OC Transpo

[rocketphish]

The first of OC Transpo’s new Para Transpo minibuses is rolling out

By Ted Raymond, CTV News
Updated: June 09, 2025 at 5:56PM EDT | Published: June 09, 2025 at 2:49PM EDT



OC Transpo says the first of its new Para Transpo minibuses is now on the road.

The new seven-metre minibus first arrived in February but has been undergoing inspections, testing, and driver training.

In a post on social media, OC Transpo announced Monday the new minibus has hit the streets.

“Our first 7-metre Para Transpo bus is now on the road — and it might be picking you up soon,” OC Transpo said. “This is just the beginning, as more are on the way.”

OC Transpo has ordered 76 new seven-metre buses to update the Para Transpo fleet, and six new six-metre buses.

According to OC Transpo, the new seven-metre buses come with up to 10 seats, up to three wheelchair spots, O-payment readers and air conditioning. The seats come with seatbelts and stability belts, the back and side door ramps are slip-resistant, and there are onboard security cameras on each bus.

The back ramp can support mobility devices up to 86 centimetres (34 inches) wide and up to 454 kilograms (1,000 pounds). The back ramp can support the same width and devices up to 363 kg (800 lbs.), OC Transpo says.

“The new seven-metre minibuses are very comparable to the existing minibus fleet and have the same safety features. They also have onboard cameras that our current fleet does not have,” an OC Transpo spokesperson said in an email to CTV News Ottawa.

The new seven-metre buses are slightly smaller than the current buses Para Transpo is using. They are eight metres long and can seat up to 14 riders, but have the same capacity for wheelchairs.

Last December, OC Transpo said Para Transpo minibuses were experiencing increased mechanical issues due to the age of majority of the fleet.

“These older vehicles require additional repairs that are often more complex and take longer to complete,” a memo said.

As of last December, Para Transpo had a fleet of 80 minibuses, which were 10 years old.

In addition to the seven-metre buses, OC Transpo says five of the six new six-metre buses are already in operation.

“The new six-metre minibuses are smaller in size but offer increased flexibility for maneuvering in urban areas. They have the same safety features as our current fleet and will also have onboard cameras.”

Replacement of the fleet was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, staff said, but is now underway, with the first new buses arriving this year.

https://www.ctvnews.ca/ottawa/article/th...w-para-transpo-minibuses-is-rolling-out/

[rocketphish]

What new OC Transpo funding means for special constables
OC Transpo's special constables are counting on recent provincial funding to bolster their frontline numbers.

By Aedan Helmer, Ottawa Citizen
Published Jun 11, 2025 | Last updated 1 hour ago

OC Transpo’s special constables are counting on recent provincial funding to bolster their frontline numbers, increase officer visibility at transit stations and allow for “more proactive, less reactive” enforcement.

“The province recognized there could be improvements in public safety on transit and specifically in the downtown core,” said OC Transpo chief special constable Peter Scislowski.

The so-called “New Deal for Ottawa” announced by the province last year includes $48 million in funding over three years to improve safety and security on transit and in the city’s downtown core.

That parcel of funding, announced in November 2024, followed the approval of the city’s public safety plan and will increase the number of uniformed OC Transpo special constables on the transit system, along with funds for outreach and alternative mental health supports and the police neighbourhood operations centre near the ByWard Market.

OC Transpo currently has 56 frontline special constables and will be using the provincial funding to hire eight more officers in August and September.

<more>

https://ottawacitizen.com/news/oc-transpo-special-constables-funding

[Richard Eade]

I decided to take the bus down to a VNL game at TD Place on Sunday. I thought that it would give me another opportunity to see how well the # 68 -> # 88 transfer worked.

The TRANSIT app didn’t seem to know about the # 68. It kept telling me to walk to the Q-C Hospital to get the # 88. Oddly, the # 68 came along right when the 560560 service said that it would. I rode it to Baseline Station. While I was on the # 68, TRANSIT was telling me that the # 88 was 1 minute away at the Q-C Hospital – and by the time I alighted at Baseline, it was showing as 3 minutes away.

The first thing I did at Baseline was to check the display screen in the shelter. The # 88 that I expected to transfer to in 3 minutes was listed – but the time was showing on the screen with a ‘strike-through’. I assume that that meant it had been canceled. Bummer. Instead of 3 minutes, the next bus was showing as 28 minutes away. Adding 25 minutes (an odd number, since the buses run on a 30-minute schedule) took the estimated 1h36 minute ride to just over 2 hours. Just to go from Bells Corners to TD Place – 3 buses and 2 hours.

