Transit Committee

Minutes

Meeting #:

19

Date:

Thursday, April 10, 2025

Time:

9:30 A.m. - 4:30 P.m.

Location:

Champlain Room, 110 Laurier Avenue West, and by electronic participation

Present:

• Chair Glen Gower, 
• Vice-Chair Steve Desroches, 
• Councillor Riley Brockington, 
• Councillor Marty Carr, 
• Councillor David Hill, 
• Councillor Jeff Leiper, 
• Councillor Wilson Lo, 
• Councillor Shawn Menard, 
• and Councillor Tim Tierney 

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1.

Notices and meeting information for meeting participants and the public

Notices and meeting information are attached to the agenda and minutes, including: availability of simultaneous interpretation and accessibility accommodations; in camera meeting procedures; information items not subject to discussion; personal information disclaimer for correspondents and public speakers; notices regarding minutes; and hybrid participation details.

Accessible formats and communication supports are available, upon request.

Except where otherwise indicated, reports requiring Council consideration will be presented to Council on April 16, 2025 in Transit Committee Report 19.

The deadline to register by phone to speak, or submit written comments or visual presentations is 4 pm on Friday, April 4, 2025, and the deadline to register to speak by email is 8:30 am on Thursday, April 10, 2025.

2.

Declarations of Interest

No Declarations of Interest were filed.

3.

Confirmation of Minutes

3.1

TC Minutes 18 – March 17, 2025

• Carried

4.

Presentations

4.1

OC Transpo Update – Rail, Bus, and Para Transpo

The following Transit Services Department staff provided a presentation on the item, and answered questions from the Committee. A copy of the slide presentation is filed with the Office of the City Clerk.

• Renée Amilcar, General Manager, Transit Services
• Sabrina Parsian, Chief Safety Officer
• Francois Quirouette, Program Manager, Service Strategy
• Rami El Feghali, Director, Transit Bus Operations and Maintenance
• Dan Villeneuve, Manager, Zero Emission Bus
• Amanda Thompson, Manager, Transit Strategic Communications

The following staff also responded to questions from Committee:

• Bart Cormier, Director, Transit Strategic Communications & External Relations
• Pat Scrimgeour, Director, Transit Customer Systems and Planning
• Marko Kroenke, Director, Engineering Services

The resident Kyle Humphrey spoke before the Committee and provided comments on the item.

5.

Transit Services Department

5.1

Light Rail Regulatory Monitor and Compliance Officer Annual Report for 2024

File No. ACS2025- CMR-OCM-0002 - Citywide

Sam Berrada, Light Rail Regulatory Monitor and Compliance Officer, presented an overview of the report and answered questions from the Commission.  A copy of the slide presentation is filed with the Office of the City Clerk.

Staff from OC Transpo and Infrastructure and Water Services Department also answered questions.

There being no public submissions on this item, the Commission considered the report recommendations as follows.

• Report Recommendation(s)

  That the Transit Committee recommend Council receive the Light Rail Regulatory Monitor and Compliance Officer Annual Report, attached as Document 1.

  Received

5.2

Annual Update – Transit Services 5-Year Roadmap

File No. ACS2025-TSD-TS-0001 - Citywide

• Report Recommendation(s)

  That Transit Committee receive for information the Annual Update – Transit Services 5-Year Roadmap Scorecard, attached as Document 1. 

  Received

6.

Office of the City Clerk

6.1

Status Update – Transit Committee Inquiries and Motions for the period ending March 31, 2025

• Report Recommendation(s)

  That the Transit Committee receive this report for information.

  Received

7.

In Camera Items

There were no in camera items.

8.

Information Previously Distributed

8.1

Report on the use of Delegated Authority during 2024 by the City Manager and Transit Services Department as set out in Schedule G of the Delegation of Authority By-law 2023-67

9.

Motions of Which Notice has been Previously Given

9.1

Bus reliability

File No. ACS2025-OCC-CCS-0046 - Citywide

• Motion

  BE IT RESOLVED that Transit Committee direct the General Manager of OC Transpo present to the Transit Committee by October 2025 a detailed plan on how bus reliability will meet or surpass the 85% performance target by December 2027.
• Motion No. TC 2025-19-01

  WHEREAS reliable public transit service remains a top priority for OC Transpo passengers in the City of Ottawa,

  WHEREAS passengers depend on buses arriving on time, in order to get to work, school, appointments and other events,

  WHEREAS unreliable bus service impacts passengers in a myriad of ways, jeopardizing the retention of passengers and challenging the agency to attract new passengers,

