Facts

  • OC Transpo has been listening to residents and adapting to suit their needs.
  • Ridership is down and travel patterns of Ottawa residents have changed.
  • People are not going downtown as often, or they are travelling at different times.
  • Some routes have a higher volume, and some are less used.
  • Passengers have told us that they want more frequent service in certain busy areas.
  • They also want reliable service consistently.
  • We are focused on delivering a system that meets the goal of 99.5%, giving customers reliable, predictable, and stable transit.
  • Public transit is a vital service for Ottawa residents.
  • We know that passengers want more reliable and consistent service.
  • You want more frequent service in high volume areas.
  • And you don’t want to see buses that are empty or almost empty on routes that are underused.
  • We have a big change coming with the launch of Line 2 of light rail next year. That will make it a lot easier and faster for people to get to Carleton University and to get downtown from the south end of the city. And there will be an important link to the airport.

Misconceptions

OC Transpo is cutting funds to transit:

The Bus Route Review is not about cost cutting. It is about recalibrating the system to match the new reality that residents are facing. It is about allocating our resources wisely for the greatest possible impact to suit the changing demands and needs of customers. The Route Review provides a framework for Council to provide them with concrete data to help them make smart investments that sets the foundation for a network that will feed into our new light rail line and keep our city moving into the future. We know the importance of public transit and that is why it is so important that we continue to make smart investments in transit even when ridership is low, and at the same time manage our expenses very carefully to make sure we’re protecting public transit for the next generation. In fact, we will be allocating more funds to transit in 2024. Continuing to invest in transit is the responsible thing to do. Because ridership is down and travel patterns of residents is changing we are moving funding around within transit to meet this new reality. But overall funding for transit is going up not being cut.

There will be service cuts to transit:

As part of the Bus Route Review, OC Transpo hosted various open houses across the city, engaged customers, businesses, post-secondary institutions and various partners to understand their needs.  OC Transpo has reviewed the routes and has adjusted them to make sure there’s service where people need it most. Since the pandemic, the travel patterns of many Ottawa residents have changed dramatically. Employees aren’t going downtown as often. People are going to different places and travelling at different times. Some routes are busier, and some are getting used much less often. So our public transit system needs to adapt, as it always has, to changing demands.

There are going to be more delays on transit routes:

OC Transpo will recalibrate its resources and send more buses into areas with higher demand and reallocate from areas with less demand. But we also have to make sure we’re protecting public transit for the next generation. We have to deliver service where it’s needed, where there is demand, and not where there isn’t. That’s the responsible way forward. Public transit is a big part of our future. That’s why we have to keep adapting to your needs and investing wisely. It has been frustrating in the past with delays and the reliability of OC Transpo. This Bus Route Review sets  the framework needed to achieve a service delivery goal of 99.5%, giving customers reliable, predictable, and stable transit.

There will be more transfers that riders will be forced to take:

The Bus Route Review examined how OC Transpo could most effectively use its resources, connect routes with the O-Train, send more busses into areas with higher demand, and reallocate in areas with less demand. This Route Review will see adjustments to routes that better match the resources available, provide connections to the O-Train including new Lines 2 and 4, and meet the new realities that we are facing.

The system is broken and now riders will have to walk longer to get to bus stops/transit stops and wait longer for transit:

Transit patterns of customers have changed and we must continue to adjust our network to meet the new needs of our customers. This Route review will allow OC Transpo to meet its service delivery goal of providing customers more reliable, predictable, and stable transit services. There may be situations where residents may need to wait a bit longer for transit, or walk a bit further to a bus stop, but that is all part of the Route Optimization – improving reliability and better  frequency of transit to where people need it the most.