The transfer to the # 6 at Billings Bridge wasn’t too long a wait. However, when the bus arrived, it was flagged as “Not in Service”. The operator spent the trip yelling out the door that it was the “6 Rockcliffe”. I do not know what the problem was, but it must have been annoying for her. And there was no NSA display or announcements.

It was not a stellar endorsement for OC Transpo. However, it was a great opportunity to meet other riders. There were a number of people willing to rant about how the bus had become totally unreliable, as we sat waiting at Baseline Station.

[Richard Eade]

I was out on OC Transpo, again, today.

The # 57 came right on time this morning to whisk me towards downtown. Things were going great – until we got onto the KZM and effectively stopped just west of Woodroffe. From there, we crawled along through the lane merges until the bus could finally break free at Dominion. Because of the congestion on the parkway, I arrived at my destination 15 minutes after the TRANSIT app’s estimated Arrival Time. Good thing I took the earlier bus, and gave myself that half-hour buffer.

Returning home in the afternoon, the # 88 left Billings Bridge on time, but it arrived at Baseline a bit late. I checked the display screen for the # 68, to go further west. The GPS-verified times showed that the next buses were in 15* and 30* minutes. ‘Woe is me’, I thought, the tardy # 88 must have missed the # 68. But, ‘Lo and Behold’, the # 68 came along after a minute or two. A pleasant surprise, but it made me think: Does the # 68 ALWAYS wait for the west-bound # 88 before it leaved Baseline?

As a transferring passenger, I can see great benefit if that is the case. Also, if the east-bound # 88 didn’t leave Baseline until the # 68 arrived, that would mean an almost seamless transfer in each direction. The perfect transfer for riders – assuming that a transfer is, in fact, needed.

That assumption is based on the fact that OC Transpo ‘broke’ the old # 88 route into two parts; the # 88 and the # 68. If the transfer between those two routes is fast and simple, then the break is not much of an impediment. As the lady I talked to today said: “It means that I need to take three buses to get to work and home. If the transfer works, it’s no problem. If it doesn’t, it sucks.”

But what about OC Transpo’s logistics? They said that they needed to ‘break’ the long old # 88 route to help reliability. By decoupling the two halves, a delay on one part would not affect the other. BUT, if a bus waits for its delayed counterpart before it leaves, then that will recouple the two halves. Thus, delays in one part WILL affect the other part; meaning that adding the transfer only adds a disruption for no real benefit.

[lrt's friend]

Reliability wouldn't be such a problem if they had built the Baseline BRT in 2020 as originally planned. The New Ways to Bus was implemented as if LRT Phase 2 had already opened. The convoluted Route 24 is designed around Montreal Road station which is not yet open. We have put the cart before the horse which is frustrating customers with awkward and unnecessary transfers. Any special arrangements like described for the 68/88 will not be maintained in the long term. I don't know how people will tolerate 2 hour trips. This is good for car dealers but will make poor people poorer

[Richard Eade]

Agreed. 2-hour trips are a BIG problem. I was lucky, last Sunday, that I was traveling on a ‘Sport Ticket’ to TD Place, and didn’t have to use a fare card. As it turned out, the trip to Billings Bridge took so long that I boarded the # 6 more than 105 minutes after my trip started. Now that we have been trained to simply ‘Tap In’ on transfers, do people even notice when an extra fare is paid because of the extra time caused by a canceled bus along their journey? In the olden days, the bus operator would look at the paper transfer and make a judgement call. Now the time limit is the time limit.

[rocketphish]

Ottawa buys 15-year-old buses to help alleviate pressures on aging fleet

By Josh Pringle, CTV News
Published: June 12, 2025 at 11:26AM EDT



OC Transpo has purchased 11 used buses to help alleviate pressures on the City of Ottawa’s aging bus fleet, but delays with electrical infrastructure work could slow down the rollout of zero-emission buses later this year and in early 2026.

The City of Ottawa currently has an aging bus fleet, with an average age of the conventional buses at 15 years old, and is facing delays with the arrival of new electric buses. The city’s 338 articulated buses have an average age of 14.7, while the 40-foot diesel buses have an average age of 19.

OC Transpo says 0.4 per cent of planned trips were cancelled in May due to mechanical breakdown and 0.2 per cent of trips were cancelled due to no buses available.

Councillors on the Transit Committee were told Thursday that OC Transpo has located and purchased 11 used buses that were initially introduced into service in 2009-10.

“The buses are very similar to our existing 40-foot Nova buses and will be a great addition to our fleet,” staff said.

“They are in good condition; however, it will take some time before they can enter service. Buses will require mechanical inspections, minor repairs, installations of OC Transpo decals and IT fit up and more.”

Staff would not say how much the used buses cost to purchase. The buses were purchased from the Waterloo region.

