OC Transpo looking to boost bus capacity as public servants return to office 4 days a week

OC Transpo bus leaving Marketplace Station in Barrhaven. (Peter Szperling/CTV News Ottawa)

OC Transpo is looking to boost capacity on 10 bus routes this summer and fall to accommodate federal public servants spending more time in the office, as part of the plan to improve service on the bus system.

OC Transpo general manager Rick Leary outlined the plan to improve OC Transpo bus service during Thursday’s Transit Committee meeting, focusing on reliability, capacity and expansion.

“Customers receive reliable service when schedules are realistic, the fleet is well maintained, and we have a strong workforce,” Leary said.

He insisted the integrated plans and actions to improve OC Transpo buses will “start to deliver noticeable improvements to our customers as early as this summer and throughout the fall.”

As of July 6, employees in the core public service will need to be in the office a minimum of four days a week. Executives are now required to be onsite five days a week.

Staff say OC Transpo has received federal employee data from the federal government to help establish which routes need more capacity, and the transit service is now looking at the “best ways” to boost service.

Eight of the 10 routes identified for more capacity are buses that stop at either Tunney’s Pasture or travel to the federal offices in Gatineau. The 10 routes are:

• Route 5 Elmvale-Waller
• Route 8 Gatineau-Dow’s Lake
• Route 13 Gatineau-Tunney’s Pasture
• Route 24 Chapel Hill-St. Laurent
• Route 61 Stittsville-Tunney’s Pasture
• Route 62 Stittsville-Tunney’s Pasture
• Route 63 Briarbrook-Tunney’s Pasture
• Route 66 Innovation-Tunney’s Pasture
• Route 74 Tunney’s Pasture-Limebank
• Route 75 Cambrian-Tunney’s Pasture

OC Transpo says it will monitor ridership on all routes in September and will be ready to assign additional buses if required.

Amalgamated Transit Union Local 279 president Noah Vineberg says OC Transpo staff are ready for return-to-office.

“The return-to-office folks are going to hate me for saying this. The service on the two or three days that they are coming in is the same service they’re going to have on the days they aren’t coming. If it’s going to fail, it’s going to fail. If it’s going to work, it’s going to work,” Vineberg said.

“But the same bus that they can make on a Tuesday is the same bus they could have made on the Friday. And I do apologize to the people that upset. I know that we can provide it. I know my members can provide it.”

OC Transpo adjusting run times on 30 routes

OC Transpo is rolling out plans to adjust the run times on the 30 routes that transport 50 per cent of bus riders to improve service.

“It’s better to promise five trips per hour and deliver them consistently than to promise six trips per hour and only deliver five unpredictably,” Pat Scrimgeour, director of Transit Customer Systems and Planning, said.

“Poor reliability, however it’s caused, can lead to longer waiting times for customers, uneven crowding on platforms and on buses, and sometimes customers being left behind.”

The presentation to the transit committee showed traffic can add two minutes of run time to a route, while detours can add two minutes.

OC Transpo adjusted the times on eight routes through the spring by adding additional run time to the schedule which had the poorest on-time performance. The routes were 11, 12, 15, 30, 53, 81, 82 and 168.

Staff say the weekday peak period on-time performance improved on all eight routes after the adjustment to add time to the schedule.

On Route 53, the on-time performance jumped from 37 per cent in the fall to 84 per cent on weekdays this spring. The on-time performance on Route 168 increased from 34 per cent in the fall to 82 per cent in the spring.

Another 22 buses will have their run times adjusted starting in September. The routes are: 5, 6, 7, 9, 14, 18, 19, 20, 25, 41, 42, 48, 51, 61, 63, 73, 75, 85, 88, 117, 163, and 173.

“Our goal is to build schedules our customers can trust, a fleet that reliably delivers the service, and a sustainable workforce,” Leary said.

“Now, to deliver these schedules, they must be reviewed and revised to reflect real travel conditions.”

Vineberg says unreliable schedules have been an issue for 20 years.

