Software engineering student saves the day for frustrated LRT riders

While mechanical engineers with OC Transpo work to bring Ottawa's light rail system back into service, a software engineering student from the University of Ottawa has created a series of maps to help bus riders avoid the often overcrowded and delayed R1 replacement buses. 

Ella Primeau, a self-proclaimed "transit obsessed trans girl," has been coming up with alternative routes to the replacement buses since an LRT shutdown a year ago.

"It's funny, I make maps mostly just because it's something I like doing ... I ride the buses quite a bit. And so I've accumulated quite a bit of knowledge of this system and this is something I started doing many months ago," she told host Giacomo Panico on Ottawa Morning.

Primeau's maps became a Reddit sensation recently, with followers calling her a hero and a lifesaver. With transit officials warning the LRT likely won't be up and running until the end of July — at the earliest — the maps are likely to keep growing in popularity.

I have this knowledge, it might be of use to people now that the train is down again for an unforeseeable amount of time.- Ella Primeau, University of Ottawa engineering student

"When the train's down, I use these routes to avoid the R1, mostly because I would rather take the shortcut route, the side street route.… And so I thought, I have this knowledge, it might be of use to people now that the train is down again for an unforeseeable amount of time."

The replacement buses were especially crowded during morning and afternoon rush hour, especially when they were running along Queen Street downtown. The idea was to keep the buses travelling as close to the LRT route as possible.

However, the ensuing gridlock on narrow Queen Street led to overcrowding and frustration. The replacement buses have since been rerouted through downtown's Albert and Slater streets, a move Primeau supports.

"It'll definitely reduce travel times on the R1. I think that crowding is still an issue.… There was also the rerouting at Lees station, which again saves a lot of travel time but I don't know where the balance is between optimizing this route and having a bunch of shuttle services that just confuse passengers."

The sweet 16

While you might not save a ton of time taking Primeau's suggested alternative routes, they could help you hop onto a bus with an available place to sit and a shorter wait time at the bus stop. 

A route like the 16 though, can really ease the headaches of finding replacement shuttle routes.

"The 16 stops at almost every train station downtown. So it stops at Parliament, it stops at Lyon, and then goes all the way to Tunney's Pasture. And so, if you are someone that lives downtown and you want a quick way to get to Tunney's Pasture ... that's I think probably the best."

Primeau's maps are available on her Instagram account, @ellalikesbuses, and they're not just focused on downtown commuters. She details many options for Barrhaven, Orléans and Kanata-Stittsville riders.

Primeau's maps provide transit users the kind of alternative routes Doug Hempstead provides drivers on his morning and afternoon traffic reports. 

"They kind of crisscross through the R1 and that's emblematic of the way they're routed," she said. While they're not meant to be geographically accurate, they "really just communicate where these buses go, which stations they stop at, and so in doing that, people can use these to just avoid the R1 and get right to the stations that they want to go to."

But will the popularity of her maps render her alternatives obsolete if they're overused?

"I think that a lot more people are going to be aware of these alternative routes and maybe there will be crowding on these alternative routes as well. I haven't kind of set out to explore that, but I do believe it is still more likely that you will get a seat."