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Manconi has been consistently apprehensive to the idea of opening up the fare gates for a day.

“We want to be very careful not to overwhelm the system,” Manconi said after the committee meeting. “The first experience for the customers has to be a very positive one.”

Manconi said his team looked around the world at other cities’ launches of transit systems and noticed there were times when the systems were overwhelmed and trains were delayed.

“That’s just not the experience we want to leave for people,” Manconi said, adding that September is Transpo’s busiest month.

One group not getting a free ride from city hall is the LRT builder.

The city was set to deliver the final milestone payment to the Rideau Transit Group on Tuesday.

The milestone payment is $202 million, but the city is holding back $59 million attributed to costs the city has had to swallow during the delay, which stretches back to May 2018. There are other costs the city will pursue through clauses in the contract, Manconi said.

A reporter asked Manconi what RTG thinks about not getting $59 million it expected to receive when it achieved the LRT handover.

“I don’t care what RTG thinks about that,” Manconi responded. “We have clear direction from the city manager and our customers. We have a $2.1-billion contract with them. That was the action we were taking, so that’s what we’re doing.”

There has been an assumption at city hall that a payment dispute between the city and RTG will eventually end up in court.