Transit Committee - 11 June, 2026

 On Thursday 11 June, Transit Committee gathered for its June meeting. The meeting link can be found here.

The meeting centered around the Customer First Action Plan announced last month, and provided reasons to be both optimistic and pessimistic. The spalling problem seems to be receding into the rearview mirror, and the fleet is slowly improving, albeit with the temporarily cancelled trips (TCTs) still in place. However, this is not OC Transpo's first brush with great-sounding action plans which have not worked so well in reality, and their capacity for long-term planning and Council's ability to supervise such an undertaking remains in question.

The Stage 2 update and related talk has been quarantined into its own post again. That should hopefully be posted in a few days.

Documents list:

• OC Transpo Update - English
• Stage 2 Light Rail Transit Project
• OC Transpo Public Safety Strategy
• Motion - Saturday Service on OC Transpo Route 92
• Desroches - Response to Inquiry - Community Feedback for Limebank, Bowesville, and Leitrim Stations
• Carr - Response to Inquiry - Transit Station Elevators
• Carr - Response to Inquiry - OC Transpo Peak Ridership Definition and Service Planning

Route 48 service snapshot - 13 April-10 May

 Route 48 is an Alta Vista local route, running from Hurdman Station on Coronation Avenue and Russell Road to Elmvale, then south to Southvale, west on Walkley, and northwest on Kilborn Avenue to Billings Bridge. From there, it runs down Bank and Sunnyside to Carleton University and a Line 2 connection. This is the busiest post-New Ways to Bus local route, with around 3600 weekday riders.

Despite this, the route faces several challenges. Cancellations are high and peak period bunching is as severe as on frequent routes, leaving large gaps in service. Northbound service also lacks scheduled runtime. This all comes together to create a bus route that is unreliable on weekdays, especially during peak periods.

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 - 12 March, 2026

Another month, another Transit Committee. 

The spalling trouble remained unresolved and the surface network remained unreliable throughout February. Adding to these problems, an ice storm whipped through town the day before the meeting, causing Line 1's catenary wires to snap and forcing three days of R1 service on the network. 

The video link for the meeting can be found here. 

The Stage 2 update, as always, will be posted separately. This will include Committee's discussion of how the spalling issue may affect Stage 2 East's opening date. 

Documents list for this meeting: 

• Stage 2 Light Rail Report
• Motion - Implement of a [sic] Communication Protocol

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
  

Route 41 service snapshot - 3 to 30 November

Route 41 is a frequent route that runs from Billings Bridge to St. Laurent. The route is the primary service on Heron Road, Walkley Road, and St. Laurent Boulevard, and services Herongate and Elmvale, both low-income communities with relatively high transit use. 

The westbound service towards Billings Bridge is generally reliable, but the eastbound service towards St. Laurent has a severe mismatch between scheduled and actual runtimes, falling below the 5th percentile for much of the day. The usual afternoon peak reliability issues also make an appearance. 

Priorities at City Hall: OC Transpo in 2026

As we roll out of 2025 and into 2026, transit in Ottawa drifts forwards without a coherent vision. 

OC Transpo is changing from the Transitway days, and it is not clear what it will become. The first part of Stage 2 opened last year, with another set to open this year; meanwhile, the bus network is in an apparent state of meltdown, and with one problem solved (operator shortage), another has appeared (fleet shortage). It remains to be seen whether the situation will improve or not. 

This year is also a municipal election year. As 20% of the city budget and the most visible signal of dysfunction at the City of Ottawa, transit will be a headline issue this campaign season. It is therefore essential that candidates and City institutions create and present a coherent vision of transit. 

Transit Committee - 24 November, 2025

On the 24th of November, Transit Committee met for its sixth and final meeting of the year. The meeting link, for those interested, was uploaded to YouTube here. 

As the last Transit Committee meeting of the year, discussion centered around the budget. It includes $47 million in funding from the provincial government that may or not materialize, a small fare increase, and "savings and efficiencies." There was also some discussion around a David Hill inquiry on standardizing the transfer window following reports that commuters were paying double fares for a single trip and a Wilson Lo motion to staff to procure articulated diesel buses. 

Over twenty delegates appeared before the Committee on the budget, and a few delegated on a Wilson Lo motion to allow diesel bus procurement in the coming years. 

I have posted the documents for this update below. 

• 2026 Draft Operating and Capital Budget
• Multi-Year Budget
• Response to Inquiry: Central Park High School Routes
• Response to Inquiry: Line 1 and 2 Regulatory Oversight
• Inquiries and Motions ending 13 November, 2025
• Motion - 2026 Bus Procurement

Ultimately, the budget passed 8-1, with only Riley Brockington voting against and Marty Carr dissenting on the fare schedule. 

