CFN – When you’re busy zooming to Ottawa in your speedy cruiser like Bob Kilger does it can be easy to not think about public transportation, but even our Mayor saw his city take another hit to its Inter-City Transportation as Greyhound announced it was cutting back service to the city due to lack of interest.
Of course if you have infrequent schedules and no stop within the city limits with almost no advertising the question turns into a chicken and egg one. Is it that the public doesn’t want the service or that the service itself is turning off the public?
Via Rail recently announced that it was dumping human staff at the Cornwall station recently and the city itself balked at taking the former Tourism property from the Province which would be ideal as an Inner & Inter city hub as well as a great tourism facility right at the foot of the new $75M bridge.
This isn’t a new problem for the River City. It’s been written about for nearly two years now. One 
politico suggested recently that this was payback to the Kilger government as some of the bus companies felt that the city spending money with Delaney Bus service hurt their bottom lines. Economic Development did a lovely wrap of one of the Delaney Buses that may have caused the ire of Greyhound and Megabus that have lost commuter traffic to Ottawa.
If we can subsidize student doctors and if other cities can help subsidize public transportation maybe it’s time for our city to start thinking of the critical importance that having proper Intercity transportation means?
So CFN viewers is it the chicken and the egg and how does not having reliable and well scheduled transportation impact you?
You can post your comments below.
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Jamie (Admin) I wrote sometime ago saying that OC Transpo wanted to go in with Cornwall about having a rail system between Ottawa and Cornwall for people who live in Cornwall and commute to Ottawa. Instead of having traffic jams on the 138, etc. and all the dangers of commuting OC Transpo wanted to get into this project and guess what my dear friend Bare Ass refused it. Now look at the cuts at Via Rail and the Voyageur Bus as well. There are a lot of seniors who love to use the bus and even regular people would love to leave their cars at home and travel in quiet without worry.
Cornwall is going to be more isolated than ever and it is up to the people to wake up and see what is being done to them under Bare Ass’s leadership into the pit of debt and isolation and laughter. The people (sheeple) haven’t seen anything yet. Just hold on to your seats folks and if Bare Ass gets in again give Cornwall a kiss goodbye.
Word, Jules {MODERATED}. If you are doing so well in Ottawa Jules why don’t you save your nonsense for Lowell Green and forget about Cornwall. Some of us have returned for reasons other than money. I was walking downtown and had a feeling that the downtown may do OK if something happens soon. Not the square at Pitt but a sense that just one election may hold the balance or we are near the tipping point for Cornwall.
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It’s time for us to vote for all new servants to the city. They are our servants folks, don’t be afraid to vote for Jamie.
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son
Maybe its time to talk amalgamation again this time South Stormont could take over Cornwall we would have lower taxes and cornwall would be just a suburb like Riverdale or Eamer’s \Corners LMAO by the way Delaney is a local company and it provides a service to the working man with schedules that make sense unlike the bus companies along with the railways that schedules make sense for only Ottawa Montreal and Toronto residents with Cornwall and other smaller communities being but mere human fillers along the way. Regulations that would give these probably non Canadian companies such as mega bus etc an advantage over some one local bothers me unless the companies by charter must provide the service to larger cities like cornwall even if they do so at a loss. I like the Idea of high speed travel to Ottawa is anyone willing to be shot down a tube at a 1000 km hours we maybe only years away from this technology .
Prince you can take a flying leap to God knows where and I never listen to Lowell Green at all and never have in my life. I am originally from Cornwall and will continue to read and post my opinions. If you don’t like it then too bad you can’t get rid of me – free speech.
Cornwall had a ‘high-speed’ train service to Ottawa between 1900 and 1952 . . . thanks to the Vanderbilt family of New York . . . they owned the New York Central Railroad and the NYCentral operated passenger and freight trains between NYCity and Ottawa. The trip between Cornwall and Ottawa lasted for 45-minutes.
When NYCentral discontinued service in 1952, neither CN nor CP were interested in acquiring the tracks between Cornwall and Ottawa . . .. otherwise CN (or VIA) may have operated a Montreal – Cornwall – Ottawa train service.
With regard to MegaBus, their stop at Brockville (Food Basics parking lot) is literally right next door to a Brockville Transit bus stop (Blue route) . . and a block away from the stop for the Green route. Same story at Kingston and at Whitby where MegaBus actually interlines with Kingston and Whitby Transit.