OC Transpo currently has 249 Nova buses, with an average age of 5.3 years old.

Staff say OC Transpo has purchased 50 new diesel buses that will arrive in 2026 and 2027.

A backlog in maintenance and aging buses have put pressure on the fleet. The requirement for buses drops from 540 to 459 buses in the summer, but staff said O-Train maintenance closures and special events will put pressure on the fleet.

However, staff warn the delay in electrical infrastructure work at OC Transpo maintenance facilities “may have a significant impact to the zero-emission bus program as we onboard additional buses this year.”

OC Transpo continues to accept new zero-emission buses, with 350 buses expected to arrive by the spring of 2027.

Staff say there is a delay in the delivery of the “Trans-Rupters” needed for the on-site substation. The Trans-Rupter is a critical component required to connect the hydro supply to the upcoming onsite substation.

The delay with the delivery time of the substation’s Trans-Rupter could delay the commissioning of the substation from November 2025 to April 2026.

The issues mean the upcoming delivery of 80 e-buses will be required to charge from the 30 chargers currently in service.

https://www.ctvnews.ca/ottawa/article/ot...help-alleviate-pressures-on-aging-fleet/

[Kitchissippi]

With Pimisi station open for Canada Day, circulation in LeBreton is SO much better. Whoever ordered it shut in previous years should have their noses rubbed into this fact. No transit/ crowd disaster. In fact people are using it as an efficient shuttle between LeBreton and the Market and it’s working perfectly.

[YOWetal]

Originally Posted by Kitchissippi

With Pimisi station open for Canada Day, circulation in LeBreton is SO much better. Whoever ordered it shut in previous years should have their noses rubbed into this fact. No transit/ crowd disaster. In fact people are using it as an efficient shuttle between LeBreton and the Market and it’s working perfectly.

Well certainly being closed all day made no sense. We will see what happens at 9pm if it backs up into the station.

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by Kitchissippi

With Pimisi station open for Canada Day, circulation in LeBreton is SO much better. Whoever ordered it shut in previous years should have their noses rubbed into this fact. No transit/ crowd disaster. In fact people are using it as an efficient shuttle between LeBreton and the Market and it’s working perfectly.

Great to hear! Would would have thought! Not like we didn't test this twice (well really, about a dozen times) with Bluesfest before then.

Would love to hear the ridership numbers for individual days in July, system and per station. Must have been really cool to have Bayview fully open with both lines. Apparently they used the second Line 2 platform as well.

[Uhuniau]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

Would love to hear the ridership numbers for individual days in July, system and per station. Must have been really cool to have Bayview fully open with both lines. Apparently they used the second Line 2 platform as well.

I don't understand OC Transpo's aversion to publishing data.

[zzptichka]

How did post-fireworks Pimisi work? Anybody tried it?

[rocketphish]

Along with a new GM, OC Transpo needs more democracy
The pending departure of Renée Amilcar presents a fresh opportunity to restructure the transit agency's governance and really listen to its users.

By Nick Grover
Published Jun 25, 2025 | Last updated Jun 25, 2025

Renée Amilcar will step down as OC Transpo general manager on July 18. I can’t say I blame her: being the face of a crumbling public transit system with no means to fix it is a deeply unenviable job.

Of course, she is fully responsible for certain decisions, such as the specific route changes we’ve all been enjoying under the “New Ways to Bus” era of longer commutes and more transfers. But those are, to be maximally charitable, the result of having a very limited toolbox with which to address Ottawa’s longstanding, structural transit issues.

Ultimately, the general manager operates within parameters set by the mayor and city council, who for the last several years have approved sub-inflationary tax increases, have underfunded bus service, and have upheld car-centric city planning. As a result, OC Transpo has neither enough buses to run frequent service nor any dedicated lanes to keep its busiest routes out of traffic; these bedrock issues are political choices. We can’t expect a new general manager to do any better with the same limited resources, provided by the same mayor and council.

Making Ottawa an affordable place to live, with far less traffic and air pollution, requires good public transit. Years of fare hikes and austerity budgets have made this impossible. Transit is far too important to get wrong; if the politicians can’t figure it out, they should hand the reins to those who live it every day.

Selecting a new general manager is an opportunity to democratize OC Transpo. Rather than being hand-picked by the city manager, a hiring committee composed of those most impacted by transit service should make the selection. Representatives from groups with democratic membership structures, such as the bus drivers’ union, student unions and rider advocacy groups would fit the bill. A general manager serving at the grace of these interests would be much more broadly accountable to the public.

