OC Transpo suggests it will be spring before bus service improves

OC Transpo’s bus issues are expected to continue through the winter, and the O-Train East Extension is also being delayed. CTV’s Leah Larocque reports.

OC Transpo officials suggest it will be late March or early April before bus service returns to normal levels, as the transit service works to hire more mechanics and new e-buses arrive in Ottawa.

The first six weeks of 2026 have been tough for OC Transpo riders, as delays in the arrival of new buses, an aging fleet and a shortage of staff resulted in thousands of bus trip cancellations, and O-Train Line 1 is running mainly single-car service due to a new issue with the cartridge bearing assemblies on the Alstom Citadis Spirit Trains.

• O-Train East Extension launch delayed until at least the spring

A presentation to the transit committee on Wednesday said there is an average of 494 buses available a day for weekday service, with 500 buses required. OC Transpo had an average of 503 buses available during the first week of February.

Several factors are blamed for the lack of bus service delivery, including a delay in the delivery of new electric buses, ongoing challenges to recruit licenced mechanics and the age of the fleet.

“The cold weather is hurting” maintenance requirements, staff said.

• OC Transpo to extend afternoon transfer window to 105 minutes this spring

OC Transpo interim general manager Troy Charter said OC Transpo is focusing on onboarding new electric buses arriving in Ottawa and boosting its mechanic staffing levels to boost bus service.

“We really think we’re going to be in a much better state once we get into early spring,” Charter said.

“I’m pleased with the progress that we’ve been making with regards to our increases in availability. We’re really focused on the efforts that we’ve talked about here to get our fleet count up and get the staffing that we require to maintain and operate the vehicles.”

Charter said “we are not happy” with the current bus service being offered to transit riders.

“While things are progressing and improving, I just want to recognize it’s nowhere near where we want to be,” Charter said.

Staff said OC Transpo has initiated short-term solutions to boost bus availability, including temporary schedule adjustments that cancelled 255 weekday trips, and prioritizing critical fleet work.

OC Transpo says its average age of its buses is 15.3 years for articulated buses, 16.8 years for the used 40-foot diesel buses and 19.9 years for the 40-foot diesel D40i buses. Ottawa currently has 330 articulated buses and 44 40-foot diesel D40i buses.

Rami El Feghali, director of transit bus operations and maintenance, told CTV News Ottawa was in a unique situation with “the delivery of the electric busses coinciding with the aging of the fleet.”

The presentation showed 72 buses have required 30 plus days of maintenance work, while 55 buses have had work orders under 30 days. Staff say 140 buses have experienced daily defects this winter.

Councillors were told OC Transpo continues to explore options to boost the bus fleet, and had explored the use of school buses.

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