Cutting off-peak LRT service saving OC Transpo $600,000 this year
A motion to restore off-peak LRT service will be debated by city council next week, as the head of OC Transpo says the service cuts are saving the system money.
Transit Services general manager Renée Amilcar said OC Transpo is expected to save $600,000 in 2024 by cutting off-peak LRT service from every five minutes to every 10 minutes.
"Which is not a lot, but each penny counts," Amilcar told Thursday's Transit Commission meeting.
The move to cut off-peak headways was purely financial, Amilcar said.
"These schedule and service adjustments were not made lightly and were necessary to meet our unfortunate financial constraints while still meeting customer demand and changing travel patterns," she said.
OC Transpo is facing a $120 million funding shortfall next year. Mayor Mark Sutcliffe has been campaigning for assistance from the federal and provincial governments and said Wednesday the 2025 budget could include drastic options to fill the gap if that funding doesn't come through.
A motion put forward by Kitchissippi Ward Coun. Jeff Leiper called on OC Transpo to reverse its service cut, citing a projected budget surplus in the city's tax-supported programs by the end of 2024 because of staff vacancies, higher water consumption, and lower winter maintenance costs.
Leiper's motion says, "frequency of service is an important determinant of ridership, affecting overall trip time in a system characterized by transfers as well as the decision to use transit for non-commuting purposes."
Speaking at the meeting, Leiper said the $600,000 in savings is not worth it.
"It should be the showcase of our system, showing Ottawa residents what the future of denser cities can be," he said. "Why would we diminish the one bright spot in our system?"
Under OC Transpo's bylaw, the general manager has the delegated authority to make adjustments to bus and O-Train service in response to operational needs and requirements, including changes to O-Train schedules.
Beacon Hill-Cyrville Coun. Tim Tierney asked for data on what level of savings could be achieved with a shorter headway instead of a 10-minute headway.
Amilcar suggested that the only options were a five-minute headway or a 10-minute headway.
"I would not recommend another headway because it's either five or 10 because we won't have any savings and that will bring a lot of problems with the schedule, et cetera," Amilcar said; however, she did say staff would explore other scenarios.
Leiper's motion has since been referred to council on Sept. 18 to give OC Transpo time to come up with other headway scenarios.
Several people signed up to speak to councillors and city staff Thursday.
"A 5-minute reduction in off-peak service can easily lead to a 10 or 15 minute delay down the line, that means they're late to class, they're late to work, they're late to essential medial appointments," said Aidan Kallioinen with the Carleton University Students' Association, one of the dozens of people who signed up to speak to the commission Thursday.
Noah Vienberg, Amalgamated Transit Union 279 President, also addressed the meeting.
"I think we're at a point where money needs to be invested, time needs to be invested. We have to offer this city the right kind of rail service, the right kind of bus service, and everything that people don't get to see and behind all of that, that really matters," Vienberg said.
"The cuts, as late as they came, right before the return of students and federal workers, aside from being short-sighted and somewhat ignorant to be honest… all of these changes, there's no way to have stability."
Trains on Line 1 run at five-minute intervals between 6:30 a.m. and 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Trains run every 10 minutes on weekdays between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. to 11 p.m. The changes were made just weeks before the federal government's new return-to-office mandate began, requiring most federal workers in the office at least three days per week.
"We continue to have capacity to welcome additional customers and can increase service if ridership warrants it," Amilcar said.
She noted that monthly pass sales in September are up nine per cent.
--With files from CTV News Ottawa's Kimberley Fowler
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'Environmental racism': First Nations leaders claim cancer-causing contamination was covered up
The people of Fort Chipewyan believe the federal government believe the federal government knew its water was contaminated and hid the issue for years. Now the chief of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation is leading the call for immediate action.
Taste of home: Tiffin lunch boxes bring comfort, affordability to immigrants
Yugali Bharote starts her day in the kitchen, preparing lunch boxes for her sons bound for school – but she doesn’t stop there. She then prepares almost a dozen lunch boxes for customers who have subscribed to her homemade meals.
No talks with Bloc about bringing government down: NDP House leader
NDP House Leader Peter Julian says the Bloc Quebecois has not initiated conversations with his party to potentially bring down the minority Trudeau government, as Leader Yves-Francois Blanchet has threatened.
Liberal, Conservative MPs to speak at Oct. 7 march to Parliament Hill
A Liberal MP and a Conservative MP will be part of a team delivering speeches at an event in Ottawa commemorating the one year anniversary of the attacks on Oct. 7.
'Sober curious': Younger Canadians turning away from alcohol, data says
According to a survey on recent alcohol consumption, younger Canadians are more likely to have not had a drink in the past week. For those interested in slowing or stopping their alcohol consumption, there's a phrase: 'sober curious.'
Tropical Storm Milton forms in Gulf of Mexico and could intensify to hurricane threatening Florida
A storm system that was brewing in the Gulf of Mexico strengthened into Tropical Storm Milton on Saturday and forecasters warned it could intensify into a hurricane and slam into the west coast of Florida later this week.
opinion Tips on managing your financial stress
Financial strain can be an uncomfortable burden to bear, especially if you feel that you're doing as much as you can and are barely managing to stay afloat. Personal finance contributor Christopher Liew shares some tips for managing financial stress and digging your way out of debt.
Car flies into B.C. backyard, lands upside down
A driver suffered only minor injuries after going airborne in a residential neighbourhood in Maple Ridge, B.C., on Friday, the car eventually landing on its roof in someone’s backyard.
Death and fashion abound in Jeanne Beker's new memoir, 'Heart on My Sleeve'
But after fashion, death is the second through line in 'Heart on My Sleeve,' which tells the TV personality's life story as reflected by the items in her wardrobe.