Ottawa's Transportation Committee Meeting on June 11

Ottawa's Transportation Committee meeting on June 11 focused on transit accessibility, service reliability, staffing, safety, and rail expansion. Committee members pressed staff on pedestrian access near stations, elevator reliability, unrealistic bus schedules, and hiring delays. Staff said Line 1 has returned to full capacity for the summer, route timing changes are underway, and rail extensions will open only when testing and certification are complete. The committee also reviewed a multi-year transit safety strategy and referred a motion on restoring Route 92 service to a future meeting.

Topics Discussed

1. EMPLOYEE RECOGNITION MONTH

The meeting opened with recognition of transit staff during Employee Recognition Month. Staff said employee appreciation activities are taking place across the organization, including an employee festival later this month. In remarks tied to staff retention and workplace conditions, one speaker warned against overlooking workers "who've carried you through all the failures and are ready to do it again."

2. ITEM 4.1: COMMUNITY FEEDBACK AND PEDESTRIAN ACCESS

Committee members discussed pedestrian access concerns around a transit station, including the lack of a sidewalk on Leitrim Road and questions about whether pedestrians can cross more directly near bus areas. Councillor Riley Brockington said, "the community expects that sidewalk to be built this summer so that we're ready for winter." Staff said a consultant is reviewing the site and safety options, including possible pedestrian connections.

3. ITEM 4.2: TRANSIT STATION ELEVATORS AND ACCESSIBILITY

Members questioned elevator reliability and the difference between standards applied at bus stations and rail stations. Councillor Clarke Kelly said, "I do not believe that what we have now is acceptable," adding that when the city is trying to increase capacity and maintain trust, "we don't want an elevator to be out of service." He called outages "very poorly managed for people who are in a hurry and need to use the elevator." Another councillor remarked that "the new elevators seem to be broken more often than the old ones." Staff said they will require regular elevator performance data from RTM and continue work on station-level reporting and contract compliance.

4. TRANSIT RELIABILITY, FLEET, AND STAFFING

Staff presented a service improvement plan focused on schedules, fleet condition, and staffing. OC Transpo said, "Our objective is to implement schedules that our customers can rely on, a bus fleet that provides reliable service, and adequate staffing."

Committee members repeatedly returned to schedule reliability. Councillor David Hill said route adjustments can mean "there will be fewer routes" and asked whether the city needs "to be more realistic about travel time." Councillor Clarke Kelly said, "The problem of frequency and the problem of reliability means that people avoid public transit."

On fleet maintenance, Councillor Theresa Kavanagh said, "The only way to offer a reliable service in the long term is to stop chasing problems and start preventing them," adding that "a reactive maintenance culture means we are always behind." Staff also discussed bus retirements, electric bus additions, and recruitment for operators, mechanics, controllers, and special constables.

On hiring, Mayor Mark Sutcliffe said, "Even if it takes time, we are not accelerating the training process since these frontline roles have safety elements."

5. SAFETY, SECURITY, AND EXTENSION UPDATES

The committee reviewed a multi-year transit safety strategy. Councillor Stéphanie Plante said the strategy is intended as "the framework that will allow us to develop a comprehensive plan to ensure passenger comfort and safety." Another speaker stressed that safety is not just procedural, saying, "La sécurité n'est pas simplement une case à cocher. C'est une approche disciplinée qui demande beaucoup de vigilance ainsi qu'une détermination inébranlable de la part du personnel."

Members also received updates on rail extensions and testing. Staff said service will begin only when systems are ready, not on a fixed date. Councillor Jeff Leiper said, "The message to the community is that we are working very hard to be ready for this. All hands on deck." But one resident objected to the shifting timeline, saying, "We thought we'd have service this summer; now it feels like we're being told 2027. That's unacceptable."

Staff said a 21-day trial period is planned before launch, and committee members also discussed station readiness, certification, and traffic impacts from construction.

Motions

• Bus Route 92 Service Resumption — referred to the Transportation Committee for consideration at its next scheduled meeting on September 10, 2026, with staff directed to provide updated comments and available information.
• Motion to add more Para Transpo buses — referenced during discussion as having been adopted previously; no new disposition was recorded at this meeting.

Attendees

Councillors explicitly referenced in the meeting materials as present or participating:

• Councillor Stéphanie Plante
• Councillor Riley Brockington
• Councillor Clarke Kelly
• Councillor Theresa Kavanagh
• Councillor Steve Desroches
• Councillor David Hill
• Councillor Jeff Leiper

The provided notes do not include a complete attendance list.