OC Transpo touts strong O-Train ridership during Ottawa Bluesfest

The O-Train operates on Line 1 on Thursday, July 3, 2025. (Andrew Adlington/CTV News Ottawa)

OC Transpo is reporting strong ridership on all O-Train lines during Ottawa Bluesfest this summer.

This year’s edition of the popular music festival marks the first time that the north-south Line 2 and the Line 4 airport spur have been in operation alongside the east-west Line 1, which stops right outside the festival grounds at LeBreton Flats.

“Strong ridership was observed throughout the festival with an estimated 650,000 customer trips on Line 1 and 87,000 customer trips on Line 2,” said acting general manager of Transit Services Troy Charter in a media release Tuesday.

Charter says the busiest day was July 18, when Green Day was the headliner, which had a combined 112,000 customers trips on Lines 1 and 2.

“Strong usage of the new Park & Rides connecting customers with Line 2 was also observed,” Charter wrote, though no specific numbers were included in the release.

Festivalgoers could board an OC Transpo bus, an O-Train, or take Para Transpo using their Bluefest tickets during the festival.

“Transit service performed as planned. Signage was placed at various locations to help customers during the festival. Staff were at key locations to support customers throughout the festival, and announcements were made in and around stations,” Charter said.

There was one hiccup with signage, when some people spotted mistranslated signs for eastbound travellers that said “vers l’ouest” in French, which means “westbound.” OC Transpo said the signs were quickly replaced.

Charter said OC Transpo will continue to review operations to capture lessons learned and improve the customer experience at future major events.

More than 250,000 people attended Ottawa Bluesfest this year.