As soon as I saw the "improvements" to the Smyth Road/Elmdale service in the last round of "improvements", I knew this was coming. This is now the itinerary that the increasingly erratic Travel Planner ("You have attempted an action that is out of sequence." Sorry, Travel Planner!) gives me to travel seven measly km due south from my house on a Saturday morning:

At 8:38 AM, take Bus route 2 direction Blair and get off at station BLAIR 3C. Arrive at 8:56 AM.

Wait 3 minute(s).

At 9:00 AM, take Bus route 95 direction Nepean S. / Fallowfield and get off at station ST LAURENT 2B. Arrive at 9:03 AM.

Wait 3 minute(s).

At 9:08 AM, take Bus route 114 direction Greenboro and get off at stop ELMVALE MALL STOP / ARRÊT MAIL ELMVALE, street ELMVALE ROADWAY near street ST LAURENT. Arrive at 9:15 AM.

Wait 4 minute(s).

At 9:19 AM, take Bus route 106 direction Hurdman and get off at stop SMYTH / BOTSFORD, street SMYTH following street BOTSFORD.

There is a much more direct route, in terms of logic — take the number 3 to Hurdman — but the longer wait time and walk means a time savings of a whopping 6 minutes.

Thank you, OC Transpo planners, for once again "improving" service by making such trips even harder, longer, and stupider than they were before. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Oh - and I think here is where I should insert the rant about the "black hole" in the godawful bus stop schedule map thingie, in which you can't actually start looking for bus stops anywhere near Smyth Road or the hospitals at all. You have to navigate south out of Vanier, or west out of St. Laurent... and the "downtown" box doesn't show downtown.