Maintenance, increased congestion blamed for hundreds of OC Transpo bus trip cancellations this week
CTV
Hundreds of OC Transpo bus trips have been cancelled this week due to a “decrease in fleet availability and increased congestion” on Ottawa’s roads, according to the transit service.
Hundreds of OC Transpo bus trips have been cancelled this week due to a “decrease in fleet availability and increased congestion” on Ottawa’s roads, according to the transit service.
In a post on social media on Thursday, OC Transpo warned commuters that the service continues. “to see an increase in the number of buses missing their trips.” OC Transpo also warned of a spike in bus trip cancellations on social media on Monday.
OC Transpo tells CTV News Ottawa its conventional bus fleet availability has been “impacted by a backlog in bus maintenance.” Increased congestion on transit routes was also cited as one of the reasons that trips were not delivered as planned.
The transit service cancelled 348 trips on Monday, 297 trips on Tuesday and 270 trips on Wednesday. OC Transpo operates 8,210 planned trips every weekday as part of the fall schedule.
“OC Transpo’s conventional bus fleet availability has been impacted by a backlog in bus maintenance. Safety is our top priority and our maintenance team is working diligently to reduce the backlog by completing tasks such as preventative maintenance, bodywork, and other work orders to ensure our vehicles meet our strict safety and regulatory requirements,” Katrina Camposarcone-Stubbs, OC Transpo Public Information Officer, said in a statement to CTV News Ottawa.
“Since first reporting this issue earlier this week, progress has been made in reducing the number of undelivered trips due to vehicle availability.”
Camposarcone-Stubbs adds undelivered trips can “also be impacted by other factors beyond vehicle availability, including unplanned service adjustments" due to traffic congestion, collisions and detours.
