OC Transpo

[OCCheetos]

Originally Posted by acottawa

The LRT was never designed to be fast or competitive with cars. Outside of downtown it is slower than the BRT system it replaces. It was designed to relieve pressure on the central portion of the Transitway. It was subjected to function creep by politicians, but if the objective is to get people out or cars it is not fit for purpose, both in terms of technology and route design.

It's certainly perceived as being slower, but I think it's interesting to actually put it into perspective.

- At it's designed opening day speeds, the line could traverse Blair to Tunney's in 23 or 24 minutes.
- Compare that to the scheduled runtime of the Route 95 in 2008 at 6AM on a weekday: 24 minutes.

By design, it was as fast as the bus it replaced (across that distance) in zero traffic conditions, but being fully grade separated means that it would always be that fast regardless of traffic.

Now obviously since 2019 the line has gotten slower due to the speed restrictions around curves. It is now scheduled to take 28 minutes to traverse the line! A whole 4-5 minutes slower. (and there are plenty of videos on youtube to confirm that travel time)



You do specify "outside of downtown", so let's also examine that.

- Today, Hurdman to Blair is scheduled to take 10 minutes.
- In 2019, Hurdman to Blair was scheduled to take 8 minutes.
- In 2008, the 95 was scheduled to take only 7 minutes to cross that section.

At best, 1 minute. At worst, 3 minutes slower.


The speed restrictions are indisputably hampering the speed of the line, but all things said we're looking at a difference of 5 minutes between the crippled LRT line that we all know and love, compared to the fastest bus that it replaced. If and when those restrictions are lifted, that puts it right back in line with how fast it was before. I think it only stands to become more time competitive (across the line) as the extensions open up. Fewer diversions and traffic lights to contend with on relatively straight alignments.

With all of this in mind, I think it's not that hard to see why it may not have made sense to shell out tons of money to try and straighten out the alignment. It was as fast as the bus it replaced, and the cost of reworking utilities and land acquisitions to shave mere minutes off of the travel times were probably very difficult to justify.

[Truenorth00]

Anybody who says it's slower than the bus, probably didn't take the bus that often or at least never took it during rush hour though the downtown core. The LRT is not noticeably slower vs the bus. What slows the trip is the added transfer for a lot of people (as Express buses. And unfortunately, the LRT never saved enough time to justify the transfer. Add in the underinvestment on buses, and of course the perception of the LRT being slow gets amplified.

[acottawa]

Originally Posted by Truenorth00

Anybody who says it's slower than the bus, probably didn't take the bus that often or at least never took it during rush hour though the downtown core. The LRT is not noticeably slower vs the bus. What slows the trip is the added transfer for a lot of people (as Express buses. And unfortunately, the LRT never saved enough time to justify the transfer. Add in the underinvestment on buses, and of course the perception of the LRT being slow gets amplified.

Don’t get me wrong, the bus was problematic, particularly waiting downtown without shelter for your particular bus, but they built a system that is 5-10 minutes slower that the bus without counting additional transfers and probably double the time of driving in most circumstances. The suggestion earlier in the thread (which I was responding to) that the LRT would get fewer people to drive is far-fetched. If making transit competitive with driving was the goal they should have build a much different system, which probably wasn’t possible with the politics of the time.

[ponyboycurtis]

The comfort level of the LRT is impossible to match by any rose coloured glasses interpretation of the 95. Even if I do hate those stupid sardine can trains with crap signage and wayfinding.

Nobody really wants to be standing room only swaying back and forth on bad shocks listening to a 2 stroke detroit diesel.

OC Transpo is just dumber than a bag of rocks. Overhead screens weren't working again at SK today. God awful comms.

And then you take an electric bus home that has proper interior screens that our LRT trains lack.

I'd piss on Jimmys grave.

[Truenorth00]

Originally Posted by acottawa

Don’t get me wrong, the bus was problematic, particularly waiting downtown without shelter for your particular bus, but they built a system that is 5-10 minutes slower that the bus without counting additional transfers and probably double the time of driving in most circumstances. The suggestion earlier in the thread (which I was responding to) that the LRT would get fewer people to drive is far-fetched. If making transit competitive with driving was the goal they should have build a much different system, which probably wasn’t possible with the politics of the time.

