OC Transpo’s interim general manager says he can’t predict when service will get back to normal as the transit system grapples with a mechanical issue on its Line 1 trains and unreliability in the bus system.
“I don’t have a timeline other than we are working on it seven days a week to try to get to a point where we can get back to regular service as soon as possible,” Troy Charter told reporters on Friday.
“I don’t want this to extend in April. I don’t want this to extend even into March, but it’s too early for me to be able to put a timeline to it,” he said.
On Jan. 21, the OC Transpo reported metal flaking, known as “spalling,” had been detected on some cartridge bearing assemblies on Line 1 trains, inhibiting the bearings from rotating smoothly. As a result, 70 per cent of Line 1 cars were
taken out of service
. As of Jan. 27, only 18 cars were in service.
As of Friday, Line 1 continued to operate at an increased frequency of three to four minutes during peak periods, but with single-car trains. There were 20 cars in service out of a fleet of about 64 cars, but that number fluctuated due to planned maintenance work and required inspections on vehicles, Charter said.
About two axles can be replaced each day, but returning each car to service depends on the number of axles that need to be replaced on each it, he said.
The challenge is that, even when cartridge bearing assemblies are replaced and trains are returned to service, others will be taken out of service for inspections and maintenance at 100,000 kilometres, he said. T
he focus needs to be on either expanding the restriction from 100,000 kilometres to 150,000 or 200,000 kilometres and ultimately removing the restriction.
Rideau Transit Group, which is responsible for building and maintaining the Confederation Line, and Alstom, which manufactured the vehicles, have stated that the trains are safe for service without the 100,000-kilometre restriction, but the City of Ottawa is conducting its due diligence, Charter said.
“At the end of the day, we’re going to make the right decision, and we’re going to make decision with safety as being our priority,” he said.
The transit system is also grappling with reliability issues. On Feb. 11, city councillors will be contemplating
two motions that could offer credits or compensation
to transit riders who have been inconvenienced.
The latest results for bus service showed that from Jan. 25 to Jan. 31 bus service delivery was just under 94.5 per cent with a slight decrease in the average number of buses available for weekdays at 492, Charter said.
There was also an increase in the number of undelivered trips to six per cent of total scheduled trips, partially attributed to very low temperatures and snowfall, he said.
“I want to maintain and be able to sustain a minimum of 510 buses before we start reinstating some service,” Charter said, “because the last thing I want to do is is reinstate the service, advertise it for our customers and then not be able to deliver it and pull it back.”
There are 49 electric buses available for service. By the end of March, about 110 electric vehicles should be available for service to replace other vehicles in the aging diesel-powered fleet.
“With better weather, with more mechanics and with new buses that will have a higher degree of reliability, we’ll see improved performance,” Charter said. “Ultimately, we’re going to have 350 of these (electric) buses by the end of next year, and that will replace over half our fleet.”
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