Audit says OC Transpo’s ‘New Ways to Bus’ based on outdated data, focused more on cost savings

OCTranspo is set to launch its new bus transit network. April 5, 2025 (Joshua Marano/CTV News Ottawa)

A new audit of OC Transpo’s bus service says that the “New Ways to Bus” plan was launched in 2025 with outdated data and was focused more on cost savings, leading to late buses and other impacts to service.

Auditor General Nathalie Gougeon released the report Thursday ahead of Friday’s Audit Committee meeting. The objective of the audit was to assess the efficiency and effectiveness of OC Transpo’s bus route planning and scheduling process, including planning and scheduling activities related to the implementation of New Ways to Bus.

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The New Ways to Bus plan, which came into effect in April 2025, was a major overhaul of OC Transpo’s bus network, described by then-general manager of Transit Services Renée Amilcar as “the largest bus service change in the city’s history.” It included changes to more than 100 bus routes across the city.

The audit, however, found that the plan launched with inaccurate data, leading to impacts on run times.

“OC Transpo’s run times were last holistically updated for implementation of New Ways to Bus, based on data collected in 2023. Due to delays in launching New Ways to Bus in April 2025, run times became inaccurate because of evolving traffic patterns throughout the city,” the audit says.

The audit said that 29 per cent of weekday routes of 30 minutes or greater in duration had scheduled run times that varied by 10 per cent or more of the actual run time, on average. Of these, 86 per cent did not have enough time, and 14 per cent had too much.

In addition, the audit found that OC Transpo has been slow in updating route schedules to reflect accurate run times. Only two routes had run times adjusted in the winter 2026 schedule, and seven routes were adjusted in spring 2026. Thirty-five routes remain with deviations of more than 10 per cent of their run times.

The audit says “operational resources” have placed constraints on the number and type of adjustments that can be made.

Delays in receiving new zero-emission buses and the aging fleet of existing buses have been major contributors to service delivery levels declining, particularly in the last several months. The audit says fleet availability was not considered a primary constraint when planning New Ways to Bus.

“The redesign did not directly assess whether sufficient resources would be available to operate the redesigned network as management expected there to be sufficient bus resources at the time,” the audit says.

The redesign was planned with a requirement of 540 buses needed to deliver peak afternoon service, but by the spring of 2025, when New Ways to Bus launched, bus shortages led to a decision to remove trips from the schedule to reduce the number of required buses to 524. That number was again cut to 500 in early January 2026 due to further constraints on the fleet, and more trips were taken off the schedule.

Gougeon found that while the current issue of getting zero-emission buses delivered has impacted service, fleet data from 2023 through March 2026 shows there has been an ongoing shortage of bus availability in spring, fall, and winter, when demand is the highest.

“While the OC Transpo average was 100 per cent for January 2023 to March 2026, the availability was highly variable, and requirements were not met on 46 per cent of days during this period,” the audit report says.

In the first two months of this year, an average of just 67 per cent of buses were considered available at any given time. A healthy fleet typically requires availability of at least 80 per cent.

Redesign based on budget considerations

Gougeon says interviews with management indicated New Ways to Bus, while touted as a way to improve service reliability and connectivity, was mainly driven by budget considerations.

“The redesign focused on achieving an annual bus operating cost reduction of approximately $10 million, equivalent to a reduction of 70,000 bus service hours annually,” the audit report says.

Gougeon also said because service standards had not been updated and network design priorities were unclear, the redesign lacked a current, consistent framework to assess trade‑offs within existing funding constraints and priorities. There were also limited opportunities for meaningful public input.

“Without sufficient public engagement to inform key decisions, the resulting redesign may not have achieved optimal outcomes and may erode public trust,” the report says.

Furthermore, the audit found OC Transpo has not been tracking several performance measures since the launch of New Ways to Bus, such as the proportion of available bus capacity that is used by customers, as well as overall travel time relative to distance travelled.

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The only performance target publicly associated with New Ways to Bus was the achievement of 99.5 per cent service delivery, which OC Transpo has not consistently met. Based on the latest data, OC Transpo’s 12-month average service delivery was 97.3 per cent, as of April 2026.

“Our audit further noted that major network redesigns typically include a formal post‑implementation review to assess outcomes and capture lessons learned. Based on our discussions, this type of review has not been conducted and does not appear to be planned for the near term,” Gougeon wrote.