There biggest thing they could have done? Used a proper Medium Metro (like the SkyTrain). We probably would have had far fewer problems. And it would have been robust enough to overcome many of the geometry issues. Unfortunately, for whatever reason, everybody was just fixated with LRT at the time, coming off the previous LRT plan. They didn't want to imagine a metro in Ottawa.

That said. Like OCCheetos pointed out, it was mostly designed to be on par with the bus. It wasn't meant to actually be slower. It's the technical issues that slowed it down. I will agree with you that the goal was never to get people out of their cars. At the time, the goal was clearly to solve capacity issues in the downtown core with transit. Let's hope they can at least get back to par eventually. I do think Stage 2 will genuinely be a major improvement in travel time that will reduce some of the negative perception.

[Dengler Avenue]

Let's hope they can at least get back to par eventually. I do think Stage 2 will genuinely be a major improvement in travel time that will reduce some of the negative perception.

^ as long as it doesn’t get flooded by another round of downpour

[Uhuniau]

Originally Posted by acottawa

the insistence on keeping all the Transitway stops

They discarded a whole bunch, though?

[Uhuniau]

Originally Posted by ponyboycurtis

Overhead screens weren't working again at SK today.

Was it in March, or in May, that Troy Charter (? I think?) assured transit commission that everything was fine in transit data land?

[ponyboycurtis]

Originally Posted by Uhuniau

Was it in March, or in May, that Troy Charter (? I think?) assured transit commission that everything was fine in transit data land?

I dunno but I don't take Line 2 that often but its far from the first time even this late/spring summer the platform screens were out of order. I didn't notice if the mezzanine screens were in order the other day but I have seen it down before.

I will once again mention that the display panel outside of the station on the Airport Parkway side will forever say.. every 12 minutes.

So, no Mr. Charter. Everything is not fine in data transit land.

I find the every 12 minutes more baffling than anything else. That's just laziness. If the train is about to depart in 1 minute as I am walking up from the pedestrian bridge I would like to know.

As a side note.. the other day as I boarded the NB train.. the SB train pulled in and the NB train probably waited for a solid 2 minutes. Yesterday as I was walking up the NB and SB trains met each other as they often do for track timing.. but this time the NB train left immediately as it was clear.

Not sure what would cause that discrepancy. Trying to sync timing to meet at Carlton perhaps? Also.. why does it feel like the sidetrack just north of Walkley only seems to be used intermittently. For such a relative short run of track it feels like their timing is still a bit messy.

About 2 weeks ago.. on back to back nights.. the only 2 nights I used the SB train at Bayview, the train was parked on the far side of the tracks forcing everyone to walk around. I saw this and ran like the dickens from Albert st to only miss the train by maybe a few seconds. Oh.. and in my frantic dash my phone fell out of my pocket which I didn't realize until later as I exited the station.

My phone was able to ping Bayview for the next 2 days until the battery died. It's been 2 weeks and lost and found has nothing for me. I want to say its sitting there in the crew office but who knows. Anyhow.. thats a me problem.

I know this isn't a Line 2 thread but I am mostly commenting on OC Transpos operations and their peculiarities. What else is new.

BTW.. I initially made a typo and called them OG Transpo. If they ever want to rebrand they should go with that. Enough of us will remember.

Also.. as I was sitting at Greenboro yesterday and "rush hour" albeit trying to head north I was lamenting the fact that only the 98 and 105 provide normal service up to Hurdman. Noticing the higher numbers seemingly devoted for schools on the sign... back in the 90s .... did we have dedicated busses for schools? I feel like that definitely wasn't a thing.. we were just issued passes and took the bus like everyone else? Then again I went to Alt schools.

[Uhuniau]

Originally Posted by ponyboycurtis

The comfort level of the LRT is impossible to match by any rose coloured glasses interpretation of the 95. Even if I do hate those stupid sardine can trains with crap signage and wayfinding.

I am wondering if there isn't a measurable impact on blood pressure, riding a rickety bus on crap asphalt, vs. the train.

There are some spots on key bus routes that are just so badly rutted and potholed, but at least municipal taxes have failed to keep pace with inflation, huh?

