[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.0.5″ custom_padding=”0px||0px|||” locked=”off”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.0.6″][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.0.6″][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/yow\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/YOW-logo.png” url=”https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/yow\/” _builder_version=”4.0.6″ height=”270px” custom_padding=”||0px|||”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_social_media_follow use_icon_font_size=”on” icon_font_size=”13px” _builder_version=”4.0.6″ text_orientation=”right” min_height=”18px” custom_margin=”-85px||-32px|||” custom_padding=”0px||1px|||”][et_pb_social_media_follow_network social_network=”instagram” url=”https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/yowpublication\/” _builder_version=”4.0.6″ background_color=”#e8377c” background_enable_color=”on” follow_button=”off” url_new_window=”on”]instagram[\/et_pb_social_media_follow_network][et_pb_social_media_follow_network social_network=”twitter” url=”https:\/\/twitter.com\/Yowpublication” _builder_version=”4.0.6″ background_color=”#5ce1e6″ background_enable_color=”on” follow_button=”off” url_new_window=”on”]twitter[\/et_pb_social_media_follow_network][et_pb_social_media_follow_network social_network=”youtube” url=”https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCj4rs1qjq7orfknOqBrnaKw” _builder_version=”4.0.6″ background_color=”#ffb859″ background_enable_color=”on” follow_button=”off” url_new_window=”on”]youtube[\/et_pb_social_media_follow_network][\/et_pb_social_media_follow][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ fullwidth=”on” _builder_version=”3.22″ background_color=”#f7f7f7″ custom_padding=”||1px|||” locked=”off”][et_pb_fullwidth_menu fullwidth_menu=”off” dropdown_menu_bg_color=”#f2f2f2″ dropdown_menu_line_color=”#5ce1e6″ dropdown_menu_text_color=”#000000″ logo=”https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/yow\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Copy-of-About-YOW-3.png” show_search_icon=”on” search_icon_color=”#5ce1e6″ cart_icon_font_size=”20px” search_icon_font_size=”20px” _builder_version=”4.0.6″ menu_font=”News Cycle|600|||||||” menu_text_color=”rgba(0,0,0,0.81)” menu_font_size=”18px” menu_letter_spacing=”1px” background_color=”#f2f2f2″ min_height=”48px” custom_margin=”-1px|||||” custom_padding=”0px||0px|||” border_width_top=”1px” border_width_right=”0px” border_width_bottom=”1px” border_width_left=”0px” menu_line_height__hover_enabled=”off|desktop”][\/et_pb_fullwidth_menu][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ fullwidth=”on” _builder_version=”4.0.6″][et_pb_fullwidth_post_title categories=”off” comments=”off” featured_image=”off” _builder_version=”4.0.6″ title_font=”News Cycle|700|||||||” title_text_color=”#ffffff” title_font_size=”41px” meta_font=”Source Sans Pro||||||||” meta_text_color=”#ffffff” background_image=”https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/yow\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/20191125_113358-2-1-1.jpg” height=”736px” custom_margin=”-1px||||false|false” custom_padding=”635px||||false|false”][\/et_pb_fullwidth_post_title][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.0.6″ custom_padding=”2px||0px|||”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.0.6″][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.0.6″][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.0.6″ header_font=”Source Sans Pro||||||||” min_height=”255px” custom_margin=”-10px||19px|||” custom_padding=”||0px|||”]<\/p>\n
<\/strong><\/p>\n Margaret Guthrie, 89, used to be able to take the bus to the Good Companions Seniors\u2019 Centre without worrying about being late for the social activities she\u2019s come to depend on.<\/span><\/p>\n But the October redesign of OC Transpo bus routes made that impossible.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI can\u2019t do the shopping I used to, I can\u2019t go visiting, and this is all because of OC Transpo,\u201d she said from her table at the centre\u2019s dining hall on a Monday morning in late November.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u201cThe restrictions it\u2019s put on my life \u2026 I still like to do things on impulse and it\u2019s just grounded me.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/yow\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/20191125_112748-4-1.jpg” _builder_version=”4.0.6″ custom_margin=”13px||1px|||” custom_padding=”0px|||||”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.0.6″ text_font_size=”13px” text_line_height=”1.2em” custom_margin=”-10px||-281px|||” custom_padding=”29px||1px|||”]<\/p>\n Margaret Guthrie sits in the dining hall of the Good Companions Seniors\u2019 Centre. A member of the centre for 19 years, she says the reduction of bus routes after the introduction of the LRT \u201cgrounded\u201d her. Photo by Emma McPhee.<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.0.6″]<\/p>\n Before OC Transpo reduced bus service as part of the transition to the LRT, 11 buses stopped in front of the Good Companions, with one coming every four to five minutes. Starting in October there was only one: route 16. Up until this week, it came by the centre every 30 minutes.<\/span><\/p>\n The centre is also served by the new LRT \u2014 Pimisi station is located just 300 metres from the centre \u2014 but the walking distance has proved difficult for seniors with mobility issues. Many instead have chosen to keep taking the bus.<\/span><\/p>\n Fewer buses, longer wait times and greater walking distances disrupted the weekly schedules of many seniors. Numbers went down at the Good Companions\u2019 weekly programs, which members said is an indication that some are not coming at all.