OC Transpo is warning that transit riders could see more canceled bus trips next week as the transit service deals with staffing shortages caused by summer vacations and “higher than usual sickness absences.”
The head of the transit service suggests it could be mid-August before customers can expect an increase in service reliability.
“We sincerely apologize to our customers for the inconvenience they have experienced over the past few days,” OC Transpo General Manager Rene Amilcar said in a memo to council Friday.
“We are working hard to improve the delivery of scheduled journeys by asking employees to extend their working days and overtime.”
On Friday morning, 206 bus journeys were cancelled, which equates to 2.6% of all scheduled journeys in the city. On Thursday, 324 trips were canceled, which equates to four percent of all scheduled trips.
On Thursday, Ottawa Transit Riders said, “Keep an eye on OCTranspoLive for many cancellations this morning.”
“OC Transpo has experienced an increased number of missed trips over the past few days compared to normal standards,” OC Transpo director of transit service delivery and rail operations Troy Charter said in a statement to CTV News Ottawa on Thursday.
On Wednesday, 324 bus trips were canceled, which equates to four percent of all scheduled trips. OC Transpo typically schedules 7,900 trips per day.
“It is expected that customers may experience more trip cancellations next week based on several short-term factors, including the number of staff who worked overtime last week while O-Train Line 1 was undergoing repairs, higher from normal sick leave and normal seasonal vacations,” Charter said.
In an interview with CTV News Ottawa Friday afternoon, Charter said OC Transpo is working to minimize canceled trips but has no short-term solution.
“We know that the number of trips we are unable to fulfill is not meeting our customers’ expectations,” Charter said. “We are trying to minimize this as quickly as possible, but we want to warn our customers that this could potentially continue for another week or two.”
Last week, disruptions to O-Train service after a lightning strike caused OC Transpo to run its R1 replacement bus service for five days.
“Staff are aware that missed trips or late arrivals impact the customer journey,” Charter said.
In May, OC Transpo completed just 94.4 percent of scheduled trips as the service continued to deal with driver shortages. The transit commission was told that dropout rates and new mandatory 30-minute operator breaks have resulted in a shortage of available operators in the spring.
“OC Transpo is running a strong recruiting campaign to increase operators and bus service this fall,” Charter said.
“We have increased training sessions throughout the year to fill the bus operator vacancies as quickly as possible. During this transition phase, our priority is to mitigate any effects on customer service as we aim to reduce the number of journeys not delivered or arriving late.”
Charter says 32 new bus operator trainees will graduate and start work in mid-August in addition to the 58 bus operators who started in the spring.
“OC Transpo is making every effort to improve service reliability for the remainder of August and September,” Charter said.
The transit service aims to hire up to 300 new operators by the end of the year to meet current needs and prepare for future demands. Eighty of the new hires will meet new Canada Labor Code requirements that government drivers must receive 30 minutes of rest for every five hours of work.
“Customers can expect the reliability of the service to increase in mid-August when a batch of 32 new trainee bus operators graduate. We are continuing our recruitment and training sessions this fall, and additional new operators will begin in early October,” said Amilcar.
“We have seen strong interest in our recruitment efforts to date. We have thorough and rigorous processes to ensure we hire the best candidates for this safety-critical position.”
In May, OC Transpo said it was taking a number of steps to improve bus service, including:
- Terminate temporary appointments
- Negotiate delayed retirement
- Minimize vacation time
- Efficiency in the job booking process
- Strategic placement of buses and bus operators
- Increased operational oversight
- Fixes to support priority routes
Somerset councilor and mayoral candidate Catherine McKenney said on Twitter: “Let’s talk about your bus that didn’t turn up today when you needed it.”
“Sometimes buses just get stuck in traffic and are late to their destination,” McKenney said Thursday night.
“But more often than not….there is no bus available to send you….even though you have paid one of the highest fares for your journey.”
McKenney says if elected mayor, they will invest in transit services “that get you where you are and get you where you need to be … on time.”
“Getting people on transit and taking others out of traffic will mean investment in the service.”
OC Transpo says it will work to ensure transit passengers are informed of route cancellations ahead of time.
“OC Transpo is committed to ensuring our customers receive accurate, relevant and timely information regarding service disruptions,” Charter said. “We realize that not every cancellation was shared via the OC Transpo Live Twitter feed today. Where time or resources are limited, we prioritize notifying customers traveling on journeys such as Connexion routes, infrequent journeys, school journeys or journeys with larger numbers of passengers.”
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