OC Transpo is proactively cancelling dozens of bus trips each workday this spring due to longer travel times and an “increase in fleet requirements,” as the transit service rolls out the new spring schedule this week. The transit service proactively cancelled 255 trips each weekday between early January and April as it dealt with a shortage of buses due to an aging fleet, a backlog in maintenance work on buses and delays in the arrival of new buses. With the new spring schedule now in effect, OC Transpo is cancelling 279 trips each weekday for the spring schedule. “Increases in run times on some routes and an increase in fleet requirements have resulted in a temporary decrease of 279 trips each weekday for the spring schedule,” Rick Leary, new OC Transpo general manager, said in a memo to council last week. “Work to further increase bus availability continues, and OC Transpo will increase the number of trips being delivered as it improves.” Of the 279 bus trips proactively cancelled, 21 trips are on Route 5, 11 trips on Route 41 between Hurdman and Blair stations, 10 trips on Route 14, nine trips on Route 7, nine trips on Route 12, nine trips on Route 48, and eight trips on Route 90 between Greenboro and Hurdman stations. OC Transpo has also cancelled 13 trips on Route E1, the express bus that runs between Blair Station and Lyon Station during morning and afternoon peak periods. As of Friday, OC Transpo had an average of 534 buses available every weekday, with an average weekday requirement of 500 buses. In a separate memo to council, Leary said the daily bus requirement will be increased slightly during the spring service. The new spring schedule for OC Transpo began on Sunday, with the transit service making adjustments for seasonal service changes and adjustments for construction. Changes to the OC Transpo schedule Here are some of the changes to the OC Transpo spring bus schedule:
