Renée Amilcar leaving OC Transpo in July: Memo

The head of Ottawa’s transit services Renee Amilcar is leaving her role next month. CTV’s Austin Lee reports.

Renée Amilcar, the City of Ottawa’s general manager of Transit Services, will be leaving her role next month, City Manager Wendy Stephanson says.

The news was announced in a memo sent to city councillors and the mayor Tuesday.

Stephanson says Amilcar will be leaving the City of Ottawa to “pursue a new career opportunity outside the organization.”

Her last day with the city will be July 18.

Amilcar came to Ottawa in October 2021, after having previously served as executive director of bus services for the Société de Transports Montréal.

Mayor Mark Sutcliffe says Amilcar came to Ottawa at a difficult time for OC Transpo.

“If you think back to 2022, when this term of council began, we were facing a lot of challenges, a lot of big obstacles with OC Transpo, and Renée did a ton of work to improve the reliability of the service, to get Line 1 back on track, to launch the new service, Line 2 and 4, to advance the other phases of Stage 2 and to increase the reliability of our bus service,” he said. “We’re grateful to Renée for everything she’s done, and I want to wish her the very best of luck in the future.”

Amilcar became the head of OC Transpo as the transit system in Ottawa was dealing with low ridership and a litany of issues on the newly launched light rail line. In her nearly four years with the city, she has overseen the construction of the expansion of Line 1 of LRT, the delayed launch of Lines 2 and 4 of LRT, and the New Ways to Bus overhaul of the OC Transpo bus network.

OC Transpo is facing significant funding issues, with lower ridership and higher costs contributing to projected shortfalls of between $120 million and $150 million over the next several years. The City has been seeking financial support from the federal and provincial governments to fill the gap. The 2025 budget included a $36 million line item for funding from upper levels of government that has yet to be confirmed.

In the meantime, fares have increased, train frequency on Line 1 has been reduced, and the New Ways to Bus reorganization has resulted in 74,000 fewer hours of bus service each year.

In 2023, Amilcar announced OC Transpo and Rideau Transit Group (RTG) were working with Alstom to redesign the axles and wheel hub assemblies on every vehicle on Line 1, something Amilcar called “a permanent fix” that would address issues that had been affecting the line for years, including a derailment of an LRT vehicle at Tunney’s Pasture Station in August 2021 and a 28-day shutdown in July and August 2023 after a routine inspection discovered excess grease on an axle hub assembly.

Work on the redesign was briefly paused in 2024 as Alstom and RTG traded opinions on the source of the issues affecting the line, but councillors were told last September that the work had resumed.

Charter to take over operations

Stephanson says Troy Charter, director of Transit Service and Rail Operations, will serve as interim general manager of Transit Services while the city looks for a replacement for Amilcar.

“I recognize that ensuring strong, stable leadership during this time is of paramount importance—particularly as we continue to deliver safe, reliable transit service to residents while advancing major city-wide transformational projects,” Stephanson wrote. “An executive recruitment process for a permanent GM of Transit Services will be launched, and an update will be provided to council.”

Councillors react

Stittsville Coun. Glen Gower, chair of the city’s transit committee, told Newstalk 580 CFRA in a statement that Amilcar led OC Transpo through a period of unprecedented change.

“Under her leadership we’ve seen stabilization of LRT line 1 and the successful launch of Line 2 & 4. She’s led the transition from diesel to electric buses, implemented a data-driven approach to management, and changed the culture at OC Transpo to improve transparency and accountability to council and residents. All while managing significant funding challenges since the pandemic,” Gower wrote. “She’s earned the trust of council and her leadership at OC Transpo will have a positive impact on our city for many years to come. I will miss working with her, very big shoes to fill.”

Beacon Hill-Cyrville Coun. Tim Tierney, chair of the city’s transportation committee, told Newstalk 580 CFRA’s Ottawa Now with guest host Chris Holski that he’s been critical of Amilcar in the past, but credited her for the rollout of Lines 2 and 4 and for improving transparency at OC Transpo.

“A lot of the things that she was asked to do by council, she achieved, and now we have an opportunity for new leadership and it’s going to have a whole series of criteria that we’ve only really identified in the last few years, based on what’s happened,” he said.

“Who is going to be the visionary that’s going to help us redirect now that we’ve gone through the housekeeping duties of things? How are we going to get this train working more effectively? That’s what I want to see.”

Sutcliffe says Amilcar has built a strong team in her time at OC Transpo and is confident in them.

“The work will continue. She’s laid the groundwork for everything we need to do to finish the eastern extension of Stage 2 and then continue working on the western extension of Stage 2. There’s very strong people in place and I have confidence that the work will continue to get done as we look for the new permanent general manager of OC Transpo,” he said.