The Cities of Ottawa and Gatineau have signed an agreement to better integrate their respective transit networks when Ottawa’s light rail transit comes online in 2018.

Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson and Gatineau Mayor Maxime Pedneaud-Jobin made the announcement Friday – the first of its kind in the National Capital Region – flanked by their respective transit chairs, councillors Stephen Blais and Gilles Carpentier.

The bulk of the coming changes concern the Société du Transport de l’Outaouais (STO). When LRT launches, the O-Train Confederation Line will travel underground in the downtown core, removing many buses from the Albert Street and Slater Street corridors. However, this new agreement will see STO buses use those streets, starting in 2018. This is partly to take those buses off of Rideau Street and Wellington Street between Bank and Waller, but also to allow every STO bus that services downtown Ottawa to connect to at least one LRT station.

The agreement will see every downtown Ottawa STO route connect to Lyon Station, but peak service routes will also connect to Parliament Station via Bank Street.

Officials estimate, during the morning peak, Slater Street, between Lyon and Bank, would see an average of 72 buses per hour. Only 39 buses per hour would continue from Bank on to the Mackenzie King Bridge. During off-peak times that number would drop to just 14 the entire way.

Albert Street would see an average of 22 buses an hour during the morning peak between Mackenzie King and Lyon, but 27 during off-peak times.

The agreement will also see the Cities of Ottawa and Gatineau form a joint planning group in the next 60 days to better facilitate collaboration and study on the two transit networks. The cities will also work on revisiting OC Transpo operations in Gatineau.