Parallel bus service supporting O-Train Line 2 and 4 to be reduced starting next week due to low demand

An Alstom LINT train arrives at Airport Station at the Ottawa International Airport on Monday. The new O-Train Line 4 runs between South Keys station and the Ottawa Airport. (Dave Charbonneau/CTV News Ottawa)

The parallel bus service put in place to support the operations of O-Train Line 2 and 4 will be reduced starting next Monday, says OC Transpo, citing low demand.

B2 bus service, which runs between Bayview and South Keys stations, will be reduced from four buses every hour to two trips every hour Monday to Saturday. On Sundays, B2 bus service will continue to operate every 15 minutes, with no change to frequency at this time, Transit Services general manager, Renée Amilcar, said in a memo Thursday.

The bus service has been put in place “to provide support service as customers transition to the new rail service at their own speed and is also there to provide supplemental service in the event of a service disruption in this area,” reads the memo.

The city adds that over two thirds of transit riders who have been using “the replacement bus service have made the switch to using trains on Line 2.”

The frequency of bus routes that provide service to stations from South Keys to Limebank or the airport will not be affected by this adjustment, reads the memo.

Lines 2 and 4 will continue to run every 12 minutes Monday to Saturday.

“OC Transpo will continue to monitor B2 parallel bus service through this transition period and continue to keep customers informed of changes,” reads the memo.

More information about the service and transit disruptions is available online.

O-Train Lines 2 and 4 were launched last month, with north-south service between Bayview Station and Limebank Station and a spur to the Ottawa International Airport. The trains have been running without any major issues, thanks to “extensive preparations,” the city said.

“So far, frankly, we haven’t seen anything that we were not expected to see,” Amilcar said in January. “We had hundred of drills and we practiced a lot, but as I said on Monday, this is the real test now and we are very pleased with the results so far and will continue to monitor and work collaboratively with TNext.”

O-Train Line 2 and Line 4 are currently running Monday to Saturday. An update on when service will move to seven days a week will be provided to the Transit Commission next week.

New Ways to Bus

It will still be several months before OC Transpo’s bus network is overhauled to connect with Line 2. Right now, OC Transpo is running parallel bus service along Line 2 and two OC Transpo routes continue to serve the Ottawa airport, parallel with Line 4.

Called “New Ways to Bus”, the major overhaul of the city’s bus network is scheduled to take effect in April. There will be changes to more than 100 bus routes in the city. Some will be lengthened, some will be shortened, some will be cancelled, and some will be new.

With files from CTV News Ottawa’s Ted Raymond