The audit makes 10 recommendations to OC Transpo, all of which were accepted by management.

“Given the upcoming LRT Line 1 extension openings expected in the near term, OC Transpo has an opportunity to establish clear priorities, both short-term and longer term, develop and consolidate realistic service standards and consistently measure performance against those standards,” the report says.

New GM raised travel times as key issue

Rick Leary, who was hired as Ottawa’s new general manager of Transit Services in March, outlined run times and key performance indicators (KPIs) as a key concern when he announced his “customer-first action plan” in May.

“By understanding what the customers experience daily, we can better address their concerns. And I’m going to introduce new KPIs at transit committee that will reflect the customer’s experience,” Leary said at a news conference when announcing the plan.

In a one-on-one interview with CTV News Ottawa’s Leah Larocque, Leary specifically said schedules need to be updated more frequently.

“Many of these schedules, and it happens to everybody, they don’t get updated as regularly as they should. ‘You can’t get there from here,’ that type of concept,” he said. “So, that’s what I’ve asked them, to make those adjustments.”

He said he is aiming to have those schedule adjustments in place by September.

Recommendations and responses

RECOMMENDATION 1 – RUN-TIME ADJUSTMENTS

The General Manager, Transit Services should develop a methodology to risk rank, monitor and update run times in a systematic manner to support the reliable delivery of the bus schedule.

Further, trips with highly variable run times that are not strong candidates for run time adjustment (e.g. not on time but not consistently late or early) should be prioritized for other potential transit priority measures to support reliability.

MANAGEMENT RESPONSE 1

Management agrees with the recommendation. As part of the work to achieve the four pillars of OC Transpo’s Customer-First Action Plan, OC Transpo staff will formalize a methodology to assess, monitor and update run times to increase bus reliability. As part of this process, trips with highly variable run times will be prioritized. Estimated completion by Q1 2027.

Out of the total of 104 regular routes in the OC Transpo system, 28 routes will have run times revised during 2026 to match current operating conditions. Additional routes will be analyzed and revised in each quarterly service change in 2027 and beyond. The work to revise the run times on the highest-priority routes is expected to be completed by Q3 2027, and all routes will be continuously reviewed and corrected. Staff will advise Council of any budget requirements for additional operating resources to complete this work.

RECOMMENDATION 2 – DEADHEAD TRAVEL TIMES

The General Manager, Transit Services should update deadhead travel times on a risk basis, with committed timelines, to support reliability of bus schedules.

MANAGEMENT RESPONSE 2

Management agrees with the recommendation. The reviews and improvements to bus run times that are occurring as part of the Customer-First Action Plan will include a review and assessment of deadhead travel times. Estimated completion by Q2 2027.

RECOMMENDATION 3 – RECOVERY TIME

The General Manager, Transit Services should review and rebalance recovery times to meet requirements and industry practices to align with terms of the collective agreement and in support of reliability.

MANAGEMENT RESPONSE 3

Management agrees with the recommendation. The reviews and improvements to bus run times that are occurring as part of the Customer-First Action Plan will include a review of recovery times for adherence with Collective Agreement requirements, industry best practices and increasing predictable adherence to schedules. Estimated completion by Q3 2027.

RECOMMENDATION 4 – BUSES AND OPERATORS

The General Manager, Transit Services should establish a more conservative approach to allocating bus and operator resources used in planning and scheduling bus service to improve reliability of service. This could include establishing a buffer of buses and operators to account for a high variability in bus availability.

 MANAGEMENT RESPONSE 4

Management agrees with the recommendation. As part of its renewed focus on improving the customer experience for transit riders, OC Transpo will incorporate a more conservative approach to bus and operator resource allocation going forward. The General Manager of Transit Services has already implemented changes to recruitment and training to prioritize filling of vacancies, has launched an initiative to reduce overtime by reviewing staffing numbers and is advancing work to establish a long-term fleet plan to ensure there are enough buses and trained staff to provide more consistently reliable service. Estimated completion by Q3 2026.

RECOMMENDATION 5 – BUS FLEET PLAN

The General Manager, Transit Services should review and update the bus fleet plan to establish an appropriate spare ratio for each vehicle type and a formalized replacement ratio specific to zero-emission buses, informed by industry practices and vehicle performance data to date. This would support planning an appropriate number of available buses to maintain service levels.

