairness, it's not immediately clear whether she did any worse than her predecessor. Now that we've set the bar suitably low, let's turn our attention to the next person who'll occupy that chair. I thought I'd get the process started by outlining a few key elements of the job description.
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The first qualification is to be an excellent driver who lives anywhere in the city that doesn't have a quick, reliable and direct bus route to work. That way, they'll be certain to never use the transit system they are nominally in charge of. Leave that to other people, you know?
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A proven ability to demonstrate a strong allergy to success is also required. The good people of Ottawa have been training for a long time in how to react to one bitter transportation disappointment after another. It is not at all obvious to me they would survive sudden efficiency during their commute.
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I don't just mean that we got used to hundreds of cancelled buses and trains that only run sporadically. It's also roads crawling with drivers who have abandoned the bus. And construction projects that are apparently designed to inflict maximum pain in the slowest, most drawn-out way possible. Your drive is made worse by the number of people who would prefer riding the proletarian chariot but gave up on it and are driving in front of you instead.
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Like the frog that's slowly getting used to warming water, Ottawa commuters have gotten used to a slow worsening of their transportation options. They know things aren't good.
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Imagine what would happen if we had the option of walking out of our home in the morning and hopping on a train or bus that goes to where we're going and shows up often enough that we don't even need to think about looking at the schedule. Mass apoplexy is what.
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And then what if we could get to a hockey game or a show at Lansdowne or the Canadian Tire Centre from anywhere in the city in half an hour without having to bother with traffic, parking or the worry of drinking and driving? And the ride was comfortable, clean and fare-free?