<\/span><\/p>\n However, the seniors at the Good Companions are not the type to sit back and watch life pass them by. When it became clear that they were no longer adequately served by OC Transpo, they started contacting city councillors, writing letters and reaching out to media.<\/span><\/p>\n This week their efforts paid off. On Monday, Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson announced that the city would be adding new bus trips to route 16 in order to reduce wait times. Seniors can now expect to wait just 15 minutes between buses, not half an hour.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIt was our members who really took action and decided that they wanted access to transportation. So, they called their councillors and wrote letters,\u201d said centre executive director, Monique Doolittle-Romas. \u201cThey definitely were the ones that influenced the decision.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/yow\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/20191125_112844-2-1.jpg” _builder_version=”4.0.6″][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.0.6″ text_font_size=”13px” text_line_height=”1.2em” min_height=”35px” custom_margin=”-29px||8px|||” custom_padding=”3px||2px|||”]<\/p>\n Centre volunteer Viola Golden says her commute time doubled when OC Transpo redesigned routes. Photo by Emma McPhee.<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.0.6″ custom_margin=”2px|||||”]<\/p>\n When buses were reduced in October, Doolittle-Romas said the effects were felt immediately.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cAlready members were telling us they wouldn\u2019t be able to come in the winter,\u201d she said, adding attendance for one of their fitness programs was down by about 40 per cent.<\/span><\/p>\n Viola Golden is a volunteer at the centre. She said her commute used to take 33 minutes, but after OC Transpo cut its bus routes, it took at least an hour.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIt makes a difference,\u201d she said, adding that her need for a cane usually leaves the walk to and from Pimisi Station out of the question.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cAs a matter of fact, I\u2019ve taken that train four times, and three times I\u2019ve had to be \u2018off you go and catch a bus\u2019 because the d— thing broke down.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/yow\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/businfo-em_42840992-3.png” align=”center” _builder_version=”4.0.6″ custom_margin=”-22px|||||”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.0.6″ text_font_size=”13px” custom_margin=”-22px||-296px|||”]<\/p>\n Graphic illustration by Emma McPhee.<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.0.6″ custom_margin=”-21px||0px|||”]<\/p>\n While the recent changes to OC Transpo cancelled key downtown bus routes, including the 95, Mathieu Gravel, director of issues and outreach for the mayor\u2019s office, said that there was no reduction in service.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not going to call it a reduction because there\u2019s another station approximately 300 metres away,\u201d Gravel said, adding he recognized that 300 metres is a long distance for a senior with a walker.<\/span><\/p>\n This is a problem that Linda Tennant, another member of the centre, knows all too well.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI take the train to Pimisi, and (the walk from) Pimisi to here is so windy you can hardly catch your breath,\u201d Tennant said. \u201cI\u2019m asthmatic, and if it\u2019s icy I can\u2019t do it. So, I don\u2019t know how I\u2019m going to go from Pimisi to here.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n As for the seniors for whom the LRT and reduced bus service weren\u2019t feasible, they turned to using Para Transpo.<\/span><\/p>\n Para Transpo is a shared-ride service that Ottawa residents with disabilities can book in advance. People need to be eligible to take Para Transpo, but some eligible seniors, like Guthrie, find the need to book ahead limiting, and take the bus instead.<\/span><\/p>\n That was the case, at least, until the cuts to bus routes made Para Transpo a more favourable option. As a result, more people than usual started to use the service.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cToo many people have been taking Para [Transpo] and it\u2019s harder to get on and if you have to wait then you wait for over an hour sometimes,\u201d said Frances Lake, a member of the Good Companions who used Para Transpo before the OC Transpo redesign occurred.<\/span><\/p>\n Despite these concerns, what worried Doolittle-Romas most were the seniors who decided to skip out on using public transit altogether.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cOne of our instructors has already resigned. She will not be coming during the winter,\u201d Doolittle-Romas said. \u201cWhat we\u2019re worried about is that this will lead to increased social isolation as seniors don\u2019t get out.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/yow\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/20191125_112936-1.jpg” _builder_version=”4.0.6″ custom_margin=”6px|||||”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.0.6″ text_font_size=”13px” text_line_height=”1.2em” min_height=”29px” custom_margin=”-25px|||||”]<\/p>\n Members of the Good Companions Seniors’ Centre share lunch together in the centre’s dining hall. Photo by Emma McPhee.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.0.6″ custom_margin=”11px|||||”]<\/p>\nGrounded<\/b><\/h2>\n
\u2018It\u2019s our continuation of life\u2019<\/b><\/h2>\n