OTTAWA -- There will be fewer Gatineau STO buses rolling through downtown Ottawa streets starting this summer.
Gatineau's transit service has announced it will launch new bus routes in downtown Ottawa when the summer service schedule begins on June 21.
The STO's new route changes will connect with the O-Train at Lyon and Parliament Stations, and direct buses away from downtown streets.
All stops on Wellington Street, between Kent Street and Elgin Street, will be relocated to adjacent downtown streets. Stops on Mackenzie Avenue will also be moved.
OC Transpo General Manager John Manconi says all STO buses entering Ottawa via the Portage Bridge will connect with the Confederation Line at Lyon Station.
"Several STO routes will turn south on Lyon from Wellington and will continue east on Slater and north on Bank, returning to Gatineau via Wellington," said Manconi.
"Another group of STO routes will turn south on Bank from Wellington and will continue west on Queen and north on Lyon, returning to Gatineau via Wellington."
Manconi says the remaining STO routes will turn south on Lyon from Wellington, continuing east on Salter and the Mackenzie King Bridge to end at the University of Ottawa. The buses will return west on MacKenzie King and Albert, then north on Kent and west on Wellington to return to Gatineau.
Manconi says all changes will improve service for OC Transpo and STO customers connecting to destinations.
The STO says some buses from the Hull sector will take the Macdonald-Cartier Bridge, then King Edward Avenue, Rideau and Waller Streets to cross the Mackenzie King Bridge, then Albert and Kent Streets to return to Gatineau via the Portage Bridge.
The changes will further reduce the number of buses in downtown Ottawa.
"Peak hour bus volumes in downtown east of Bank Street, for OC Transpo and STO combined, will be reduced by approximately 75 percent from their 2018 levels, said Manconi.
