OC Transpo saving millions with delayed launch of Trillium Line

A Trillium Line train parked at South Keys Station on Thursday, May 16. (Leah Larocque/CTV News Ottawa)

OC Transpo is saving millions of dollars due to the delayed launch of the new Trillium Line, as testing continues on the north-south line between Bayview Station and Riverside South.

The Transit Service is forecasting a $25.6 million budget shortfall in 2024, mainly due to lower ridership on buses and the O-Train..

A report for the Transit Commission shows OC Transpo posted a $25.1 million revenue shortfall in the first six months of 2024, and revenue is expected to be $7.4 million lower than budgeted for the July to December period despite thousands of federal public servants returning to the office a minimum of three days a week in the fall.

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The budget deficit is being offset by the delayed launch of the Trillium Line, the Line 2 running between Bayview Station and Limebank Station and the Line 4 spur between South Keys Station and the Ottawa International Airport. Testing continues on the new diesel line, but staff have not said when the 21-day trial running period will launch or when the Trillium Line will open to the public.

The 2024 Transit Operating and Capital Budget Q2 status report for the Transit Commission says OC Transpo saved $13.6 million in the first six months of the year, "mainly due to the delay in opening of O-Train Lines 2 and 4, lower debt charges and lower facility costs."

The Transit Services Delivery and Rail Operations budget posted a $13.9 million surplus in the January to June period.  OC Transpo saved $2 million in performance deductions for Rideau Transit Maintenance not meeting the requirements of the contract in the first six months of the year.

The report shows the Transit Service Delivery and Rail Operations budget is expecting to run an $18.4 million surplus in 2024, mainly due to the delayed launch of the Trillium Line.

Based on the timeline presented to councillors on the Light-Rail Transit Subcommittee last week, the earliest the north-south line could open is early to mid-October.

Councillors on the Transit Commission were told on Sept. 12 that OC Transpo is saving $2 million a month due to the delayed launch of the Trillium Line.

The report shows OC Transpo is expecting to save $6.8 million in operating costs this year, with the rising expenditures due to "the continuing trend of higher fleet maintenance, insurance claims and Para Transpo costs."

In August, Mayor Mark Sutcliffe warned OC Transpo did not have enough money to operate Stage 2 of the LRT line, which includes the Trillium Line and the extensions of the Confederation Line. Sutcliffe is calling for $140 million a year over three years from the federal and Ontario governments.

"We're in a transit crisis," Sutcliffe said on Aug. 8. "We don't even have the money to operate our available transit service."

A train departs a station along the Trillium Line on Thursday, May 16. There is still no opening date for the new north-south rail line. (Leah Larocque/CTV News Ottawa)

Revenue shortfall

 OC Transpo is projecting a $32.4 million shortfall in revenue in 2024, as ridership remains low coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Staff say OC Transpo ran a $25 million revenue shortfall in the January to June period due to lower than budgeted fare revenue, and is expecting an additional revenue shortfall of $7.4 million revenue shortfall for the last six months of the year.

"The revenue shortfall of $25.1 million (January to June period) is primarily due to lower than budgeted fare revenue, resulting from a combination of ridership being lower than budgeted and a larger portion of transit customers using a discounted fare ($9.7 million) and a reduced requirement for federal gas tax and operating reserve funding due to budgeted debt that has not been issued to date ($15.2 million)," staff say.

The revenue shortfall is being offset by the savings OC Transpo is achieving with the delayed launch of the Trillium Line.

The Transit Commission is scheduled to meet on Sept. 12.