OC Transpo 'driving people away' from public transit as bus trip cancellations continue, union warns

An OC Transpo bus at the Eagleson Park and Ride. (Dave Charbonneau/CTV News Ottawa)

The union representing OC Transpo bus drivers and mechanics warns the transit service is "driving people away" from public transit, as it cancels hundreds of bus trips a day due to a maintenance backlog and traffic congestion.

The Amalgamation Transit Union is calling on OC Transpo to attract new staff and for all levels of government to invest in public transit to help boost ridership, as OC Transpo faces a $25 million deficit in 2024 and a projected $120 million deficit in 2025.

Statistics provided to CTV News Ottawa show OC Transpo cancelled 1,877 bus trips between Oct. 21 and Oct. 28, including over 250 bus trips a day on weekdays. OC Transpo says it is working to implement "long-term solutions" to increase the fleet through the bus maintenance action and recruiting additional mechanics.

"We have ample drivers at this point; we finally hired enough drivers to supply the chain. Our mechanics are working crazy amounts of overtime and unbelievable dedication to get these fleets out on the road when they can," Noah Vineberg, president of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 279, tells Newstalk 580 CFRA's Ottawa at Work with Kristy Cameron.

"But the reality is these are old buses, some of them should have been decommissioned a long time ago."

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Some of OC Transpo's articulated buses are older than 15 years old, and OC Transpo is looking at buying used and new diesel buses to deal with a backlog in the delivery of new electric buses.

Vineberg says OC Transpo needs to attract new staff, adding one concern is the retention of staff.

"We have seen a 27 per cent decrease in licensed mechanics since 2019, a 25 per cent decrease in licensed autobody techs since 2019, a 12 per cent decrease in garage attendants over that same span," Vineberg says.

"We've had layoffs in that time, which begs the question how can we layoff some people when we are in desperate need of people."

The City of Ottawa will table the 2025 budget on Nov. 13, with Mayor Mark Sutcliffe calling on the Ontario and federal governments to provide $140 million in funding a year over three years to support transit. If the upper levels of government don't provide funding, taxpayers could see a 37 per cent hike in the transit levy or transit fares could increase up to 75 per cent.

Vineberg says all levels of government need to provide funding for public transit, and "we need to spend properly."

"More people would take the bus if the product was better; if the product was better and the product was reliable and they had a reason to take and we had a reason to bring them onboard, more people would be," Vineberg says.

"We're driving people away when we absolutely need to be taking people back on. We can help with congestion. All of these things are things that would have been solved with more proactivity, planning ahead and getting ahead of the curve."

The Transit Commission was told earlier this month that staff are exploring buying more diesel buses as it deals with delays with the rollout of electric buses.

Coun. Tim Tierney says Ottawa is driving the transit system into the ground.

"We're stuck in the zone where we're looking for used diesel 60-foot buses," Tierney said. "It's very frustrating."

"We really have to solve this funding situation and that's why it's such a hot topic now."

Tierney admits funding is needed to improve the transit service.

"Overall, we have to get to a place, and it will require funding to be able to make this transit system run the way it's supposed to from day one and it hasn't," Tierney said.

In August, Mayor Mark Sutcliffe launched his campaign for fairness, calling on the federal and Ontario governments to provide funding for transit.

Sutcliffe says there is no word on whether the upper levels of government will help fund transit in Ottawa in 2025.

"We're continuing to talk and the discussions have been collaborative and constructive, but I don't have any news yet," Sutcliffe told reporters on Wednesday.

"I remain hopeful that the federal government and the provincial government will do the right thing and support the city of Ottawa as we face these historic challenges."