Here's what you need to know about O-Train Line 1 Service adjustments this fall

OC Transpo has released more information about O-Train Line 1 Service schedule changes this fall, including a reduction in service during off-peak hours.

In a memo to the mayor and city councilors, Richard Holder, acting general manager of Transit Services, said Friday the adjusted wait times between trains during non-peak hours from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. are increasing starting Aug. 26 from five minutes to 10 minutes.

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O-Train Line 1 Service will run with wait times of 10 minutes from 6:30 p.m. until 11 p.m. and 15 minutes from 11 p.m. until the end of the service day, reads the memo.

The revisions take effect end of August to make sure customers have enough time to incorporate their "plans to return to school or to increase on-site work," according to the memo.

OC Transpo is planning to decrease capacity during mid-day and evening off-peak periods this fall as it continues to face low ridership and is facing a multi-million dollar budget deficit.

The memo from Holder says while OC Transpo is anticipating an increase in ridership this fall as students return to Carleton University and the University of Ottawa and federal workers are required to be in the office a minimum of three days a week, there will be enough capacity to meet demand.

Statistics released by Holder show OC Transpo is projecting 4,400 customer trips an hour in each direction during peak periods and 2,900 trips during non-peak periods this fall. The memo says with capacity to carry 3,600 passengers an hour during non-peak periods, trains would be at 81 per cent capacity with service every 10 minutes.

The projected service adjustment comes after OC-Transpo noticed that many trains were not half-full during off-peak hours in both the summer and the fall, reads the memo.

"Before making any adjustments to service, OC Transpo staff carefully considers many factors, including potential impacts to customers, possible ridership changes, seasonal variability, and capacity requirements. For this change, staff have also considered that changes to employer policies requiring more on-site work may increase ridership this fall and took that into account when looking at capacity requirements," reads the memo.

The city will be monitoring ridership demand and adjust capacity accordingly, reads the memo.

During peak and off-peak hours, ridership has dropped this summer compared to the ridership in the fall of 2023, reads the memo. Use of available train capacity this summer during peak hours is 49 per cent – It was 57 per cent last fall. During off-peak hours, use of available train capacity this summer is 29 per cent – it was 39 per cent last fall, according to the memo.