LRT riders looking for something to hold on to

With no straps to grab, passengers fashioning their own solutions

Image | Scarf Strap LRT Oct. 31, 2019

Caption: Some LRT riders have resorted to using scarves in order to reach the grab bars. (@bsnider9681/Twitter)

Riders on Ottawa's light rail line are increasingly frustrated that the trains have no stability straps to hold on to, leaving the grab bars occasionally too high to reach.
The straps are meant to hang from the bars so that riders have something to grasp while the train is in motion. They can also to help people pull themselves out of their seats.
Riders have been airing their grievances about the lack of straps on Twitter.

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Even some taller riders are complaining that the bars are too high without straps.

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Use scarves instead

Justin Kelly, the creator of Occasional Transport, a crowdsourced website that tracks LRT delays, is using his platform to urge riders to hang scarves from the grab bars as a temporary solution — one that, at the same time, would send a message to OC Transpo.
"This is a non-destructive, constructive activism [initiative] and it will continue until [the straps] show up," Kelly told CBC Radio's Ottawa Morning.

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In an October memo to city council, OC Transpo head John Manconi said the agency did plan to install straps, but didn't indicate when they might come.
"We are currently working with the vehicle manufacturer, Alstom, and with safety engineers on the placement of the straps and other considerations that are part of rail safety requirements," the memo reads.
When asked for an update on those timelines, a City of Ottawa spokesperson shared part of a presentation dated Nov. 20 that said 500 straps had been ordered and "are due shortly."
The presentation said straps will be installed upon arrival and should equip half the fleet.

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