  WHEREAS the City Manager confirmed at the December 11, 2024 City Council meeting, that bus on-time performance (reliability) in particular, remains one of the top priorities for OC Transpo,

  WHEREAS within the last decade, three major periods have challenged OC Transpo’s ability to offer consistent, reliable bus service, including:  the construction of the Confederation LRT Line (closure of the Transitway, major detours, high absenteeism of operators), the structural and mechanical deficiencies related to the train carriages and Line following the grand opening in September 2019 (fleet had been reduced, yet replacement bus service was needed along the Line) and insufficient mechanics, operators and buses in the most recent years,

  WHEREAS month after month after month, the subject of bus on-time performance (reliability) has been raised at Transit Committee meetings, with the main question being asked, what immediate investments are being made to improve overall bus reliability,

  WHEREAS the hiring of mechanics and operators were welcomed investments to the transit agency, yet, according to the metrics presented to the Transit Committee (up to February 2025), overall bus on-time performance (reliability) has not improved,

  WHEREAS the 2025 OC Transpo Budget was discussed and debated at the November 2024 Transit Committee and December 11, 2024 City Council meeting where specific questions about how bus on-time performance (reliability) was being prioritized and financed in the budget, with few details provided,

  WHEREAS bus on-time performance (reliability) metrics consistently do not meet OC Transpo’s performance targets,

  THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Transit Committee direct the General Manager of Transit Services to present to the Transit Committee by September 2025 a detailed plan on how bus on-time performance (reliability) will meet or surpass the 85% performance target by December 2027.

  Carried as amended

10.

Notices of Motions (For Consideration at Subsequent Meeting)

10.1

Confederation LRT line’s Temporary Speed Restrictions

• Moved by D. Hill

  WHEREAS on August 8th, 2021 an O-Train light rail vehicle derailed while on the Confederation Line; and

  WHEREAS a second derailment took place on the Confederation Line just outside of the maintenance yard on the September 19th, 2021 which was caused by mandated fleet maintenance activities resulting from the first derailment from August 8th; and

  WHEREAS, following the derailments, OC Transpo worked with Rideau Transit Group (RTG) to establish a plan to ensure a safe return to service, leveraging the expertise and independent oversight of TRA; and

  WHEREAS the safe return to service plan incorporated a system of regular inspections; and

  WHEREAS, in June 2022, following a regular inspection, Alstom exercised its rights to put in place Temporary Speed Restrictions (TSRs) on sections of Line 1, via the issuance of a Safety Notice; and

  WHEREAS a second series of TSRs were put in place by Alstom in 2023; and

  WHEREAS both sets of TSRs remain in place to this day; and

  WHEREAS a definitive analysis of the root cause or causes of the 2021 derailments have not been delivered to the City, or brought forward for public discussion; and

  WHEREAS it is essential that City staff provide transparent reporting to Council regarding transit operations in a way that enables their oversight role and, consequently, maintains or improves public confidence in Ottawa’s rail system; and

  THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT staff be directed to provide the Transit Committee and Council with a memorandum confirming RTG’s results of additional studies related to speed and lateral loads before the Confederation LRT line’s Temporary Speed Restrictions, related to the bearing issue, are removed.

11.

Inquiries

11.1

Line 1 and Line 2 Regulatory Oversight

Submitted by Councillor D. Hill:

That city staff advise as the advantages, disadvantages, and feasibility to adopting a singular LRT safety regulatory framework, with an eye towards simplifying and clarifying technical regulatory requirements and ensuring appropriate arms-length external oversight is in place.

11.2

Removal of carbon tax impacts

Submitted by Councillor T. Tierney:

With the federal election underway many of the promises being made directly impact municipal budgets.

Prior to the election, the government removed the consumer carbon tax, which has estimated savings of 21-25 cents a litre on fuel that we currently buy in bulk.

And while this applies to all departments, including Public Works for plows to work vehicles, all the way down to our facilities that use natural gas or propane for ice resurfacers.

Can staff provide:

1. High level estimation of how much we have spent to date since implementation of the removal of the carbon tax.
2. The anticipated savings for our municipality

This information be circulated by memo in advance of the end of the election as this could have impacts based on which government is formed based on all party promises.

11.3

Fire safety code for E-Bus garage

Submitted by Councillor D. Hill:

Can building code / OC Transpo confirm that the new E-Bus garage provides adequate fire mitigation, prevention and reduction systems (fail safe and safe fail) to address the high concentration of large Lithium-Ion batteries and electrical infrastructure.

12.

Other Business

There was no other business.

13.

Adjournment

Next Meeting: Thursday, June 12, 2025.

The meeting adjourned at 2:30 pm.