OC Transpo reducing bus service, parking articulated buses on Thursday due to significant snowstorm

An OC Transpo bus is seen driving on a snowy road Wed., Nov. 25, 2020. (Jim O'Grady / CTV News Ottawa)

OC Transpo will be reducing bus service and parking “many articulated buses” on Thursday, as a major winter storm is expected to bring up to 40 centimetres of snow to Ottawa.

Environment Canada has issued a winter storm warning for Ottawa, calling for heavy snow tonight and on Thursday. The city has declared a “Significant Weather Event” due to the snow.

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Transit Services general manager Renée Amilcar says OC Transpo is implementing a severe storm schedule for buses on Thursday. O-Train Line 1, Line 2 and Line 4 will run on a normal schedule.

OC Transpo implements a severe storm schedule for buses when 31 centimetres or more of snow is in the forecast on a weekday.

Amilcar says on Thursday, bus service will follow a “reduced schedule in order to provide safer and more reliable service during the winter storm and to allow the entire network to recover more quickly.”

OC Transpo says “most routes” will be affected by the schedule adjustments, with reduced frequencies and modified trip times. Amilcar says some routes will not run.

• Here’s how the city of Ottawa will clear 30-40 cm of snow over the next two days

Many articulated buses will be replaced with 40-foot and double-decker buses to “improve service reliability,” Amilcar said.

Customers are being urged to double-check their route and use the OC Transpo Travel Planner before they travel.

Amilcar says O-Train and Para Transpo service levels will not be reduced.

“Customers should still plan ahead, expect delays and exercise caution when boarding and exiting vehicles and at bus stops and station platforms,” Amilcar said.

OC Transpo launched the new “Severe Storm Schedule” in 2022 for heavy snowfall events and other severe weather, following complaints about articulated buses struggling to operate in heavy snowfall. The plan includes bus service running on a Saturday schedule on weekdays during heavy snowfall events and most articulated buses replaced with 40-foot and double-decker buses.

“Articulated buses have a harder time on the road compared to our regular buses,” OC Transpo said. “When possible, buses such as 40-foot buses are strategically deployed instead.”

The Amalgamated Transit Union said when OC Transpo received 48 cm of snow on Jan. 17, 2022, at least 150 buses got stuck in snowbanks.