OC Transpo sees highest monthly ridership in more than three years

OC Transpo saw the highest monthly ridership in September since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, but the ridership on buses and the O-Train once again missed the monthly target.

A report for the Transit Commission shows there were 6.4 million passenger trips on buses and the Confederation Line last month, as students returned to school and more people returned to work following the summer.

"One thing that is important to note is the 6.4 million customer trips is the highest monthly ridership since the onset of the pandemic," Troy Charter, director of Transit Service Delivery and Rail Operations, said. "We're at approximately 70 per cent of our pre-pandemic levels, so there has been progress."

The 6.4 million passenger trips was 500,000 trips below the 6.9 million trips expected for the month. OC Transpo collected $12.8 million in fare revenue in September, below the $15.2 million budget target.

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OC Transpo has only reached its monthly ridership targets once in 2023; in March when there was 6 million passenger trips.

OC Transpo saw 3.3 million customer trips in August, 3.9 million customer trips in July and 4.6 million customer trips in June. There were 5.5 million customer trips in January, 5.4 million customer trips in February and April and 6 million customer trips in March.

Statistics show OC Transpo delivered 99.5 per cent of O-Train trips in September and 96.4 per cent of bus trips.

Staff told the Transit Commission that 46 per cent of bus cancellations were due to on-street service adjustments, including traffic congestion and road closures.

"I think it's important to notice the traffic is massive," Renee Amilcar, general manager of OC Transpo, told the Transit Commission.

Staff told councillors that "traffic is a major problem" for OC Transpo right now, and additional time built into schedules for the fall is "not reflective of current conditions" on the roads.

Most cancelled trips

Three OC Transpo bus routes saw more than 300 trips cancelled in September.

Staff say there are "significant challenges" with traffic at Carleton University, which is slowing down bus service.

Statistics provided by OC Transpo show there were 347 trips not completed on the O-Train Line 2 replacement service.  Route 7 had 340 undelivered trips, while Route 12 had 331 undelivered trips.