OC Transpo proactively cancelling dozens of bus trips a day for R1 service
OC Transpo is proactively reassigning dozens of buses from regularly scheduled routes to R1 service every day and moving LRT operators back to buses, to keep transit riders moving during the extended O-Train shutdown.
R1 replacement bus service has been running since July 17, when the light-rail transit service was abruptly taken out of service after an axle-bearing issue was discovered on one train during routine inspection.
Thirty-six R1 buses are running during peak periods, while OC Transpo is also using 12 buses during peak periods for an R1 Express route between downtown and Blair Station.
To ensure there are enough buses for the R1 service, OC Transpo is redirecting buses from regularly scheduled routes to the replacement bus service.
"OC Transpo is closely monitoring the performance of R1 bus replacement service and is adding capacity where possible while balancing the resource impacts across our system," Troy Charter, Director of Transit Service Delivery and Rail Operations, said in a statement to CTV News Ottawa.
"Staff are balancing how resources are deployed in order to minimize impacts across the system and deliver the best possible experience to our customers.
"The decision to redirect resources is based on the possible impact to customers. For example, high frequency trips are more likely to have trips that are not delivered than school routes, first and last trips on a route, and on less frequent routes."
Charter says last week, OC Transpo's public trip schedule was updated to "address proactive reassignments of planned trips" on regular routes to the R1 service.
"The number of proactive reassignments varies by day, with 117 reassignments per weekday, 80 on Saturdays, and 84 on Sundays."
The head of OC Transpo says drivers are being assigned to buses to provide more service.
"We are lucky because it's summer so the ridership is a little bit slow," Transit Services general manager Renee Amilcar told CTV Morning Live Wednesday morning.
"I want to thank all my operators who normally should ride the train, that they have accepted to come and give us a huge help to have the R1 Express – this is very good news for customers."
Amilcar says OC Transpo "continues to listen to customers" and will adjust R1 service during the continuing LRT closure.
OC Transpo typically operates 7,725 trips a day during the average weekday.
OC Transpo provided CTV News Ottawa with a breakdown of bus trips not delivered during the first 13 days of the LRT shutdown, and planned trips reassigned to R1 on the day of.
Here is a look at the number of planned OC Transpo bus trips cancelled the day of the scheduled trip so the buses could be reassigned to R1 service.
- July 18: 116 trips reassigned to R1
- July 19: 154 trips reassigned to R1
- July 20: 171 trips reassigned to R1
- July 21: 210 trips reassigned to R1
- July 22: 17 trips reassigned to R1
- July 23: 0 trips reassigned to R1
- July 24: 10 trips reassigned to R1
- July 25: 23 trips reassigned to R1
- July 26: 12 trips reassigned to R1
- July 27: 4 trips reassigned to R1
- July 28: 13 trips reassigned to R1
- July 29: 0 trips reassigned to R1
- July 30: 0 trips reassigned to R1
Here is a look at the number of OC Transpo trips not delivered during the first 13 days of the LRT shutdown (not counting trips proactively reassigned for R1)
- July 18: 339 trips not delivered
- July 19: 340 trips not delivered
- July 20: 391 trips cancelled
- July 21: 372 trips cancelled
- July 22: 123 trips not delivered
- July 23: 23 trips not delivered
- July 24: 274 trips not delivered
- July 25: 214 trips not delivered
- July 26: 242 trips not delivered
- July 27: 235 trips not delivered
- July 28: 299 trips not delivered
- July 29: 105 trips not delivered
- July 30: 63 trips not delivered
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'A step forward': New screening criteria for sperm donors takes effect
Canadians looking to grow their families with the assistance of sperm or egg donations should soon have more options for donors as the federal health agency does away with longstanding restrictions criticized as discriminatory.
What is whooping cough and should Canadians be concerned as Europe declares outbreak?
There is currently a whooping cough epidemic in Europe, with 10 times as many cases compared to the previous two years. While an outbreak has not been declared nationwide in Canada, whooping cough is regularly detected in the country.
Ontario Provincial Police arrest 64 suspects in child sexual exploitation investigation
Ontario Provincial Police say 64 suspects are facing a combined 348 charges in connection with a series of child sexual exploitation investigations that spanned the province.
'Summer of discontent': Federal unions vow to fight new 3-day a week office mandate
Federal unions are launching legal challenges and encouraging public sector workers to file "tens of thousands" of grievances over the new mandate requiring federal workers to return to the office at least three days a week in the fall.
Pfizer agrees to settle more than 10K lawsuits over Zantac cancer risk: Bloomberg News
Pfizer has agreed to settle more than 10,000 lawsuits about cancer risks related to the now discontinued heartburn drug Zantac, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the deal.
Watch fighter jet pilots pummel fake enemy ship off coast of Philippines
The United States and Philippines held annual joint-training drills just off the Southeast Asian nation’s western coast on Wednesday. Military forces sunk a 'mock' enemy warship – the BRP Lake Caliraya, which was a decommissioned tanker made in China.
U.S. presidential candidate RFK Jr. had a brain worm, has recovered, campaign says
Independent U.S. presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had a parasite in his head more than a decade ago, but has fully recovered, his campaign said, after the New York Times reported about the ailment.
'Ozempic babies': Reports of surprise pregnancies raise new questions about weight loss drugs
Numerous women have shared stories of 'Ozempic babies' on social media. But the joy some experience in discovering pregnancies may come with anxiety about the unknowns.
Rookie goalie Arturs Silovs to start for Canucks in Game 1 vs. Oilers
Rookie goalie Arturs Silovs will start in net for the Canucks as Vancouver kicks off a second-round series against the Edmonton Oilers Wednesday night.