Regular schedule adjustments take place four times per year – April, June, September, and December.
A spring service change highlight: as Stage 2 O-Train construction progresses, additional sections of the Transitway will close for the conversion to light-rail facilities. Details of these changes and additional service adjustments are described below.
Service Adjustments
- The 12:30 am westbound Route 99 trip from Riverview Station to Barrhaven Centre will be withdrawn due to no ridership.
- Route 167 will be renumbered Route 67 and adjusted to provide improved service from new areas in Stittsville, with peak period service to Tunney’s Pasture Station in the morning, and from Tunney’s Pasture in the afternoon. As part of this change, adjustments will be made to Route 61, including converting some trips into Route 67 trips and extending select trips between Terry Fox Station and Stittsville to maintain 15-minute service. Route 252 will be shortened slightly, as Route 67 will provide Abbottsville Crossing and Blackstone residents with a connection to O-Train Line 1 at Tunney’s Pasture Station. These changes follow the completion of new streets in the area and are being made based on discussion with the ward Councillor.
- Routes 198 and 299 will be adjusted to serve transit customers in the new area south of Earl Armstrong and along River Road. Route 198 will have two new trips northbound in the morning and two new trips southbound in the afternoon which will start and end on Borbridge Avenue. Route 299 will be adjusted to travel along Borbridge and Brian Good avenues. These changes follow the completion of new streets in the area and are being made based on discussion with the ward Councillors.
- Overnight service on Route N39 will be adjusted to serve Hurdman Station, improving connections with other late night and overnight routes.
- Select trips on overnight service on Routes N39, N45, N57, N61, N75, and N97 will have schedule or pattern adjustments to better align with O-Train Line 1 hours of operation.
- Some school trips will be adjusted to better align with current school travel needs. Details will be communicated directly to the schools and will also be made available on octranspo.com. These changes are based on discussion with the school transportation authorities.
- Weekend schedules will be adjusted on the O-Train Line 2 replacement bus service and on Routes 11, 25, 34, 35, 42, 44, 46, 55, 56, 57, 80, 85, 88, 99, 110, 138, 168 and 170, to improve the reliability of service.
Service Adjustments for Construction
Stage 2 O-Train Construction
- The Transitway will permanently close between Pinecrest and Bayshore stations to allow continued construction of the Stage 2 O-Train extension to Moodie Station. Buses will be detoured onto adjacent corridors. As part of this work, bus stops at Bayshore Station will be adjusted.
- Westbound, all bus routes will travel along Highway 417 from Pinecrest Road to Bayshore Drive and to Woodridge Crescent to reach Bayshore Station.
- Eastbound, routes will follow one of two patterns:
- Routes 61, 62, 303, and 660 will maintain connections to Bayshore and Pinecrest stations. These routes will travel from Highway 417 to Holly Acres and to Bayshore Station. Buses will continue eastbound on Richmond Road, Highway 417, and Greenbank Road, to Pinecrest Station, and will return to their current routing there.
- Routes 63, 64, 66, 252, 256, 257, 258, 261, 262, 263, 264, 265, 267, 268, and 283 will bypass Pinecrest and Bayshore stations. These buses will exit Highway 417 at Holly Acres, serve the bus stop on Holly Acres, which provides transfer connections to routes serving Bayshore Station, and then continue on Richmond Road, Highway 417 to the Greenbank exit to provide service at the bus stop on the eastbound on-ramp, before continuing on their current routing onto Highway 417.
- Platforms and platform assignment will be adjusted at Blair Station to accommodate ongoing Stage 2 construction.
Seasonal Construction
- Reconstruction of Albert, Queen, Slater and Bronson – Routes 10 and 16 will have additional running time to account for associated delays during the weekday peak periods.
- Montréal Road – Service will operate on detour due to ongoing construction resulting in lane reductions and road closures (see map in Appendix A below). Compared to the fall of 2021, there will be slight modifications to detours and travel times on Routes 15, 20, 615, and 616.
Seasonal Service Changes
- Route 25 and O-Train Line 2 replacement bus frequency will be reduced in certain time periods, to reflect reduced seasonal ridership levels at Carleton University and La Cité.
- Weekday frequency will be reduced in certain time periods on the Line 2 replacement bus service and on Routes 10, 11, 12, 24, 25, 39, 40, 44, 56, 57, 66, 73, 75, 84, 221, 231, 237, 258, 261, 263, 264, 270, and 283, to match seasonal changes in ridership.
- Rack and Roll Program – The Rack and Roll program of bicycle racks on buses will be reinstated in full this spring. All buses in the fleet will be equipped with a bike rack.
Holidays:
- Victoria Day Monday, May 23 Sunday schedule
Customer information
Full details of these service changes will be communicated to customers throughout April. OC Transpo has several customer-friendly applications and tools to assist customers in accessing timely information about our service while on the go. These include texting 560560 for real-time bus schedule information, downloading the OC Transpo iPhone app or an independent app, signing up for text alerts on octranspo.com to receive the latest information, checking transit information screens at many major stations, as well as visiting octranspo.com from a smartphone. Real-time information is also available by calling 613-560-1000 plus the bus stop number.
Once spring service changes begin on April 24, customers can find up-to-date schedules and real-time information by using these applications and tools. Please direct customers to octranspo.com or to the OC Transpo Customer Service Centre (613-560-5000) for more information.
