The City of Ottawa is bracing for thousands of hockey fans to descend on the nation’s capital for the World Junior Hockey Championship by ensuring they have transportation to and from the games.
The tournament will officially start Dec. 26 and run until Jan. 5, with preliminary games beginning on Thursday.
In response to the extra vehicle traffic likely to both the Canadian Tire Centre and TD Place Arena, OC Transpo announced all those with tickets to the games (and volunteers) will get to ride for free to and from the venues.
The free rides start Dec. 19 and wrap on Jan. 5. Fans can ride for free three hours before and three hours after the games on buses, O-Train Line 1 and Para Transpo.
The impact on the city is set to be pretty large since this is the first time since 2009 the nation’s capital has played host for the tournament. It will feature 29 games with Team Canada kicking off the event on Boxing Day against Finland.
How to get to and from the games?
For service to TD Place Arena, OC Transpo recommends routes 6 and 7.
In Kanata, routes 62, 162, 404, 405, and 406 stop at the Canadian Tire Centre.
Further trips by route 404 are scheduled between Rideau Station and the CT Centre for those needing to connect.
Trips on 400-series routes leave about 15 minutes after each game at the CT Centre and serve the same stops the way there.
Routes 62 and 162 will detour during the tournament to lessen impacts from event traffic and provide service along Huntmar Drive and Palladium Drive instead of Cyclone Taylor Boulevard.
Para Transpo will run according to schedule and be booked a day in advance through MyParaTranspo or by calling 613-560-5000.