Residents voice frustration with bus service

Reliability, consistency key concerns with OC Transpo for downtown commute

It was billed as the most significant change to OC Transpo’s bus system. Titled ‘New Ways to Bus’ (NWTB), the public service made changes to 100 of its routes back in April, 2025, designed to improve a system seemingly plagued by inconsistent service delivery. 

But frustration with the service continues for many users in Manor Park. 

Caroline Sullivan says her two sons, Marleau, 17 and Remy, 14, rely on OC Transpo to get to and from school each weekday. They also use public transport to see friends on the weekends. 

She says there are very few buses on the route during peak hours, making them late for school and late getting home in the afternoon. 

“In the mornings, they (buses) are not on time at all, often 30+ minutes apart, then sometimes there will be two or three in a row,” she noted in an email exchange with the Chronicle. 

It’s often more challenging in the afternoon. Buses are full with students from other schools and don’t stop. 

Sullivan feels the situation “has become a lot worse” since the NWTB changes went into effect back in the spring. 

OC Transpo responds

Contacted by the Chronicle, Katrina Camposarcone-Stubbs, public information officer with OC Transpo, said Route 7 did undergo a “minor adjustment” in the spring. “Specifically, peak-period service along Brittany Drive was removed and replaced with Routes 17 and 20. This change is intended to improve service reliability during peak periods.”

Asked how students could be left to wait 45 minutes to an hour for a bus after school, she noted there can be “overcrowding” at that time of day. 

“When buses reach capacity, they may bypass stops, which can unfortunately lead to extended wait times,” Camposarcone-Stubbs noted. “These occurrences are taken seriously and are being monitored to help inform future adjustments.”

Both Marleau and Remy say it should take about 25 minutes to get to school. That is achieved only about a quarter of the time. More often than not, it’s 45 minutes to an hour.

Asked if service has been reduced during peak hours on Route 7, the OC Transpo spokesperson explained, “As part of the spring 2025 changes under NWTB, the removal of the Brittany Drive routing led to reduced service during peak hours between downtown and Manor Park. Frequency in this corridor changed from approximately every eight minutes to every 15 minutes.”

There have also been “temporary trip cancellations due to bus availability.” This has resulted in some headways — the time between buses on Route 7 — to increase to 30 or 35 minutes. 

Main issues

In his Substack newsletter, Ottawa Councillor Glen Gower, Chair of the Ottawa Transit Commission explains the two key reasons for cancelled or delayed buses “is a shortage of buses and on-street traffic congestion.”

Ottawa has what Gower called an aging fleet and should have 519 buses on the road. That actual number is 511 which leads to cancelled runs and “limited spares available for when something goes wrong. There’s no margin for error,” he notes.

He notes there is a “three-part plan to make sure that:

• there are enough operators and buses on the road to deliver service,

• there are buses ready to start every trip on time,

• road conditions are created that allow for consistent travel times.

Read Gower’s full report at glengower.ca/notebook

Wants changes

Sullivan says she would like OC Transpo to survey riders and ensure “there are enough buses during peak school and work hours.”

Camposarcone-Stubbs noted many factors go into route planning.

“Decisions to add service are based on ridership demand, available fleet and operator resources, and network-wide priorities. We continually monitor ridership trends and feedback to adjust service where it’s needed most, subject to available resources.”

Sullivan says she has filed complaints with OC Transpo but with no response.  

The spokesperson wanted to assure riders their feedback is taken into account. “While not all feedback can result in immediate changes, it plays a key role in shaping future service adjustments during OC Transpo’s quarterly service change process.”

Riders can provide feedback via octranspo.com, and use the Transit app or OC Transpo Travel Planner “for real-time trip planning and service updates.”