Route 7 service snapshot - 29 September to 26 October

Route 7 is a frequent line that runs from St. Laurent to Carleton University on the northern segment of St. Laurent, the Hemlock-Beechwood corridor, and Bank Street, an arrangement which has not changed substantially since the 1980s. This is one of two Bank Street routes, which is currently being contested amidst a proposal to convert two lanes of parking to bus lanes, as well as a plan to introduce bus lanes to St. Laurent. 

Route 7 is among the busiest of OC Transpo routes, but suffers from the usual problems of a high rate of cancellations and buses that do not appear on-schedule or on-headway. 

The example of Route 7 is a continual reminder of how poorly schedules create erratic service, both the pitfalls and benefits of route management, and how reliability can differ on the same route at different times of day. 

As usual, the data for this analysis comes from Transsee. 

Route 70 "snapshot" - 8 September to 5 October

This article analyzes the service quality on Route 70 throughout the month of September. Unlike many other routes, this is a local milk run route from Limebank to Barrhaven Centre, Citigate, and Fallowfield, and will feature slightly different charts than normal. It was formed out of pieces of old Routes 170 and 171 during New Ways to Bus this April. 

As always, data comes from Transsee. 

Improving Bus Service Reliability Report (Transit Committee) - 11 September, 2025

As part of Transit Committee's motion requesting a plan to achieve reliable service by the end of 2027, staff presented a report on improving bus service reliability at Transit Committee on 11 September.  

The relevant document is the report, linked in PDF form. 

OC Transpo defines reliability with three headline statistics, which bundles the entire network into one number. The trips delivery metric measures the percentage of trips which were not cancelled and ran at all; regularity measures the gap between buses on frequent routes [it is not clear if this is applied to frequent routes outside frequent operating periods], with a wide band of 40% allowance; and punctuality, which is on-time performance for less frequent routes, with an allowance of one minute early/five minutes late. 

Both Transit Committee and OC Transpo love to talk about their commitment to reliable service for Ottawa residents. But OC Transpo has a poor track record of presenting good information to Transit Committee that would enable action; Transit Committee has a poor track record of taking action to improve reliability. To improve bus service reliability, Council must begin to understand that there is no free lunch, and make the difficult choices to improve service. 

Transit Committee - 11 September, 2025

Introduction

On 11 September, 2025, Transit Committee met for its fifth meeting this year. The meeting video can be found at this link. 

Reliability continues to be the big issue facing OC Transpo. This meeting, councillors discussed reliability problems, the electric bus program and fleet assignments, and funding splits for transit priority projects, among other topics. However, while councillors talk a good game about supporting public transit, many have a track record of opposing programs which would improve reliability. In this context, empty words only calls to mind broken promises, not that of a more transit-oriented future. 

Much of the discussion was triggered by a staff report on reliability, whose contents were discussed at the meeting and are in this article. I will write a response to the report itself in a separate article. This meeting also included a Stage 2 update, which will be separate as usual. 

This is the first meeting after Renee Amilcar's departure from OC Transpo. Troy Charter, the director of rail operations, has become acting general manager pending a search for a permanent figure. 

Documents archive, all in PDF format: 

• Stage 2 Rail Transit Project [Update]
• Improving Bus Service Reliability
• Transit Committee Inquiries and Motions

There were also a large number of inquiries answered this meeting: 

• Fire Safety Code for E-Bus Garages
• O-Train Line 2 Service Schedule
• Para Transpo Eligibility Reviews and Vehicle Assignment Procedures
• Line 1 LRT Construction Road Closures
• Line 1 East Extension Bus Service

Route 5 Snapshot: 28 July-24 August

Introduction

This article discusses service quality on Route 5 between 28 July and 24 August. Route 5 was created as part of New Ways to Bus earlier this year; it runs frequently between Rideau and Elmvale on Elgin, Main, and Smyth. Previously, the "5" designation belonged to a local route between Rideau and Billings Bridge, and the current service span was covered by a smorgasbord of local and frequent routes. 

Route 5 is fairly well-behaved most times of the day. However, problems appear at certain times of the day, and cancellations remain a scourge on service quality. 

Route 5 is relatively well-behaved in most times of the day, with problems being concentrated to certain times of day ... and to the cancellation of service. Internal analysis like this can identify problem spots on the network, to be targeted with something more specific than redesigning the scheduling system or similar interventions. 

Data, as always, comes from Transsee. 

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. 

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

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. 

Route 90 snapshot: 24 March-20 April

This article presents a "snapshot" of service quality on Route 90 between the 24th of March and 20th of April. Data sourced from Transsee. 

How do we measure reliability?

Introduction

At Transit Committee (TC) on the 10th of April, reliability was the big issue of the day. Reliability statistics, reliability breakdowns, reliability plans, the discussion was centered around reliability even if the solutions were not found that day. 

In light of this, and in light of my own criticism of OC Transpo's reporting of reliability, I wanted to ask the question: how do we measure reliability? And how should we?