Public transit tells you a lot about the health of a city.
When the system's working well, everything moves a bit smoother. The roads are less congested. The city generates more revenue. And commutes don't eat up so much of your day.
That is not the Ottawa transit experience in 2026. Our system is struggling. Riders are screaming about what's wrong. And it feels like city council, who we trust to manage the system, is disconnected from on the ground realities.
Bob believes that good policy decisions and effective representation, start with understanding how decisions at City Hall actually affect people’s lives.
That’s why Bob has been getting on OC Transpo (and bicycles) and experiencing the daily commute, as well as local trips, alongside residents across the ward. Taking the same routes, navigating the same connections, and seeing firsthand what works, what doesn’t, and where the system is falling short.
This series is about more than transit. It’s about the kind of councillor Bob wants to be. A councillor who makes the effort to understand your lived experience. A councillor willing to get some skin in the game. And a councillor who centres community perspectives in decision making at City Hall. Representation means more than speaking for people. It means understanding what their lives actually look like.
An overview of the series: here.
The Series
1) Commute with Bob Bell: Queenswood Heights to Ottawa City Hall
Trip time: 93 minutes
On July 6th, Bob did his first commute with me video from Queenswood Heights to Ottawa's City Hall as part of the morning rush.
Watch the video: https://youtube.com/shorts/LHrMYpaueMg
2) Commute with Bob Bell: Lyon LRT to Fallingbrook South Community Centre
Trip time: 68 minutes
On July 7th, Bob did an immediate follow up commute with me video from the Lyon LRT to Fallingbrook South Community Centre at the end of the work day.
Watch the video: https://youtube.com/shorts/xi_F47kSSrE
3) Commute with Bob Bell: Place du Portage to Cardinal Creek
Trip time: 88 minutes
On July 13th, in response to a resident's suggestion, Bob Bell did the trip home from Place du Portage to Cardinal Creek Park at the end of the work day.
Watch the video: https://youtube.com/shorts/IbpxfRO7uk8
4) Commute with Bob Bell: Queenswood Heights to the Civic Hospital (Health Care Worker - Part One, the trip to the hospital)
Trip time: 85 minutes
On July 16th, in response to a resident's suggestion, Bob Bell did the trip to work as experienced by a health care worker that works a 12-hour 7am - 7pm day shift.
Watch the video: https://youtube.com/shorts/acFfKLwdyP0
5) Commute with Bob Bell: Civic Hospital to Queenswood Heights (Health Care Worker - Part Two, the trip home)
Trip time: 78 minutes
On July 16th, following part 1, Bob Bell did the trip home from work as experienced by a health care worker after a 12-hour 7am - 7pm day shift.
Watch the video: https://youtube.com/shorts/kBI68xc7voo
6) Transit with Bob Bell: Going to See a Movie
Trip time: 39 minutes
On July 24th, Bob Bell and his son took the bus from Queenswood Heights to see a movie at Landmark Cinemas on Innes. Interestingly, while the transit time wasn't long, the vast majority of the time was spent walking in underdeveloped infrastructure like parking lots. This transit experience lacked accessibility.
Watch the video: https://youtube.com/shorts/xLBfvxou2WY
7) Commute with Bob Bell: DND Carling Campus (Moodie Drive) to Cardinal Creek
Trip time: 122 minutes
On July 28th, in response to significant resident demand, Bob Bell did the commute home from DND's Carling Campus to Cardinal Creek. Notably, residents explained that DND was advocating for employees to take transit to work each day as there isn't enough parking on campus for all of the employees.
Watch the video: https://youtube.com/shorts/B0yt1FTE3Mw
8) Commute with Bob Bell: On a Bicycle from Ray Friel Recreation Complex to City Hall
Trip time: 78 minutes
On July 30th, with a significant amount of support from local cyclists, Bob Bell cycled from Ray Friel Recreation Complex to Ottawa City Hall. Notably, Bob made an informed decision to take the less direct route and travel on the Ottawa River Pathway in place of the more direction options as key arteries like St Joseph and Innes were substantially more dangerous options, especially for a recreational cyclist. Notably, this commute still had a rather dangerous leg cycling down Tenth Line Road.
Watch the video: https://youtube.com/shorts/cRXXCpNweL8
9) Transit with Bob Bell: To Compare the E1 versus the LRT to get downtown
Trip time (LRT): 63 minutes
Trip time (E1): 58 minutes
On August 6th and August 7th, in response to a newspaper article suggesting the removal of the E1, Bob Bell commuted from Queenswood Heights to City Hall. Both commutes Bob attempted to replicate as much as possible - leaving at the same time, taking the same local bus routes, etc - to preserve the ability to compare and better understand why, with the LRT up and running, people were still taking the E1.
