Transit Readies For Canada Day, Bluesfest

06/30/2025

This memo is to provide the Mayor and Members of Council with an update regarding no-charge OC Transpo service on Canada Day as well as service during Bluesfest.

Canada Day

OC Transpo is the best way to travel to Canada Day events across the city, with no charge service all day on all O-Train lines, buses, and Para Transpo. To better support customers travelling to and from Canada Day celebrations, OC Transpo will have additional service running throughout the day and into the evening.

All O-Train stations are open for customers attending Canada Day festivities. Pimisi Station on O-Train Line 1 is the closest station to the main event site at LeBreton Flats. Lyon and Bayview stations are also only a short distance from LeBreton Flats. Signage and staff will assist in directing pedestrians from these stations to the LeBreton Flats site entrance.

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This is a release from the City of Ottawa:

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Bus service and O-Train Lines 1, 2 and 4 will operate on a special Canada Day schedule. Line 1 will operate from 6 am to 2 am, with enhanced frequency in the evening. Lines 2 and 4 service will operate from 7 am to 1 am. Additional buses will supplement service levels where needed.

Para Transpo will provide direct service to a designated drop-off and pick-up location on Vimy Place across from the War Museum’s group entrance. Para Transpo service will run until 3 am. Further details on accessibility are available at canada.ca/CanadaDay.

Customers travelling downtown for the fireworks are encouraged to plan ahead and arrive early. Access to the LeBreton Flats event site will be closed at approximately 9:30 pm, or earlier if capacity is reached, to prepare for attendees leaving the event. To reduce crowding on Booth Street while access to the event site is closed, trains will temporarily bypass Pimisi Station until the conclusion of the fireworks. Customers can get off at Lyon or Bayview stations to watch the fireworks, if they arrive after access has been closed.

When leaving LeBreton Flats after the fireworks, customers have several options to get home or to their next destination:

M E M O / N O T E D E S E R V I C E

• Walk south on Booth Street to reach eastbound O-Train Line 1 service at Pimisi Station or special westbound bus service on Albert Street.

• Walk east on Wellington Street to get downtown or to reach Lyon Station for O Train Line 1 service in both directions.

• Walk west on Wellington Street and an adjoining pathway to reach Bayview Station for O-Train Lines 1 and 2.

OC Transpo will have an information tent set up on Wellington Street just west of Bay Street from 8 am to 2:30 pm, and transit outreach staff will be present in the evening at many stations. Customers are also encouraged to download Transit, the recommended trip planning app for OC Transpo customers.

Ottawa Bluesfest

Ottawa Bluesfest concerts will take place at LeBreton Flats between Thursday, July 10, and Sunday, July 20.

Ticketholders can travel for free on all O-Train lines, buses and Para Transpo up to three hours before and two hours after the event.

During Ottawa Bluesfest, additional buses will be available to supplement service levels where needed. Service on O-Train Line 1 will operate more frequently in the evenings and will be extended to midnight on Sundays to accommodate event attendees returning home. Customers can use O-Train service at Pimisi, Bayview or Lyon stations when travelling to and from the event area.

Information on transit service for Canada Day and Bluesfest will be shared on channels including octranspo.com, the Transit app, social media, digital screens, printed material, signage, and public service announcements.

Further details on transit detours and stop impacts due to event-related road closures will be posted on OC Transpo’s alerts page in advance of each event.

Promotional kits with social media messages and graphics have been developed to assist Council in sharing transit information on Canada Day and Bluesfest with their residents.

Original signed by

Renée Amilcar

cc: Senior Leadership Team