Bus Scheduling, Part III: Efficiencies, Improvements, and Flexibility

Introduction

This is the third and final part of the series on bus scheduling. The first two parts can be found here. 

Remember that OC Transpo claims that their system "permit[s] more flexibility," "increase[s] efficiency," and "reduce[s] operating costs." 

In fact, their scheduling system is not flexible, does not increase efficiency, and increases operating subsidies through a combination of unreliable service and increased deadhead and layover times, which are not, or cannot, be manually revised to ensure cost savings. By ending random interlining and looking at bus operating cost from a standpoint of bus allocation rather than the endlessly stupid "1 minute of travel time savings is $40,000 saved!" from the last Transit Committee meeting, we can improve service, if only the network and schedule design was treated as part of the process rather than as stone tablets handed down from God himself. 

Travel Markets and Public Transit

Introduction 

As part of the Transportation Master Plan process, the City commissioned a study into travel called the "Transport Trends Report", which analyzes transportation across town. This document can be found on the City of Ottawa website. 

These surveys are a gold mine of data, and TRANS conducts other transport surveys with semi-regularity. I recommend anyone reading this blog to read both the report and at the TRANS surveys. 

To our interest today is the Origin-Destination survey, which analyzes travel destinations for all trips in Ottawa. The last of these was conducted in 2011, coincidentally when Network Optimization fossilized the bus route network. 

I will look at the report at a high-level, analyzing the large-scale markets that OC Transpo could serve. 

A cautionary note, the O-D survey was conducted in 2022, when many peoples' travel patterns were in flux; the dust had not yet settled from the fallout of the pandemic. Transit ridership is about 40% higher than it was at the time, and no doubt some of the O-D survey data is already obsolete. 

Stage 2 Update (Transit Committee) - 12 June, 2025

Introduction

This is the second part to my update on the Transit Committee meeting on 12 June, focusing on Stage 2 updates. The first part, covering everything else, can be found here. 

The relevant documents are a report to city council at this link and a motion here. 

Transit Committee - 12 June, 2025

Introduction

On 12 June, 2025, Transit Committee met for the fourth time this year. You can find the meeting video here. 

This meeting was presentation heavy, and as such, this update is a little longer than usual as well. 

As usual, councilors talked a range of questions, some good, many bad. But as long as the good questions are simply one time questions and not part of a clear headed strategy to reform and rehaul OC Transpo operations and management, we won't see any progress on a better transit system. 

Stage 2 talk has been quarantined into its own article again, which should be up in a day or two. 

This meeting's document list, with everything in PDF format: 

• OC Transpo Update
• Response to Westboro Collision Coroner's Inquest
• Verdict of Inquest Jury
• Action Plan to address the Inquest recommendations directed to the City of Ottawa
• OC Transpo's Non-Fare Revenue Strategy
• Stage 2 Light Rail Transit Report

Renee Amilcar leaves OC Transpo, path forward is unclear

Introduction 

Renée Amilcar announced early this month that she would resign from her position as General Manager at OC Transpo, and move to Montreal as head of Mobilé Infra Québec. This has both written annd unwritten implications for the future of OC Transpo. This indicates problems bubbling beneath the surface, ones that will be increasingly hard to fix as the institution continues to fossilize. We need reform, and we need reform now if we want to pursue a successful transit policy in Ottawa. 

(I apologize for any weird formatting issues and the short length. I am abroad, so this is hastily written from my phone as opposed to my laptop, as usual) 

Route 11 snapshot: 28 April-25 May

Introduction

This article will discuss service quality on Route 11 between 28 April and 25 May, which is a period of four weeks. As always, data is sourced from Transsee. 

Bus Scheduling, Part II: Interlining

Introduction

This is the second part of a three-part series. To read the first part on runtimes and layovers, click here. 

In this article, I will focus on the practice of interlining. 

According to OC Transpo, whose memo you can read here, interlining is 

essential to delivering the most efficient scheduling solution ... There are two main goals of interlining: to permit more flexibility from a vehicle type and capacity perspective. For example, high-capacity buses can be moved throughout the network to deliver service on specific trips that require those buses; and to increase efficiency by reducing the overall number of buses and bus operators required to provide the service, which can help to reduce operating costs.

 

 As we shall see, neither of these things are true. 

Currently, 27 per cent of all in-service trips are followed by a trip on a different route, and 40 per cent of all existing blocks include four or more different routes. Most (72 per cent) deadheads are short and have a duration of five minutes or less. A quarter of all deadheads are between five and 30 minutes in duration, and about three per cent of all deadheads are 30 minutes or more in duration, to or from the most remote parts of the system. 

 

Bus Scheduling, Part I: Run Times, Layovers, and Propagating Delays

Introduction

Reliability is a major concern for both OC Transpo and its passengers. According to OC Transpo's own surveys, reliability of service is the primary concern of its riders, while Transit Committee is dominated with discussion of reliability: fleet, scheduling, customer satisfaction, plans, and more. It's clear that this is a major issue for Ottawa's transit sphere. 

This is the first of three articles examining OC Transpo's scheduling practices. In this piece, I wish to examine how poor scheduling can propagate delays across runs and routes, using a number of case studies. 

Disclaimer: I am not a bus scheduler, or any other kind of expert in this field. This is purely a casual glance at OC Transpo's practices, and there are always hidden "backroom" factors that are difficult to account for. 

In posting this analysis, I simply hope to shed some light into OC Transpo's scheduling practices, in order to demonstrate best practices in other cities and how OC Transpo is, or is not, utilizing them. 

OC Transpo has produced a report of its own on scheduling practices, which you can read here.