John Dance

Ottawa East had the very first bus route in the City and the 100th anniversary of its
inauguration is being celebrated this year.

This achievement is noted at the bus stops within Old Ottawa East (OOE) and OC
Transpo has provided a press release outlining the history of the City’s bus service and,
specifically, how it served Main Street.

Although residents have relied on bus service for a very long time, the reality is that bus service began in 1924 but lasted less than a year, at which time a streetcar line was built and replaced the bus. The streetcar service continued until 1959, at which point buses took over.

The initial bus route ran from the end of the streetcar tracks on Elgin Street, near today’s location of the Ottawa Police Services headquarters, to the foot of Clegg Street. REO Speedwagon buses (yes, the source of the name for the rock group) plied the route. The streetcar that replaced the bus had its end point in what is now the Children’s Garden/Legget Park at the corner of Clegg and Main streets.

According to an article in the Ottawa Citizen, Ottawa East’s new bus service was deemed “an experiment,” and “it was altogether likely that it would have to be suspended for about a week in the spring when the roads got soft.”

The private Ottawa Electric Bus Company ran the bus service and had begun operations with electric streetcars in 1891, replacing the Ottawa City Passenger Railway Company’s horse-drawn streetcars which had been introduced 20 years before.

So how have things changed with transit over the last 100 years? First, it’s more expensive. The bus service a century ago was five cents a ride. Using the Bank of Canada’s inflation converter, that translates into 86 cents today. There is, however, a big ‘but': now a single fare costing $3.85 will take you across a city with one of the greatest areas of any city in Canada.

Also, OOE residents have three bus routes to choose from (5, 16 and 55) and their very own LRT station at Lees Avenue in addition to the nearby stations at the main campus of the University of Ottawa and at Hurdman just across the river.

Some things haven’t changed though. The OER had to ask passengers to move to the back of the bus and, like its successor, the public OC Transpo, had to deal with complaints of poor service.

In 1948 to address complaints, “more heaters, windshield wipers, defrosters and straps for standing passengers to hold” were installed. It seems local transit has improved.