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.

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. 

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. 

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. 

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. 

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. 

Route 44 snapshot: 24 Feb-23 Mar

This article presents a "snapshot" of service on Route 44 between the 24th of February and the 23rd of March. Data collected from Transsee. 

Route 51 snapshot: 27 January-23 February

 This article presents a "snapshot" of service on Route 51 between the 27th of January and 23rd of February in 2025. Data from Transsee. 

Route 85 snapshot: 6th January - 2nd February

This article presents a "snapshot" of service on Route 85 between 6th January and 2nd February. All data sourced from Transsee. 

Route 14 service analysis: 25th November - 22nd December

This article analyses the service of Route 14 from the 25th November to the 22nd December. Data from Transsee. Here are the theoretical headway charts (it will soon be clear why I say theoretical): 

Route 80 service analysis: 11th November to 6th December

This article analyses the service provided on Route 80 from the 11th of November to 6th December. Data from Transsee. As a reminder, here are headway charts for the <80>: 

 

 

Route 88 service analysis: October 28th to November 24th

 This article analyses the reliability and behaviour of OC Transpo's route 88 over a period of four weeks, from Monday, October 28th, to Sunday, November 24th. Data from Transsee, as always. 

Route 12 service analysis: October 14th to November 10th

This article analyses service on route 12, which runs from Blair to Parliament through Vanier, over the four-week period from October 14th to November 10th. The data is sourced from Transsee. 

R2 service analysis: September 30th to October 27th

This article covers service on the R2 over a period of four weeks from September 30th to October 27th. The data was retrieved from Transsee. I was heavily inspired by Toronto's Steve Munro to start this series, and hopefully shed some light on OC Transpo's hideous reliability.