Here’s New LRT Sked, Ridership Projections
This is a release from the City of Ottawa:
M E M O / N O T E D E S E R V I C E
To / Destinataire Mayor and Members of Council Chair and Members of the Transit Commission
File/N° de fichier: 23-2024
From /
Expéditeur
Richard Holder, Acting General Manager, Transit Services
Subject / Objet Additional Information on O-Train Line 1 Service Adjustments
Date: August 2, 2024
The purpose of this memo is to provide additional information regarding the upcoming O-Train Line 1 schedule adjustment, including current and forecasted ridership, available Line 1 capacity, and implementation timelines.
The table below provides an overview of the current and adjusted Line 1 hours of service on weekdays. Off-peak times on weekdays are from approximately 9am to 3pm. This change will also take effect on weekday evenings, from approximately 6:30 to 9:30pm.
| Time of Day (Monday to Thursday*) | Current interval between trains (minutes) | Adjusted interval between trains (minutes) |
| 5:00 am – 6:30 am | 8 | 8 |
| 6:30 am – 9:00 am | 5 | 5 |
| 9:00 am – 3:00 pm | 5 | 10 |
| 3:00 pm – 6:30 pm | 5 | 5 |
| 6:30 pm – 9:30 pm | 5 | 10 |
| 9:30 pm – 11:00 pm | 10 | 10 |
| 11:00 pm – 1:00 am | 15 | 15 |
*On Fridays O-Train Line 1 runs until 2am with service running every 10 minutes from 6:30pm until the end of the service day.
Our team closely monitors current ridership and trends in future ridership growth. This work includes looking closely at travel patterns on Line 1. The following table provides data on daily customer trips compared with available capacity on Line 1 during both peak and non-peak periods. Comparing ridership from the previous fall to current summer ridership allows us to make reasonable predictions about ridership for the fall of 2024.
| Season | Time of Day | Customer Trips (per hour per direction) | Capacity (per hour per direction) | Use of available train capacity |
| Fall 2023 | Peak | 4,100 | 7,200 | 57% |
| Fall 2023 | Off-peak | 2,600 | 6,600 | 39% |
| Summer 2024 | Peak | 3,500 | 7,200 | 49% |
| Summer 2024 | Off-peak | 1,900 | 6,600 | 29% |
Through these observations we noticed that many trains were not even half full during off-peak hours
in both the fall and summer. There is an opportunity to adjust off-peak service to align with demand, while minimizing disruptions to our customers.
Before making any adjustments to service, OC Transpo staff carefully considers many factors, including potential impacts to customers, possible ridership changes, seasonal variability, and capacity requirements. For this change, staff have also considered that changes to employer policies requiring more on-site work may increase ridership this fall and took that into account when looking at capacity requirements.
The table below provides a breakdown of projected ridership for the fall, including an allowance for increased on-site work, compared with Line 1 capacity on the adjusted schedule.
| Season | Time of Day | Projected Customer Trips (per hour per direction) | Adjusted Capacity (per hour per direction) | Forecasted Use of available train capacity |
| Fall 2024 | Peak | 4,400 | 7,200 | 61% |
| Fall 2024 | Off-peak | 2,900 | 3,600 | 81% |
The adjustments leave a buffer to accommodate any additional ridership increases in both peak and off-peak ridership this fall.
The revisions to the Line 1 schedule are being implemented August 26, to align with the next planned service change, at the end of August. Aligning with seasonal service changes ensures that changes to transit schedules come at predictable times and provides enough notice for customers to incorporate the new schedules and route adjustments into their plans to return to school or to increase on-site work.
Once this change is completed, staff will monitor the system, from the control centre, in person at key stations like Blair, Hurdman, and Tunney’s Pasture, and will review data from fare gates and reports from customers to build an accurate picture of how many people are using the system. Should we see the need for more capacity, staff can respond quickly by putting more trains into service. Our goal is always to deliver a sustainable transit network that makes best use of our available resources. An update on ridership will be provided to Transit Commission in the fall.
For any additional information, please contact Pat Scrimgeour, Director, Transit Customer Systems and Planning, at 52205.
Original signed by,
Richard Holder
Acting General Manager Transit Services
cc: Senior Leadership Team
Transit Services Departmental Leadership Team
Director, Public Information and Media Relations
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– The Bulldog – News Feed Enter 
LRT new motto:
less service equals less breakdowns
priceless kosmo – k
When you couple this cut with the cuts to bus service, passengers will face longer travel times. If your bus is, as is often the case, late then you are at increased risk of missing your connections if the train in the middle of your journey is five minutes later. The further away from rush hour this happens, the more serious the consequences. If your bus comes every seven or fifteen minutes during rush hour, a delay is not as serious as when evening buses are on a thirty-minute to one-hour frequency. In many places, they have cut the last run of the night which limits your options and can have serious outcomes if the service on the first segment(s) of your trip is late or cut.
I get that OC Transpo has to staunch the bleeding before we lose the entire service. Why have they not applied this equitably across the different time bands? For example, if they moved the rush hour service from a five-minute service to a seven-minute service, what would be the effect? No route should be sacred in any re-arrangement of service to respond to the loss of ridership and the financial hole OC Transpo is in.
If these cuts are sustainable and leave a service that is meeting need, why were they not implemented in the fall of 2020? How much money would that have saved?
Does Richard Holder take the bus to work? All OC Transpo employees should have their parking spots removed as well as any car or mileage allowances they may have. They can still choose to get to work by the method that works for them but shouldn’t be subsidized to choose not to take the bus. The obvious exception to this would be the drivers who have to get to and from work at times when there are no buses or trains running.
If the transit system they’re offering us is a good one, they should have no difficulty using it themselves. If it’s not, they should fix it until it is.
The Voter:
I am not sure the LRT schedule effects anyone working at city hall. Let’s take for example, how does it effect someone working at 110 Laurier or 100 Constellation Way when he or she show up for work 30-45 minutes late for work?
I’m pretty sure the consequences are different for the local grocery store cashier who shows up 30-45 minutes late for work.