Transit Committee - 14 May, 2026

Transit Committee met for the fourth this year on 14 May. The frequency of meetings has increased since last year, likely in response to criticism that the Committee was not working hard enough to solve Ottawa's transit problems. 

This meeting brings mostly good news. An end to the 100,000 km limit on the Line 1 Cartridge Bearing Assemblies (CBAs) is in sight, and bus reliability continues to slowly climb upwards. However, service delivery will remain a problem in the foreseeable future, and general manager Rick Leary will continue to face difficult choices. 

Note: after I finished writing this post, but before I posted it, OC Transpo announced the return of full double-car service on Line 1 on 8 June. 

The video link to the meeting is here. 

Documents: 

• Update Presentation (English) 
• Inquiry - Number of conventional buses that have caught fire   
• Inquiry - Compensation for Transit Users 
• Transit Services 5-Year Roadmap: SCORECARD
• Annual Update – Transit Services 5-Year Roadmap

Transit Committee - 9 April, 2026

On 9 April, Transit Committee met for its third meeting of 2026. 

This is the first Transit Committee since Rick Leary joined OC Transpo. Bus reliability is improving thanks to the better weather, e-bus deliveries, and lower service requirements during summer. However, the spalling problem with Line 1's CBAs (cartridge bearing assembly) has not been resolved, limiting train availability.

The link to the meeting video is here. 

Documents: 

• OC Transpo Update Presentation
• LRT Annual Compliance Report - 2025
• Inquiry (Marty Carr) - Number of Free Bus Passes

Transit Committee - 12 February, 2026

On the 12th of February, Transit Committee met for the first time in 2026. The video of this meeting can be found here. 

Since the last Transit Committee in November, bus service has continued to deteriorate, and adding to OC Transpo's troubles, most of the Line 1 fleet was ordered out of service after spalling was discovered on the cartridge bearing assemblies (CBAs). There is currently no timeline to return the trains to service. Most of this meeting was, understandably, dedicated to these two crises.

Despite the quixotic self-congratulations from OC Transpo and from Transit Committee, delegations and the state of service reveal a system full of problems. As long as councillors do not feel urgency on this file, transit will continue to be a whack-a-mole of acute and chronic problems. 

Documents from this meeting: 

• Electric Bus program inquiry
• Outstanding motions and inquiries