Watch the video: https://youtube.com/shorts/FDrVIe_HO2Y
10) Transit with Bob Bell: To The OC Transpo Customer Service Information Session at Bob Macquarrie Complex
Trip time: 25 minutes
On August 19th Bob Bell took transit to the OC Transpo Customer Service Information at Bob Macquarrie Complex at 7pm with Rick Leary.
Watch the video: https://youtube.com/shorts/3LunJhgmNrw
11) Transit with Bob Bell: Home After A Flat Tire (with his kids)
Trip time: 85 minutes
On August 22nd, Bob Bell was driving his youngest to day care when he got a flat tire. While the drive home would have taken 4 minutes, and the walk home for an adult may have taken 35-45 minutes, with two young children, Bob had no choice but to take transit.
Watch the video: https://youtube.com/shorts/OAiWX6Kpmg4
12) Commute with Bob Bell: Queenswood Heights to Place du Portage AFTER daycare and school drop off
Trip time: 78 minutes
On September 2nd, Bob Bell dropped his kids off at day care and then kindergarten before using transit to commute to Place du Portage in Gatineau. A highly requested video by residents, the video highlights the impossible schedules being managed by many commuters and highlights the impact of unnecessary RTO mandates.
Watch the video: https://youtube.com/shorts/jm7SBmMnSDI
13) Commute with Bob Bell: Queenswood Heights to Global Affairs on Sussex
Trip Time: 79 minutes
On September 11, Bob Bell commuted from Queenswood Heights to Global Affairs on Sussex Street. The comparable drive time was 21 minutes.
Watch the video: https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1C4UqE9Wuh/
14) Commute with Bob Bell - Post Secondary Series: Queenswood Heights to UOttawa Fauteux Hall
Trip Time: 80 minutes
In the first of a three-part post-secondary series, Bob takes a trip down memory lane and commutes from Queenswood Heights to Fauteux Hall of the UOttawa Campus, where Bob received his law degree.
Watch the video: https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1Fn1fAJYSj/
15) Commute with Bob Bell - Post Secondary Series: Queenswood Heights to Carleton University (off peak hours)
Trip time: 79 minutes
One aspect many students tell Bob about their commute is that their options are limited because class doesn't always align with peak commute times so buses come less frequently and it is harder to get a trip to line up.
Watch the video: https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1E71qGkTjs/
16) Commute with Bob Bell - Post Secondary Series: Algonquin College back to Queenswood Heights
Trip time: 100 minutes
The final installment of the Algonquin College series took Bob from Nepean back home. It took 3 (!!) buses and a train to complete the commute.
Watch the video: https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1ByuwPc7j1/
17) Commute with Bob Bell: Home to the Airport
Trip time: 123 minutes
Bob intentionally took the train to the airport, forgoing the faster option of transferring to a bus (90 minutes) or driving (26 minutes). The idea with this commute was to measure the effectiveness of the LRT, which was sold as a cross-city solution. In this instance Bob had to take 3 different trains, and a bus to get to the airport.
Watch the video: https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1EJPyjoNyS/
18) Commute with Bob Bell: Home to the DND Carling Campus
Trip time: 125 minutes
By far the highest requested commute of the series, Bob decided to re-do the commute with DND Carling, this time heading too the Carling campus (instead of commuting home from it). Again, this commute proves to be one of the longest of the series and given the parking situation at Carling, and the number of DND employees and military personnel in Ward 1, a major learning for Bob.
Watch the video: https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1V1YRkRDpk/
19) Commute with Bob Bell: Cardinal Creek Village to the World Exchange Plaza
Trip time: 48 minutes; 85 if you include missing the bus!
Did you know that if you live in Cardinal Creek Village there are only 4 options to leave your neighbourhood by transit, and they are all before 8am? If you don't take one of those buses you have a 25 minute (minimum) walk to Trim station. Bob decided to take a look at what it would look like if someone from Cardinal Creek Village missed a bus and had to rely on the last bus out of the community to get to work in the morning.
Watch the video: https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1C82FHrSod/
20) Commute with Bob Bell: Tunney's Pasture back Home
Trip time: 86 minutes
Bob was invited to shoot a podcast episode at a studio off Holland in Westboro. He decided to take transit to get home, and to see how long it would take.
Watch the video: https://www.facebook.com/share/v/19fZ3Acq3m/