[ponyboycurtis]

Originally Posted by Uhuniau

I am wondering if there isn't a measurable impact on blood pressure, riding a rickety bus on crap asphalt, vs. the train.

There are some spots on key bus routes that are just so badly rutted and potholed, but at least municipal taxes have failed to keep pace with inflation, huh?

The double decker I was on yesterday felt like it had no bump stops. Pulling into Billings and going over the expansion joints felt concerning... not for me.. but that poor bus.

If anyone remembers the 90 going through the parking lot of the Post Office and those speed bumps.. boy oh boy.. rough. The driver was also trying to goose it. It's been repaved now as I went through yesterday and felt better.

[yvesdarly]

Originally Posted by acottawa

The LRT was never designed to be fast or competitive with cars. Outside of downtown it is slower than the BRT system it replaces. It was designed to relieve pressure on the central portion of the Transitway. It was subjected to function creep by politicians, but if the objective is to get people out or cars it is not fit for purpose, both in terms of technology and route design.

For sure! Not really a commercial speed issue.
It was a bus bunching issue especially on that 2 km stretch between Lebreton and Laurier. It also came with punctuality issues for the buses stuck there, notably the express ones.
Replacing the main trunk with multiple-car trains was the right move. Better passenger capacity to accomodate the demand. And lower operating cost overall.

I was simply mentionning that bringing rapid transit to the suburbs helps reduce customers trip chain travel times, especially if someone is at a 10 min walk from a rapid transit station.

[rocketphish]

OC Transpo announces sweeping changes to fall schedule
More train trips, new express routes start week of Aug. 30

CBC News
Posted: Aug 14, 2026 1:55 PM EDT | Last Updated: 3 hours ago



More details are now available on sweeping changes coming to Ottawa's public transit network at the end of August.

OC Transpo regularly makes seasonal changes to routes and schedules, but those beginning Sunday, Aug. 30, are part of a broader $29-million plan for the return of more federal workers to their downtown offices.

According to a report to city council, OC Transpo is anticipating an increase of 65,000 trips per week in and out of Ottawa's core. Transit is "the backbone of the city's response" because the road network "has limited ability to absorb significant increases in private vehicle travel," the report says.

The broad strokes of the transit plan came out and were approved last month. They include:

• More frequent O-Train service, specifically more trains on Line 1 on weekdays between the start of the morning peak and early evening, and a slightly earlier start on Line 2.
• Improvements to para transport systems.
• New express bus routes.
• Improved connections from park-and-ride locations and major job hubs.

On Friday, the city's transit services general manager Rick Leary issued a broader overview.

Here are some of the highlights. Specific stops and schedules are available on the OC Transpo website, and Leary said staff will be at key locations starting Monday, Aug. 31, to help.

Express 500-series routes

Leary said seven Express routes, identified by a route number in the 500s and an orange route icon on maps, will connect transit stations and key employment areas faster than before:

Blair station is getting Route 526 to and from Chapel Hill station on Brian Coburn Boulevard and Route 538 between it and Millennium, Trim, and Place d’Orléans stations.

Tunney's Pasture station is getting routes 561 and 562 connecting it to Terry Fox and Eagleson stations. The difference comes in where these buses go in the afternoon on the way back west. It's also getting route 563 to Eagleson and Innovation station.

All three buses will start at Gatineau's Terrasses de la Chaudière in the afternoon.

The 565 buses will go from Innovation, Terry Fox and Eagleson to the Department of National Defence's Moodie Drive headquarters. The 566 will do the same from Tunney's Pasture.

Some of these routes have one trip in the morning and one in the afternoon, while others have more.

Connections to Gatineau

The memo says besides those three 500-series routes mentioned above, routes 74 and 75 are being extended to Gatineau.

The 74 goes to and from Limebank station and the 75 goes to and from Barrhaven's Minto Recreation Centre.

The Gatineau end of the route is at Terrasses de la Chaudière.

Weekday service changes

There will be more weekday trips on routes 5, 63, 98, 226 and 256, Leary said.

Twenty-two routes will have what Leary called "more accurate and reliable schedules": the 5, 6, 7, 9, 14, 18, 19, 20, 25, 41, 42, 48, 51, 61, 63, 73, 75, 85, 88, 117, 163 and 173.

