OC Transpo moving forward with ‘ambitious’ staff plan but hasn’t released vacancy numbers

An OC Transpo bus is seen at St. Laurent Station. June 11, 2026. (Brad Quinn/CTV News Ottawa)

As OC Transpo launches its ‘ambitious’ hiring plan to address staffing shortages, the transit service has not provided how many positions it needs to fill.

Staffing levels recently came to a head after an early shutdown of LRT service during the Victoria Day long weekend because of a lack of rail controllers. The union pointed to staffing shortages as a persistent issue at the time.

In a memo to council, OC Transpo General Manager Rick Leary committed to bring vacancy numbers to the June 11 meeting of Transit Committee.

“An integrated strategy will be provided at Transit Committee in June, outlining the current vacancies in critical frontline positions, including bus operators, diesel and electric rail operators, rail controllers, mechanics, special constables, as well as on-street supervisors,” Leary wrote on May 22.

OC Transpo tabled its new integrated staffing plan at committee but when asked, Leary and staff did not provide the vacancy numbers.

Chief Safety Officer Sabrian Pasian said “we do know, I just don’t have that data in front of me.”

City communications staff said the numbers would be provided. Despite five days, several follow-ups and three missed deadlines, the numbers have still not been released.

Noah Vineberg, president of the Amalgamated Transit Union local 279, said the union also doesn’t have access to those numbers and relies on members and scheduling.

The service currently has 1,507 bus operators, 110 electric rail operators and 59 diesel operators. OC Transpo has set training targets, which account for attrition, retirement and expansion, of 372 bus drivers, 98 electric rail operators and 37 diesel operators.

Its data shows it employs 32 controllers for rail operations, 16 each for diesel and electric, with plans to train 25 more.

A push for more mechanics, garage attendants and special constables is also part of the plan.

Plan to ramp up staffing and recruitment through rest of 2026

According to OC Transpo’s latest numbers, service reliability has improved with recent changes to bus scheduling, but staffing remains a drag on those reliability numbers.

Staff report 29 per cent of undelivered bus trips in the first three months of 2026 were cancelled because of staff availability. Lines 2 and 4 of LRT have also seen service delivery decline from 98 per cent to 90 per cent because of staffing shortages.

The new integrated workforce plan is meant to address those shortages, according to OC Transpo, with streamlined recruitment and training processes.

Pasian called it an “ambitious” plan that would get the service “much closer” to required staffing levels needed to “ensure safe, consistent operations, while reducing potential risks and building in long-term resiliency.”

“We are in the process of filling essential positions in our recruitment and training teams to be able to onboard and train new front-line staff at unprecedented numbers,” Pasian told committee.

The plan includes a 105 per cent staffing target for operators, rail controllers, mechanics, garage attendants and special constables to build that resiliency into the system.

It would also allow the service to be less reliant on overtime, something Pasian said the service had been “heavily relying” upon but that is not sustainable.

Staff expect bus operators’ numbers to stabilize by the end of this year, electric rail operators by March 2027 and diesel operators by next June.

Hiring and training rail controllers, a shortage of which was the reason for the May long weekend shutdown, is expected to continue through August 2027 and beyond that.

Training for those roles can take up to 300 days because of the safety issues involved and Pasian said they would “not compromise or rush the training process.”

Union: ‘Cautiously optimistic’

Vineberg said he was happy to hear there’s a plan to address staffing issues but remained “cautiously optimistic.”

“I like hearing it, it’s definitely needed,” Vineberg said, adding he was “curious” how it will happen because demand for staff is high at all transit agencies.

“And part of those numbers that isn’t spoken about is retention. Are we making sure we’re doing enough to keep the people that we do have and make them want to continue to do this long term?”

He raised his own concerns about the hiring process as he pointed to a recent report from Ottawa’s Auditor General Nathalie Gougeon that raised issues about the hiring process for management positions.

The audit found instances of candidates bypassing open competitions, being hired without required qualifications and a lack of documentation to justify the selections.

While the report dealt with management positions specifically, Vineberg said it still raises concerns about hiring practices across the entire agency, an issue he has brought forward.

“I have confidence that we are dealing with the issue, we will see how it plays out,” he said.

“There’s a lot of people that should be in a position right now that aren’t.”

OC Transpo accepted the AG’s recommendations in that report.

A follow-up to that report is expected to be tabled at audit committee on Friday, along with a new audit of bus service planning and scheduling.

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