Additionally, elements of the fleet plan should be presented annually to the Transit Committee to transparently communicate key assumptions, risks and mitigation strategies, particularly those related to spare ratio assumptions, zero-emission bus deployment, and vehicle delivery timelines.

MANAGEMENT RESPONSE 5

Management agrees with the recommendation. The General Manager of Transit Services has directed staff to finalize a long-term bus fleet plan. Part of this work includes an analysis of replacement ratios for zero-emission buses and maintenance data, including mean distance between failure. Staff presented on this work at the June Transit Committee meeting and will continue to bring regular updates on fleet performance and procurement to the Transit Committee. Estimated completion by Q2 2027.

RECOMMENDATION 6 – PRIORITIZE TRANSIT OBJECTIVES

The General Manager, Transit Services should formalize the prioritization of transit service objectives in order to drive decision making, given resource constraints. This should include stakeholder feedback and be presented for approval by Council.

MANAGEMENT RESPONSE 6

Management agrees with this recommendation. As part of the work being planned for the Customer-First Action Plan, consultations with customers on a broad variety of transit-related topics are being planned. Staff will develop a report for the Transit Committee with proposed guidelines to assist staff in prioritizing transit service objectives, which, if approved by the Transit Committee, would rise to Council for approval. Estimated completion by Q1 2028.

RECOMMENDATION 7 – UPDATE AND CONSOLIDATE SERVICE STANDARDS

The General Manager, Transit Services should update and consolidate bus service standards. These standards should be realistic, and reflective of current priorities and operating conditions, including available resources. Applicable practices used by peer transit agencies should be leveraged as part of this update.

A formal review cycle should be established (e.g., every 5–10 years) to update the service standards, with mandatory updates prior to any major network redesign.

MANAGEMENT RESPONSE 7

Management agrees with the recommendation. Staff will update and consolidate existing service standards and conduct a review to align with fleet and workforce planning, feedback from community partners, as well as industry best practices. Once complete, staff will commit to conducting a formal review of the service standards and making recommendations to the Transit Committee and Council at least once every ten years. Estimated completion by Q3 2028.

RECOMMENDATION 8: ALIGN ROUTES WITH UPDATED STANDARDS

Leveraging the updated service standards, and in preparation for changes to the bus network associated with the full opening of Stage 2 LRT, the General Manager, Transit Services, should identify and adjust routes that no longer align with the revised standards.

MANAGEMENT RESPONSE 8

Management agrees with the recommendation. Work to adapt the bus network to the post-Stage 2 rail system will be conducted in line with the updated service standards and will include adjustments to routes which are no longer in alignment with those standards. Estimated completion by Q4 2028.

RECOMMENDATION 9 – MONITOR AND REPORT AGAINST ALL SERVICE STANDARDS

Once the service standards are updated (as outlined in Recommendation #7), the General Manager, Transit Services should establish a system-wide process to monitor performance against all service standards, highlighting where standards are not being met and the actions being taken to address these gaps. A defined level of reporting against the service standards should be provided regularly to Transit Committee.

As part of the reporting, where gaps in meeting service standards exist, information should be provided in terms of the resources needed (e.g., service hours, staffing, fleet, and budgetary impact) to achieve the established service standards.

MANAGEMENT RESPONSE 9

Management agrees with this recommendation. The work on the service standards described in Management’s response to recommendation #7 will include regular performance monitoring. Staff are currently working to finalize new performance indicators to continue to promote transparent oversight of system performance, which will be brought to Transit Committee for discussion. As part of these discussions, Management will ensure the Transit Committee is aware of any additional resources needed to achieve recommended service standards. Estimated completion by Q2 2027.

RECOMMENDATION 10: SERVICE CHANGE EVALUATION

The General Manager, Transit Services, should establish a set of criteria to consistently and transparently evaluate proposed service changes (e.g. route additions) with appropriate supporting documentation to ensure decisions are supported by proper analysis and demonstrate value for money.

MANAGEMENT RESPONSE 10

Management agrees with the recommendation. As part of the work to update service standards and establish guidelines described in the preceding management responses, staff will formalize criteria and a process for the evaluation of service changes, which will include a requirement that analysis be documented and include a cost-benefit analysis. Estimated completion by Q3 2028.