Details of the changes vary by route. For example, the 5 is getting more runs overall and the 98 will have more peak period trips.

There are also adjustments Leary said are more of the usual seasonal tweak, including taking away what was seen as a seldom-used stop by route 11 at Bayview station and taking route 48 off Bank Street.

The O-Train's east extension will not be ready for Aug. 30.

Other aspects of what's officially called the Transportation and Mobility Strategy and Action Plan include traffic cameras and enforcement, tweaking construction, improving cycling and walking infrastructure, and parking changes — with a proposal to add lots at city facilities and places of worship going to planning committee on Aug. 19.


With files from Cassandra Bellefeuille and Arthur White-Crummey

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/oc-transpo-ottawa-bus-train-changes-9.7307392

[lrt's friend]

Sweeping changes. Sure. Nothing like the No Way to Bus plan from 2025.

[Uhuniau]

Originally Posted by rocketphish

Twenty-two routes will have what Leary called "more accurate and reliable schedules": the 5, 6, 7, 9, 14, 18, 19, 20, 25, 41, 42, 48, 51, 61, 63, 73, 75, 85, 88, 117, 163 and 173.

This is an admission of failure, actually. The schedules are being made "more accurate" because the city has given up on doing anything that costs anything to give buses a fighting chance, especially in the long-suffering Inner Urban Transect.

But at least in addition to slow and unreliable buses, the composition of the new fleet also means that us downtown types will also get to enjoy more crowded buses, too! Which is good, because that means the handful of downtown routes that notionally turn a buck at the farebox will be better placed to subsidize suburban commuters! Win-win!

Also, routes 11 and 12 were supposedly given their "more accurate and reliable schedule" in the spring change. How's that worked out in the real world? Has OC Transpo even bothered to measure any outcomes? If so, can they share their work? I waited at a shadeless stop this afternoon on Montreal Road for a 12 Parliament that "real time" data kept telling me would arrive in three minutes, and it persisted in that lie for nearly half an hour. "Accurate and reliable".

[yvesdarly]

Originally Posted by rocketphish

OC Transpo announces sweeping changes to fall schedule
More train trips, new express routes start week of Aug. 30

CBC News
Posted: Aug 14, 2026 1:55 PM EDT | Last Updated: 3 hours ago



More details are now available on sweeping changes coming to Ottawa's public transit network at the end of August.

OC Transpo regularly makes seasonal changes to routes and schedules, but those beginning Sunday, Aug. 30, are part of a broader $29-million plan for the return of more federal workers to their downtown offices.

According to a report to city council, OC Transpo is anticipating an increase of 65,000 trips per week in and out of Ottawa's core. Transit is "the backbone of the city's response" because the road network "has limited ability to absorb significant increases in private vehicle travel," the report says.

The broad strokes of the transit plan came out and were approved last month. They include:

• More frequent O-Train service, specifically more trains on Line 1 on weekdays between the start of the morning peak and early evening, and a slightly earlier start on Line 2.
• Improvements to para transport systems.
• New express bus routes.
• Improved connections from park-and-ride locations and major job hubs.

On Friday, the city's transit services general manager Rick Leary issued a broader overview.

Here are some of the highlights. Specific stops and schedules are available on the OC Transpo website, and Leary said staff will be at key locations starting Monday, Aug. 31, to help.

Express 500-series routes

Leary said seven Express routes, identified by a route number in the 500s and an orange route icon on maps, will connect transit stations and key employment areas faster than before:

Blair station is getting Route 526 to and from Chapel Hill station on Brian Coburn Boulevard and Route 538 between it and Millennium, Trim, and Place d’Orléans stations.

Tunney's Pasture station is getting routes 561 and 562 connecting it to Terry Fox and Eagleson stations. The difference comes in where these buses go in the afternoon on the way back west. It's also getting route 563 to Eagleson and Innovation station.

All three buses will start at Gatineau's Terrasses de la Chaudière in the afternoon.

The 565 buses will go from Innovation, Terry Fox and Eagleson to the Department of National Defence's Moodie Drive headquarters. The 566 will do the same from Tunney's Pasture.

