Ottawa bus route shakeup leaves parents concerned about impact on students

More than 120 bus routes will be impacted by OC Transpo bus route changes coming into effect later this month, impacting students. CTV’s Katelyn Wilson reports.

Joshua Lovell relies on public transit to get around, but with major changes coming to Ottawa’s bus routes, it’s his daughter’s new commute to school that’s causing him the most worry.

“I have nerve damage to my right leg and I walk with a cane,” Lovell said. “Because of that, I can’t safely drive, so I can’t go get her from school.”

The Lovell family lives in South Keys and his 12-year-old daughter currently takes a student-only city bus to St. Francis Xavier High School.

The 35-minute ride has been a reliable part of their routine, but at the end of the month, that’s set to change.

The Grade 7 student will need to take a regular OC Transpo bus to the LRT, transfer to another bus, and continue her journey — a new route that will stretch her commute to an hour.

“She freaked out. She was crying. She didn’t want to go to school,” Lovell said. “We don’t know what’s going to happen anymore because the biggest thing was there was security knowing she was on a bus that was only for students.”

On April 27, transit riders in Ottawa will see a complete overhaul of the public transit system.

OC Transpo has released its full plan for “A New Way to Bus” network, which it says will focus on frequency, local service and connections to key neighbourhoods.

There will be changes to 123 bus routes in the city. A total of twenty-six routes are not changing.

“We’re adding routes and modifying schedules to make the service more community-focused,” said Beacon Hill-Cyrville Coun. Tim Tierney.

“While these changes are aimed at improving reliability, we understand that they may pose challenges for some families and need to be closely monitored.”

The Ottawa Catholic School Board tells CTV News it also shares concerns about the long and complicated route, particularly for younger students.

The Ottawa Student Transportation Authority (OSTA), which operates school buses for students in the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board and the Ottawa Catholic School Board, says about 20,000 students in the city in grades 7 to 12 rely on public transportation to get to and/or from school.

OSTA tells CTV News it has met with members of OC Transpo to discuss their concerns, including at specific sites like St. Francis Xavier High School.

“OC Transpo has committed to re-examining the impact of New Ways to Bus at this location,” OSTA said in an email.

“OSTA remains committed to supporting students and schools through this transition; however, OSTA does not have decision making authority related to the changes associated with New Ways to Bus.”

In a statement, the City of Ottawa’s director of transit, customer service and planning, Pat Scrimgeour says, “We recognize that though these customers will be benefiting from the improved capacity, reliability, and comfort of the O-Train, it will also result in additional transfers and longer travel times for some customers.”

“We are working to determine if there are any further improvements that we can make to the connecting bus routes to address feedback that we have received from the school community and administration.”

For now, parents like Lovell are left grappling with the change.

“At least OC Transpo should have given us to the end of the school year, another two months wouldn’t have broken their bank,” he said.