OC Transpo rolls out fall schedules as public servants, students return to buses, O-Train

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

OC Transpo has rolled out the fall schedules and service changes for buses and the O-Train, as the transit system prepares for an influx of public servants and students travelling into the downtown core.

The transit service is billing the fall transit schedule as “Your ride made better,” with OC Transpo general manager Rick Leary saying there will be “significant service improvements” as part of OC Transpo’s Customer-First Action Plan. The new fall schedule will begin on Aug. 30.

The changes include increasing weekday frequency on O-Train Line 1, seven new Express Routes that will run between Park and Ride lots and O-Train stations and Tunney’s Pasture, adjusting the run times on 30 routes, adding trips from Ottawa to federal buildings in Gatineau and a new route between Tunney’s Pasture the Department of National Defence campus on Carling Avenue.

Leary told CTV News Ottawa this week OC Transpo is ready for the influx of riders.

“We’re really ready to get people into this city when the federal government returns,” Leary said on Tuesday.

“We’ve heard from our customers it’s about reliability. We worked on schedules.”

OC Transpo and the City of Ottawa are projecting an additional 65,000 trips a week into the downtown core as public servants are required to be in the office four days a week, and post-secondary students return to Ottawa for the fall term.

The new fall schedules are now available on OC Transpo’s website to allow commuters to plan out their trips.

Here is a look at some of the changes:

O-Train Line 1

• O-Train Line 1 service every four minutes during morning and afternoon peak periods Monday to Friday. O-Train Line 1 is currently running every five minutes during the summer.
• Six-minute service in the midday Monday to Friday, improved from current 10 minutes
• Seven-minute service in the early evening on weekdays, improved from current 10 minutes
• Two-car trains will continue to operate Monday to Friday

O-Train Line 2

• The first train on O-Train Line 2 will depart Limebank Station at 6 a.m.
• The first train on O-Train Line 2 will depart Carleton Station at 6:05 a.m.

Bus Route adjustments

OC Transpo’s fall schedule includes adjustments to the schedules on 30 routes that serve 50 per cent of OC Transpo riders. The transit service says the schedule adjustments will make the bus trips “more reliable.”

The new schedules for the fall are on bus routes 5, 6, 7, 9, 14, 18, 19, 20, 25, 41, 42, 48, 51, 61, 63, 73, 75, 85, 88, 117, 163 and 173.

New Express bus service

OC Transpo is launching seven new peak-period Express Routes from Park and Ride lots to “key employment areas” and O-Train Line 1 stations.

The Express routes will be identified by route numbers in the 500s and have “distinct orange Express Route” icons on maps and signage, according to Leary.

• 526 Express – Blair-Chapel Hill will run between Chapel Hill and Blair LRT station Monday to Friday during peak periods. There will be seven morning trips and three return afternoon trips.  
• 539 Express – Blair-Millennium will run between Blair Station and Millenium Park and Ride past Trim and Place d’Orleans during Monday to Friday peak periods. OC Transpo’s schedule shows three bus trips during the morning commute and three return trips in the afternoon.
• 561 Express – Tunney’s Pasture-Terry Fox will run between Kanata Centrum and Tunney’s Pasture through Eagleson and Moodie during Monday to Friday peak periods. There is one trip from Terry Fox to Tunney’s Pasture during the morning commute and one return trip in the afternoon.
• 562 Express -Tunney’s Pasture-Terry Fox will run between Kanata Centrum and Tunney’s Pasture through Eagleson and Moodie during peak periods Monday to Friday. There is one trip from Terry Fox to Tunney’s Pasture during the morning commute and a return trip in the afternoon.
• 563 Express – Tunney’s Pasture-Innovation will run between Innovation/Richcraft Rec Complex and Tunney’s Pasture, with stops along Moodie Drive, Eagleson and Moodie park and rides during Monday to Friday peak periods. There is one trip during the morning commute and a return trip in the afternoon.
• 565 Express – Innovation-Carling Campus will run between the DND Carling Campus and Innovation/Richcraft Rec Complex with stops at Kanata Centrum/Terry Fox, Eagleson and Moodie during Monday to Friday peak periods. OC Transpo’s schedule shows two trips during the morning commute and two return trips during the afternoon commute.
• 566 Express – Tunney’s Pasture-Carling Campus will run between the DND Carling Campus and Tunney’s Pasture through Moodie during Monday to Friday peak periods.  The route will operate during peak periods.

Other changes

• OC Transpo says some trips on routes 74, 75, 561, 562 and 563 will extend “directly into Gatineau,” eliminating the need to transfer buses
• More trips between Innovation Station in Kanata North and Tunney’s Pasture
• Route 5 – New trips will be added between Elmvale and Waller
• Route 63 – New trips will be added from Tunney’s Pasture Station in the morning and from Innovation Station in the afternoon
• Route 98 – New trips will be added at peak periods
• Route 226 – New trips will be added from Eastpark Drive/Innes Road in the morning and from Blair Station in the afternoon
• Route 256 – New trips will be added from Cope Drive in the morning and from Tunney’s Pasture Station in the afternoon.
• Additional buses will be standing by at key locations, ready to be deployed to provide support service where required