Some of these routes have one trip in the morning and one in the afternoon, while others have more.

Connections to Gatineau

The memo says besides those three 500-series routes mentioned above, routes 74 and 75 are being extended to Gatineau.

The 74 goes to and from Limebank station and the 75 goes to and from Barrhaven's Minto Recreation Centre.

The Gatineau end of the route is at Terrasses de la Chaudière.

Weekday service changes

There will be more weekday trips on routes 5, 63, 98, 226 and 256, Leary said.

Twenty-two routes will have what Leary called "more accurate and reliable schedules": the 5, 6, 7, 9, 14, 18, 19, 20, 25, 41, 42, 48, 51, 61, 63, 73, 75, 85, 88, 117, 163 and 173.

Details of the changes vary by route. For example, the 5 is getting more runs overall and the 98 will have more peak period trips.

There are also adjustments Leary said are more of the usual seasonal tweak, including taking away what was seen as a seldom-used stop by route 11 at Bayview station and taking route 48 off Bank Street.

The O-Train's east extension will not be ready for Aug. 30.

Other aspects of what's officially called the Transportation and Mobility Strategy and Action Plan include traffic cameras and enforcement, tweaking construction, improving cycling and walking infrastructure, and parking changes — with a proposal to add lots at city facilities and places of worship going to planning committee on Aug. 19.


With files from Cassandra Bellefeuille and Arthur White-Crummey

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/oc-transpo-ottawa-bus-train-changes-9.7307392

-The 500s express buses to Line 1 terminals are interesting.

I suspect that those are added service hours and not converted non-revenue trips. i.e 526 Blair between Chapel Hill and Blair (which seems like some resurrection the the 23 but ending at Blair).

All in all, it answers commuter needs but I wonder if it is also a strategy for Park and ride ROI

-As per schedule reliability, I am not too sure what is common practice in the City of Ottawa. Travel time is to be revised with actual historical travel time between timepoints. Then benchmarks are set along a certain percentile (ie. 60-80 %). This type of revision could occur, at least, for every major service update (i.e Fall service)

[YOWetal]

Originally Posted by yvesdarly

-The 500s express buses to Line 1 terminals are interesting.

I suspect that those are added service hours and not converted non-revenue trips. i.e 526 Blair between Chapel Hill and Blair (which seems like some resurrection the the 23 but ending at Blair).

All in all, it answers commuter needs but I wonder if it is also a strategy for Park and ride ROI

-As per schedule reliability, I am not too sure what is common practice in the City of Ottawa. Travel time is to be revised with actual historical travel time between timepoints. Then benchmarks are set along a certain percentile (ie. 60-80 %). This type of revision could occur, at least, for every major service update (i.e Fall service)

Yes they seem to have listened and are making changes that will bring some commuters back. The return to 4 days is probably a decision point for some who have been paying $20 a day parking from 2 to 3 and now 4 days to get a monthly spot or go back to transit.

In an urban congested area the bus schedule is always a guesstimate. I'd rather we have accurate arrival times live and they busses keep moving rather than padding the schedule so when traffic is light you end up waiting wasting time and resources.

[OTSkyline]

The return of some "express" type routes is definitely interesting and welcomed while we wait for the LRT extensions to open.

That 566 direct from Moodie to Tunney's could be very appealing to those working out there now.

A little annoyed that all of these express busses are catering to those living at the very edge of the city out in Orleans or Kanata while us inner-city westend folks get nothing (Lincoln Fields, Nepean, Algonquin, etc), heck even Barrhaven.

[Uhuniau]

Originally Posted by YOWetal

I'd rather we have accurate arrival times live

Good luck with that. OC Transpo seems to have abandoned everything but the pretence when it comes to the sorry state of their live data products.

[YOWetal]

Originally Posted by Uhuniau

Good luck with that. OC Transpo seems to have abandoned everything but the pretence when it comes to the sorry state of their live data products.

Do they refuse to just use open data that feeds Google? Some kind of fairness thing?

I really don't get how you sit at Hurdman waiting for a arriving in 4 minutes bus that is sitting in it's bay waiting for 15 minutes before swinging around to start it's route. I guess they decided it was so late it should start the next run on the schedule or something? Then the next one gets to be called on time.