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

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 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

Our new GM: a brief history of Rick Leary

Ten months after the departure of former general manager Renée Amilcar, OC Transpo has a new head: Rick Leary. 

You can watch the city's press conference introducing him here. 

Mr. Leary has held executive positions in Boston, York Region, and Toronto. According to the memo City Manager Wendy Stephenson sent to Council: 

Rick has extensive experience overseeing integrated bus, light rail, subway, and streetcar systems, with responsibility for operations, maintenance, safety, and long‑term asset management ... [his] experience includes managing aging infrastructure, supporting the integration of new and expanding services, and ensuring the successful delivery of capital projects.  

Given his extensive experience, I am confident that Rick is well positioned to lead the Transit Services department in an inspiring and empowering way while strengthening Ottawa’s growing multi-modal transit system.  

Actually, Mr. Leary has extensive experience in obfuscating service quality, hiding safety issues, and agency mismanagement. With his record, Council should question the hiring process that led to his appointment.  

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. 

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

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

Investigation of the Trillium Line Training Program

Introduction

On the 10th of February, 2025, the Auditor General's Office released a report on the training program for DROs (diesel rail operators) on Lines 2 and 4. This document is less damning for what it says about the training program itself, than for what it says about the City's contractual obligations, and the continued feeling that, to borrow Steve Munro's phrase, "no one is minding the store" at OC Transpo. 

If you want to read the report yourself, it can be found in PDF form here. I will provide page numbers to quotes and key findings; these are the page numbers in the bottom-right corner of the PDF and not the actual PDF pages themselves. I will also annotate the quotes with my interpretation, reading [like this].