“What’s being promised is deliverable, and I think that’s what we’re working towards.” Vineberg said.

“A lot of the work that my members have done to provide information and data, which used to fall on deaf ears, is now being listened to and we’re seeing some incremental advancement.”

Buses roll into retirement

OC Transpo has retired the 100 most unreliable buses since the end of winter, as new buses are added to the fleet.

The report shows 67 double-decker buses, 13 articulated 60-foot buses and 20 40-foot buses have been retired.

OC Transpo is also refurbishing 30 articulated buses that are past their 15-year useful life. The refurbishment will add another three years of service life.

The committee was told the summer maintenance campaign will see 290 buses undergoing the “summer maintenance regime,” targeting hose replacements and electrical components for “intensive preventative maintenance.”

The transit service has onboarded 131 of 228 electric buses so far in 2026, and the first new 60-foot articulated bus is scheduled to arrive this month.

“We’re seeing the light at the end of the tunnel,” Rami El Feghali, director of transit bus operations and maintenance, told the committee about the improvement in the availability of buses.

“We’re starting to see the results of the fresh, new, reliable buses.”

OC Transpo has 704 buses in the fleet, with 40-foot electric buses accounting for 19 per cent of all buses.

Help wanted at OC Transpo

OC Transpo is hoping to hire 664 people as part of its plan to boost staffing for buses and the O-Train, but it could take more than a year to meet its target for hiring for key positions.

The transit service was forced to temporarily suspend operations on O-Train Line 1 and Line 4 on the Saturday of the Victoria Day long weekend due to temporary staffing shortages.

Councillors on the transit committee were told on Thursday that 29 per cent of cancelled bus trips in the January-March period were due to staffing availability, while service delivery on Lines 2 and 4 has dropped to 90 per cent in recent months due to staffing shortages.

Chief Safety Officer Sabrina Pasian outlined a plan to boost staffing levels for bus and train operations and mechanics, targeting a staffing programming level of 105 per cent.

“This target takes into account many different factors, including retirement, attrition, failures, and trainees voluntarily withdrawing from our training program,” Pasian said.

“While it is unlikely that we’ll achieve this target, if we aim for 105 per cent programming levels based on our experience and due to natural attrition, we’ll be much closer to achieving the required staffing levels that we need to ensure safe, consistent operations while reducing potential risks and building in long-term resiliency.”

The plan focuses on filling key positions: rail controllers, mechanics, garage attendants, special constables, and operators for buses, Para Transpo and the O-Train.

OC Transpo currently has 1,507 bus operators on active staff, 110 electric rail operators and 16 electric rail operators, 146 mechanics and 136 garage attendants. The target to hire for training includes 372 bus operators, 58 electric rail operators and 20 electric rail controllers, along with 38 mechanics and 37 garage attendants.

Pasian said the training targets account for attrition, retirement, failures and the expansion of the O-Train.

The recruitment process at OC Transpo ranges from 102 to 151 days, and staff say the total duration from recruitment to operational readiness, including training, ranges from 129 days to 451 days.

OC Transpo plans to ramp up recruitment and training staffing through the spring and summer.

Pasian says OC Transpo expects bus and Para Transpo staffing levels will stabilize by December. The hiring targets are:

• May 2027: Electric rail operators for Line 1
• April 2027: Special constables
• May 2027: Fleet maintenance positions
• June 2027: Diesel rail operators for Line 2 and Line 4
• Beyond August 2027: Rail controllers

Canada Day

OC Transpo will be marking Canada Day with free transit.

Leary says there will be no charge transit on the O-Train and buses on July 1.

“We’re working closely with Heritage Canada and our city partners to ensure that we’re ready to move large crowds safely and efficiently through and from the main event sites at LeBreton Flats,” Leary said.

LiUNA Local 527 and 527A are the presenting sponsor for the free transit on Canada Day.

This is the first time OC Transpo has had a sponsor to help cover the cost of the free transit on July 1.

With files from CTV News Ottawa’s Leah Larocque

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