One-on-one: New transit boss Rick Leary focused on LRT, not afraid of big moves

Playing null of undefined

OC Transpo boss outlines top priorities

EXTENDED: One-on-one with OC Transpo GM Rick Leary

Ottawa’s new transit boss is settling into his role at OC Transpo.

The city announced in late March that Rick Leary, a former CEO of the Toronto Transit Commission, was hired to be the new general manager of Transit Services in Ottawa, taking on OC Transpo at a time when bus cancellations were high and LRT service was experiencing yet another issue.

In a one-on-one interview with CTV News Ottawa’s Leah Larocque, Leary said the problems Ottawa’s transit system is facing aren’t unique and can be overcome.

“I did a lot of research before coming and I’ve been reading a lot of the Ottawa papers and knowing what’s going on,” he said. “Everybody thinks it’s an Ottawa only problem or challenge. It’s not. So, you know, we can change the narrative out there. Make it more popular to take OC Transpo, be more positive about what we have. Good things are coming.”

Leary’s immediate focus is light rail. Since late January, the line has been running with single-car trains because spalling, an issue involving metal flaking off of axles, was discovered on some trains. Leary said earlier this week he aims to have full, double-car service restored by mid-June.

“We’ll have extra vehicles and buses aside but know that everybody is well focused. It’s keeping people focused on the mission at hand, getting all the double cars back in by mid-June. And it can happen,” he said.

“I have multiple things in parallel, right? But the train is the first item on the agenda to get fixed, because it’s also the one that will happen first, mid-June, if not sooner. Then at that time, we can start focusing on when we’re going to have enough trains to do trial running on the east extension.”

At Thursday’s transit committee meeting, councillors heard that timing for the east extension of Line 1 to Orléans would come sometime this summer, but there is no firm timeline as to when it will open for riders.

Leary said it’s premature to make any commitments at this time on the eastern extension but said he would have more information next month.

New to the job

Leary’s hiring was announced on March 27, and he said he’s taken time since then to get acquainted with the system and the people involved with OC Transpo.

“The passion in this organization is just amazing. The people here, how hard they want to do a good job, right? That, to me, let me know that I came to the right organization. What I want to do is kind of support them and what they’re doing and make the changes that are necessary to make this a great system,” he said.

While he stressed that it’s too soon for him to make any major commitments, he said nothing’s off the table.

“I don’t disregard anything,” he said, when asked whether he would consider ripping up tracks. “If I come to find out that that’s what will make a difference long-term, and a short investment today is better long-term for the overall system, you know, but I have to assess it. I don’t want to commit to anything.”

While he’s new to Ottawa, Leary says he’s seen a lot of challenges over his career.

“I’ve seen excessive wear before on different elements of bogies and trucks and brake lines… these vehicles, sometimes it takes a few years to get them where you’re really happy with them. Redesigns are very common in our business,” he said. “This vehicle is going to be here for at least 30 years. Every five to seven years, you have major overhaul work on your trucks or your bogies, and they’re always changing up components.”

Fixing the bus system

Leary says he plans to redo bus schedules, bringing them more in line with actual travel times and giving riders more confidence that their bus will come on time.

“Many of these schedules, and it happens to everybody, they don’t get updated as regularly as they should. ‘You can’t get there from here,’ that type of concept,” he said. “So, that’s what I’ve asked them to make those make those adjustments.”

He’s aiming to have those schedule adjustments in place by September.

“I said it, 65 to 70 per cent of the buses aren’t leaving on time. A third of the time you can’t get where you want to go based on our schedule, right? The customer already knows that; this is not new to the customer,” he said. “What’s new is, I’m trying to build that confidence that we can make a difference. When they start saying we’re 85 and 90 per cent of the time, then they start saying to themselves, let me try it again.”

A large component of improving bus service is maintenance. OC Transpo mechanics spend about half of their time on preventive maintenance and half on corrective maintenance. Leary wants to change that to an 80:20 model with preventive maintenance making up the bulk of the work. Having newer buses will help with that, as will retiring the oldest buses that need the most work every day.

“I would tell you, right now, we have a very heavy spare ratio of unnecessary buses because they can’t go into service anyway. Typically, we want 20 to 22 per cent to be a ratio of buses, so you’re always cycling buses through maintenance,” he said. “Sometimes you have too many busses and it’s very hard to stay on top of the maintenance program. And I think that’s one of the shortcomings that we’ve had… this happened to me before. I used to keep too many buses. Then you start learning as you’re in the business longer.”

OC Transpo’s finances

While Leary said he still needs time to get the full picture of OC Transpo’s financial state, he does expect the promised provincial upload of LRT to make a difference, even if there isn’t a timeline for that to happen.

“That’s a lot of money that can be reallocated that would make our customers very happy to see more service on the street, more capacity on the street… maybe try some creative routes and doing something different, better maintenance plan,” he said.

He wouldn’t rule out increasing fares, but also said he knows many people are dependent on public transit.

“Where I come from, we try to minimize those.”

Accountability

Leary said he expects transit riders will start to see improvements on their trips very soon. If not, he’s ready to hear it.

“You know, six months from now, if you don’t start seeing things change … you don’t start seeing some of the KPIs change, then you can hold me accountable,” he said. “I’ve been asked a lot, ‘Well, when is it going to get better?’ It’s a little premature. I do know a year from now, you have better than 50 per cent of your buses brand new, things run a lot better, and if we can get these maintenance programs changed over the course of next year, there’s a lot you’ll see continued progress over the next six months. There’s no doubt in my mind.”

Leary says he takes the bus to work every day.

“I take the bus and I ride it on the weekends. I enjoy it. That’s how I get to meet people, right? Take the bus to the train, the train to the bus, you know, to get to St. Laurent… I have been at Tunney’s, waiting for that bus and it doesn’t show up. You know what? I’m talking to customers out there. So, you know, I’m trying to live the experience of our customers, and what you hear is real. It’s true.”

Leary said he will be moved into his new permanent home in Ottawa on June 1. And he’s enjoying the city.

“I love Ottawa. I really do. I love the character of Ottawa. I like the history of Ottawa, right? The architecture, walking around Parliament Hill and the canal, I just I’m enjoying it.”

With files from CTV’s Leah Larocque

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