3% of OC Transpo bus trips cancelled over 3 weeks due to bus availability

An OC Transpo bus is seen in this undated file image. (Leah Larocque/CTV News Ottawa)

OC Transpo is anticipating bus availability to improve in the "coming weeks" after more than 4,000 bus trips were cancelled over the past three weeks due to a lack of available buses.

Ottawa's transit service first warned commuters on Oct. 21 that it was "seeing an increase in the number of buses missing their trips," citing a backlog in bus maintenance and traffic congestion.

Statistics provided to CTV News Ottawa show between Oct. 21 and Nov. 6, 4,107 of 121,931 planned bus trips were cancelled by OC Transpo, with the majority of bus trips cancelled on weekdays.

OC Transpo says approximately 96.7 per cent of scheduled bus trips were delivered during the Oct. 21 to Nov. 6 period.

"A contributing factor to recent undelivered trips has been the increased demands placed on our bus fleet to support R1 bus replacement service during O-Train Line 1 maintenance activities," Katrina Camposarcone-Stubbs, OC Transpo public information officer, told CTV News Ottawa.

"While this has temporarily increased the volume of required bus maintenance activities, Line 1 maintenance is wrapping up this weekend and we anticipate an improvement in bus availability and undelivered trips in the coming weeks."

The O-Train has been shut down over the past three weeks to allow Rideau Transit Maintenance to conduct maintenance work on the five-year-old LRT system. R1 bus service also had to be implemented on the eastern section of the LRT on Oct. 29 so crews could inspect the St. Laurent tunnel.

Last month, OC Transpo told CTV News Ottawa a "backlog in bus maintenance" was impacting the availability of the bus fleet, with staff working to complete preventative maintenance and body work.

Some of OC Transpo's articulated buses are older than 15 years old.  The transit service is currently looking at buying used or new diesel buses, as it deals with a backlog in the delivery of new electric buses.

Camposarcone-Stubbs says OC Transpo is implementing long-term solutions to keep buses on the road and transit riders moving.

"As part of OC Transpo’s Five-Year Roadmap, we have set a bus service delivery goal of 99.5 per cent," Camposarcone-Stubbs said. "We continue to work diligently to implement long-term solutions that will increase our fleet availability through our bus maintenance action plan and the recent launch of our mechanic recruitment campaign."

The Amalgamated Transit Union Local 279, which represents OC Transpo drivers and mechanics, has said the transit service needs to hire new mechanics and invest in public transit.

The Transit Commission is scheduled to receive an update on OC Transpo's "ongoing efforts to increase bus service delivery" at its November 25 meeting, according to Camposarcone-Stubbs.

"We recognize the impact a cancelled trip has on our customers and we continue to work to reduce the number of undelivered bus trips," Camposarcone-Stubbs said. "The transit network is being carefully monitored in real time by our Transit Operations Control Centre. Staff are balancing how resources are deployed in order to minimize impacts across the system and deliver the best possible experience."

OC Transpo bus trip cancellations over the past three weeks (planned trips in parentheses):