Horrified Passengers Call 911 On OC Transpo Bus Driving The Wrong Way On Highway 174
Ottawa Police are now investigating after an OC Transpo bus took a wrong turn on Tuesday morning, and ended up driving completely the wrong way on Highway 174. The OC Transpo bus going the wrong way on the 174 is the latest in a series of problems for the city’s transit services, and Ottawans have been quick to discuss the incident on social media.
According to reports from Ottawa Police, the scary incident occurred just before 12:30 a.m. on Tuesday morning.
The bus was travelling eastbound and the driver wanted to turn onto the eastbound on-ramp for Highway 174. The driver accidentally ended up in the off-ramp, putting the bus directly in the path of oncoming traffic.
The driver, who was carrying an unknown number of passengers aboard, immediately called 911 for assistance.
Ottawa Police confirmed that they attended the scene to assist the bus and the driver, and they were able to help it get “back on track.”
Despite driving towards oncoming traffic, the vehicle managed to escape without any damage and there were no injuries to the passengers or the driver, although it did cause a minor traffic disruption.
Police have confirmed that they will not be laying any charges on the driver of the bus.
Twitter user Steven McGregor, who was on the bus at the time, sent a message to OC Transpo to let them know about the incident.
OC Transpo replied to the since-deleted tweet to say that they were already aware of the situation, and that they are "currently mobilizing Supervisors and Ottawa Police to assist."
They added, "I apologize for this and this will be investigated."
Following months of issues with Ottawa's new LRT system, several frustrated Ottawans have taken to social media to share their thoughts on this latest incident.
One Twitter user wrote, "OC = Oh Crap! As in: Oh Crap! The train is broken again. Oh Crap! These floors are slippery. Oh Crap! The bus is going the wrong way."
Another joked, "Well, the bus may not be going in the right direction, but at least it's moving. #LRT"
A third was more sympathetic, writing, "Haven't we all seen road signage that is confusing at best? Especially if you're not familiar with that junction. Hope everyone's ok and the signs are fixed up."
This latest OC Transpo incident follows several months of issues with the city's new LRT system, which was launched back in September.
There's been lengthy delays, cancellations and severe overcrowding issues, and an actual support group has to be set-up to help anxious passengers deal with the LRT nightmare.
Thankfully, the OC Transpo bus ended up "back on track" after police intervention.
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