When Seoul's courts sided with Yoon Byung-so, a widower who had lost his wife due to a platform incident, they set a precedent:

If someone falls off a platform and loses their life due to a train, whether intentionally or not, the railway operator does bear some responsibility for their death.

In 2012, @translink.ca released some analysis showing what characteristics are common to the most successful bus routes in Metro Vancouver. I applied that methodology for 2024, and many of the attributes still hold true.

I made a map of population density (CSDs) in BC overlaid with the highway network, the potential of intercity public transit is much stronger than you might expect!

teito7000.github.io/projects/202...

- Closing Line 2 for 4 years’ worth of upgrades while still keeping single-track portions, not adding electrification, and mandating two transfers from the airport to the city centre are all questionable decisions that will likely come back to haunt the line as it becomes more popular

9/10

- The curves near Hurdman station are really unpleasant. Lots of rail screeching at a painfully slow speed. Is this causing the bogie issues? IDK but it feels unnecessary, since the station could've been moved while extending the Transitway to meet it, rather than forcing the sharp curves

8/10

The Ugly 💀

- Despite being only 5 years old, the O-Train is out of service fairly regularly for maintenance befitting a much older system. Beyond scheduled outages, I had the misfortune of being on the train when something went wrong in the eastern end, forcing a shuttle service

7/10

- There are no LCD screens despite these trains being pretty new. The gangway LED screens that are present are obstructed by horizontal grab bars 🙃
- The transverse seating reduces standing space and creates bottlenecks for passenger flow, a problem for one of NA's highest ridership LRTs

5/10

The Bad 🫠

- Fares are pretty expensive, and not distance-based, likely dissuading short, urban trips
- Fare gates are slow to open, compared to Vancouver ⏳
- Wayfinding inside the trains is lacking. Most of the panel space is empty, with paper maps irregularly scattered

4/10

The Good 😀

- The stations are stunning, both architecturally and by how well they integrate into the downtown streetscape (yay for public art!)
- The downtown tunnel segment feels like a true metro, with frequent service (pre-service cuts 😭) and protection from the elements in chilly Ottawa

2/10

I recently visited Ottawa with some friends for a transit conference. Here are some thoughts about the O-Train LRT from my brief experiences...

Shaky photos by me, others courtesy of @abbyfour.bsky.social

🧵 1/10