Pity that there is no interchange between Pitt Street and Hwy 401 . . . that would allow Megabus to interline with a Cornwall Transit bus route.
With regard to Greyhound and previously Voyageur, various circumstances ‘prevented’ them from beginning and ending the Cornwall – Ottawa service at Pitt & 2nd, where they could have interlined with Cornwall Transit. Prior to 1970, the intercity bus terminal was next to the old Cornwallis Hotel . . . with excellent interlining with the old transit system.
Delaney gained ridership from Cornwall because they make multiple stops across Cornwall . . . they serve the people well. Some downtown parking garages in Ottawa charge $20-per day . . plus $20 gas for a return trip to Ottawa.
I certainly wish the staff at Delaney Bus Lines great success should they consider adding buses on Friday, Monday and the weekend . . to make up for the service abandonment by Greyhound.
Thank you Mr. Valentine for bringing up some history here. Yes the Vanderbilts are the billionaire family in NYC that made their money in the railroad business. If any of you know Amy Vanderbilt and her sister (the mother of news anchor of CNN Anderson Cooper) that is the family.
OC Transpo offered Bare Ass to put a rail between Ottawa and Cornwall and have the rides of OC Transpo buses here in Ottawa be included in the price. Bare Ass turned it all down. Yes you are absolutely right about the cost of parking here in Ottawa and it is astronomical. When we go to the doctor downtown we leave the car at home and my daughter and I take the bus to and fro. The traffic downtown is at insanity levels and also where I live in the south end as well. That is one of the advantages of Cornwall – so mighty quiet.
The Voyageur Bus used to be packed with people going on trips whether to Ottawa or any other city. The same thing with the train system – it used to thrive. No wonder there is so much pollution and the cars add so much to it. I don’t know how the people of Cornwall do it is to make that awfully long trip by car to Ottawa and to Montreal. When we go to Cornwall and back we are literally exhausted. When people are mighty tired after a days work they go home pretty well finished. The train system would be a valuable asset. My husband thinks that with the time Cornwall will be attached to Ottawa like a suburb or a bedroom community. That may happen in ten years time or a little more.
Hi Jules,
Many Eastern Ontario communities have daily weekday commuter service to and from Ottawa and the list includes Cornwall, Alexandria, Embrun, Casselman, Morrisburg, Chesterville, Finch/Crysler, St Isidore de Prescott as well as Rockland-Plantagenet. VIA Rail revised their schedules on their weekday Montreal-Ottawa service . . . about 15-minutes Delaney’s bus from Alexandria arrives at Ottawa, the westbound VIA train picks up at Alexandria . . . and many people who work 9:00AM to 5:00PM in Ottawa, are at their places of employment as early as 8:30AM. Alexandria will be getting municipal water from Cornwall . . . so watch that town expand over the next several years.
The combination of regulations imposed by the Ontario Highway Transportation Board and Voyageur unfortunately was responsible for the decline in bus ridership between Ottawa and Cornwall . . . and Voyageur staff had little understanding of commuter services when Delaney filed the application to operate the Cornwall – Ottawa commuter service. Had Voyageur-Greyhound staff “been-on-the-ball”, it would have been they and not Delaney operating the successful Cornwall-Ottawa commuter bus.
Greyhound discontinued the Friday and Monday buses on the Cornwall-Ottawa service because they can re-assign the bus and driver to other more heavily travelled routes. I can only hope that the student associations at University of Ottawa, Carleton University and Algonquin College would be willing to assist Delaney in getting a Friday and Sunday service started on the Cornwall-Ottawa route, to serve the needs of college and university students who live on or near campus during the week.
I believe Greyhound’s days servicing Cornwall are numbered. Have services only Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday has to be the worst idea they could come up with. Obviously what little ridership they have left will continue to decrease. They could have saved their service by running Thursday, Friday, Sunday as there would likely be more interest for bus service those days… I ride the Delaney commuter daily to Ottawa and I can say the bus is decently full of riders, in addition last I checked there is currently a waiting list for monthly passholders. Obviously many people are interested. That being said, I believe Delaney will do the smart thing by taking these factors into consideration and increase their service.