This same committee could become a permanent feature of the OC Transpo governance structure, placing those who use and operate transit at the decision-making table. Route planning can and should involve direct input from riders, who know best what makes the system work or not. The annual transit budget should be drafted by this committee, before the budget directions are set, to reflect what matters to the people of Ottawa, not just to politicians and city staff. This is more likely to result in sorely needed investments: frequent service, transit priority infrastructure, better maintenance, affordable fares and an adequate fleet of Para Transpo vehicles.

A messy back-and-forth with the transit committee is an inevitable outcome of this participatory budgeting, but that’s not a bad thing. That’s what a truly democratic process looks like.

By contrast, let’s review how things work now: transit riders present themselves like beggars at committee meetings, trying to convince our elected representatives to care when they’ve repeatedly shown they don’t; we play our part in the theatre of municipal public consultation, wasting time and energy while our transit system rots beneath us.

There’s an old saying that feels more and more like the path we’re going down: “First they cut it, then they criticize it, then they privatize it.” We hear over and over how Ottawa is struggling to fund transit while road-widening projects, Lansdowne and the police budget never want for cash. City Hall has been running bus service into the ground for 15 years; I don’t fault anyone for being so fed up with lousy service they’d welcome a private operator. But it’s not the way forward. Simply put, if we want reliable, affordable and accessible service for all, those priorities — not cost savings or profitability — must be the central focus of the new general manager. To get there, the public must have a say in public transit.

Nick Grover is an executive member of Free Transit Ottawa, a grassroots community group advocating for affordable, reliable and accessible transit in Ottawa.

https://ottawacitizen.com/opinion/oc-transpo-democracy

[DarthVader_1961]

So people with in OC Transpo area may not have parking starting in the fall…

https://carleton.ca/parking/student-parking-permits/

One way to get asses in seats I guess

[lrt's friend]

I have already heard complaints about this where commute times are too long to make transit a useful possibility.

[ponyboycurtis]

I don't use OC as much as I used too. My leg is mangled. Ya'll may have noticed I don't post that many photos anymore because endless walks aren't something I can do these days.

My experience with OC today.

Decent amount of water inside the fare gates at South Keys station. Couple small puddles around the fare gates of Gladstone. Water dripping from the ceiling at Lyon station inside the double elevator kiosk on the south side of Queen. 90 was a no show at Hurdman around 6:30pm. Took the 98 to Greenboro to see if I could maybe take the 90 or 92 back the other way and the platform screen was broken so I just got back on the bus and hobbled home from South Keys.

I guess the 92 only runs at peak hours now too?

I guess I didn't miss much since the early spring.

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by DarthVader_1961

So people with in OC Transpo area may not have parking starting in the fall…

https://carleton.ca/parking/student-parking-permits/

One way to get asses in seats I guess

Rural Transit Area A has some pretty crappy bus service. You can't rely on transit to go to University if the bus only passes at rush hour.

I guess those students can head to a park and ride.

[lrt's friend]

I happened to speak to an OC employee by chance at a public event. He did not have much positive to say about the current situation. He said that Ottawa was the envy of North America during the Transit way days and that rail has been a big downgrade because of the additional transfers and overall slower service. He said he could speak for hours about the degradation of the service. Of course, much of this is because of city council budget decisions but also not making sure the end result of rail did not at least maintain service and speed. Ottawa is definitely no longer a leader in transit. How sad!

[NOWINYOW]

Originally Posted by lrt's friend

I happened to speak to an OC employee by chance at a public event. He did not have much positive to say about the current situation. He said that Ottawa was the envy of North America during the Transit way days and that rail has been a big downgrade because of the additional transfers and overall slower service. He said he could speak for hours about the degradation of the service. Of course, much of this is because of city council budget decisions but also not making sure the end result of rail did not at least maintain service and speed. Ottawa is definitely no longer a leader in transit. How sad!

Decades ago, Andrew Haydon argued to keep the BRT and build a tunnel from LeBreton to U of O to get buses off Slater. The realists lost the debate and here we are today. Large debt, low ridership, bad attitudes and lots and lots of finger pointing. Enjoy!

[YOWetal]

Originally Posted by NOWINYOW

Decades ago, Andrew Haydon argued to keep the BRT and build a tunnel from LeBreton to U of O to get buses off Slater. The realists lost the debate and here we are today. Large debt, low ridership, bad attitudes and lots and lots of finger pointing. Enjoy!

I think we need to stop re-litigating the past. With advances in battery tech (supposedly) it is really unfortunate we could have had a great hybrid system with tunnel in dense area leading to grade separated transitways and last mile busses. With many getting a nearly rapid transit trip in one seat.

That's gone. We can now spend enough to build a great rail system. It seems possible buckets of federal cash are incoming. Or we can give up and try and focus on the biggest priorities for transit and leave the rest of us out in the cold. But pay less taxes.