OC Transpo cancels nearly 2,000 bus trips in a week as service deals with maintenance backlog

Maintenance backlog causing bus cancellations OC Transpo is blaming a backlog in maintenance for nearly 1,000 cancelled bus trips this week. CTV's Peter Szperling reports.

OC Transpo says maintenance work is being “triaged as effectively as possible” to increase bus availability over the next few weeks, after nearly 2,000 bus trips were cancelled over eight days due to a backlog in bus maintenance and traffic congestion.

And Ottawa’s transit service says it is working to implement “long-term solutions” with its bus maintenance action plan and hiring more mechanics to keep buses on the road and transit riders moving this fall and winter.

OC Transpo first warned commuters on Oct. 21 that it was “seeing an increase in the number of buses missing their trips.”

Statistics provided to CTV News Ottawa show 1,877 bus trips were cancelled between Monday, Oct. 21 and Monday, Oct. 28, with over 250 bus trips cancelled a day on weekdays.

OC Transpo Public Information Officer Katrina Camposarcone-Stubbs tells CTV News Ottawa the transit service is working to “fill as many trips as possible to minimize the impacts.”

“Since first reporting this issue last Monday, service delivery trends improved as the week progressed,” Camposarcone-Stubbs said in a statement.

“We continue to work diligently to increase our fleet availability to better help fill trips that are being impacted by congestion or other unplanned service disruptions, such as (Tuesday) morning’s implementation of R1 bus replacement service.”

OC Transpo was forced to implement R1 replacement bus service between Blair and Hurdman stations on Tuesday after a section of the O-Train Line 1 was shut down to inspect the St. Laurent tunnel.

Last week, OC Transpo reported a “backlog in bus maintenance” was impacting the availability of the bus fleet, with staff working to complete preventative maintenance and bodywork.

Camposarcone-Stubbs says while OC Transpo is working to reduce the number of cancelled trips, it is implementing long-term solutions to keep transit riders moving.

“We are actively working to implement long-term solutions that will increase our fleet availability through our bus maintenance action plan and the recruitment of additional mechanics,” Camposarcone-Stubbs said.

“Unplanned service disruptions and the use of replacement bus service are placing higher demands on our bus fleet and resulting in a higher volume of maintenance activities. Work is being triaged as effectively as possible and we anticipate greater fleet stability will occur in the coming weeks.”

Here is a look at the number of OC Transpo bus trips cancelled over the past eight days. (Planned trips in parentheses)