Your double-decker bus experience was not unique, friends
Okay, *sérieusement*, can we talk about the double-decker buses? Because, let's be real, you've been on one. You've probably been stuck on one in traffic on the Sir John A. Macdonald Parkway, or tried to navigate the stairs with a Tim Hortons coffee on a particularly bumpy stretch of Carling Avenue. And now, OC Transpo is saying *au revoir* to almost all of them, barely halfway through their supposed lifespan. They're calling them "duds" and "too expensive to maintain." I mean, I love an honest assessment as much as the next person who used to fact-check term papers for extra cash, but "duds"? *Quelle surprise.* This went through three levels of approval before it got to me, and it is still fascinating how blunt they are.
### What This Means for Ottawa
This isn't just about a few buses; it's about our daily commute, our city's transit identity, and maybe, just maybe, a collective sigh of relief. Think about it:
* **Less Wobble:** No more feeling like you're on a ship in the middle of a storm every time the bus turns a corner onto Elgin Street. * **More Reliability?** If they were expensive duds, maybe their replacements will actually, you know, work. A novel concept, I know, for those of us who remember the LRT's early days. * **The End of a Quirky Era:** As much as we complained, they were undeniably Ottawa. Like the Rideau Canal Skateway, but instead of ice, it was... disappointment and slow climbs up Colonel By Drive.
The real story is never on the Hill — it's always just off it. And right now, it's on the bus routes that weave through Vanier and the Glebe, where these double-deckers were probably causing headaches. For a city that prides itself on efficiency and planning, admitting these buses were a bust is a quiet but significant moment. It’s like when you finally admit that *poutine* from that one place in the ByWard Market just isn't what it used to be. You know the one.
Simone Okafor-Bouchard, MiTL Sports Desk, Ottawa. Rebecca and the gang break down all the city's *actual* hot takes every morning — catch them live at mornings.live.