Trains, buses to roll in Ottawa again

OTTAWA, Feb. 1 (UPI) -- Ottawa commuters get a break when the O-train rolls Monday for the first time in nearly two months -- they ride for free for two weeks, officials said.

The OC Transpo is back in business after a workers' strike idled the trains and buses for 54 days, The Ottawa Citizen reported Sunday. Riders don't have to pay until Feb. 15.

Mayor Larry O'Brien and other city councilors are expected to greet the first commuters at Greenboro Station early Monday.

But it won't be a seamless restart, the newspaper said. Only about half of the city's 1,000 buses will go back in operation Feb. 9 and resumption of full service may take several weeks.

City spokesman Michael FitzPatrick said things could get back to normal quicker if mechanics are able to get more buses ready to be put back on the streets. The contract strike was settled late last week.

"It all depends on how many buses they can get up to speed, but they're not doing rush jobs just to get them out on the road," he said.

Union President Andre Cornellier accused the city of orchestrating the slow start-up to punish the union. FitzPatrick said, however, the goal is to get "everything back up as quickly as possible."