OC Transpo is eyeing a mid-June target to restore O-Train Line 1 service as newly-appointed general manager Rick Leary outlined a 10-point plan to improve the city’s beleaguered transit system.
Leary, the former Toronto Transit Commission CEO whose hiring was announced March 27 , said Tuesday he spent his first five weeks on the job meeting with union officials and employees, riding buses and trains with city councillors and Mayor Mark Sutcliffe and forming his “initial assessment” of the city’s transit network.
Leary was short on concrete details as he listed several priorities aimed at restoring customer confidence, beginning with a return to full service on the O-Train’s east-west Line 1 by mid-June.
That had been a shifting target under interim general manager Troy Charter, who now serves as associate general manager, after a setback involving a spalling issue that forced a number of trains out of service for inspection and repairs.
There are now 27 available train cars and Leary said he was optimistic OC Transpo would have enough spare trains to resume double-car service by the middle of next month. Line 1 has been operating with single-car trains since the spalling was detected in January, with service running every three to four minutes during peak periods.
OC Transpo previously said it requires 26 train cars to resume full service on Line 1.
“We have to have enough spares to stay on top of the maintenance, to stay on top of the work that they’re doing (to address the spalling issues),” Leary said.
Leary did not commit to a firm timeline for the much-anticipated east extension of the rail line to Orléans, which had been set for the end of March, but was likewise pushed back due to a shortage of available trains.
“We’re still working on some additional timeframes,” Leary told reporters at a May 12 press conference unveiling his transit “action plan.”
“The focus was to get service fully restored on Line 1, while we look at the east extension to do trial running. So we’re going to be staging this in steps.”
Leary said he is planning to “build back” bus reliability by improving maintenance schedules with OC Transpo’s aging diesel fleet.
OC Transpo has hired nine mechanics this year and hopes to add 11 more by the end of the year. The focus is also shifting from corrective maintenance to preventative maintenance, Leary said.
There is currently a 50-50 split in corrective and preventative maintenance, and Leary said he wanted to see 80 per cent of maintenance work done to prevent breakdowns and mechanical issues.
Bus reliability metrics hit the 99.5 per cent target for service delivery last week, which Sutcliffe said was the highest rating for bus reliability since the pandemic.
Sutcliffe and transit committee chair Glen Gower joined Leary for Tuesday’s press conference, where they noted some “encouraging” signs.
Sutcliffe said OC Transpo will have 150 zero-emission electric buses in its fleet by the end of June, which will allow the retirement of older diesel buses that have exceeded their useful lifespan.
Leary said he will be releasing more information, along with new key performance indicators to measure improvements at Thursday’s transit committee meeting. Leary said his “customer-first” plan will involve town halls to hear direct feedback from riders and a “data-driven” approach that will measure bus punctuality and impacts to service.
Leary also addressed OC Transpo’s $47-million deficit and his plan to strengthen financial stability with non-fare revenues and partnerships and a 10-year capital investment strategy.
The provincial upload of the LRT to Metrolinx is expected to save $85 million annually, which would be reinvested into transit priorities. The province recently signed a memorandum of understanding with the City of Ottawa to complete the LRT upload, though no additional details have been provided on an anticipated timeline.
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