Transit lessons learned during Thursday’s severe storm in Ottawa

OC Transpo says it is committed to learning lessons from how buses and trains fared during Thursday’s snowstorm. CTV’s Natalie van Rooy reports.

Thursday’s blast of winter was the first time the City of Ottawa implemented a severe storm schedule for OC Transpo since 2022. There were some hiccups, but also lessons learned for the transit system ahead of another major storm on track to hit the Nation’s Capital on Sunday.

The 32 centimetres of snow storm left buses stuck in the snow and caused major disruptions on the LRT.

“It was challenging for everyone out there,” said Katrina Camposarcone-Stubb, OC Transpo public information officer. “We’re taking lessons learned and applying to future storms.”

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Blowing snow caused issues on lines one, two and four of the LRT.

“I heard a lot of frustration, people who thought that train service was supposed to run uninterrupted due to the snow and when that didn’t happen, found themselves, you know, frustrated, late, and just a little disappointed,” said Laura Shantz of Ottawa Transit Riders.

Crews couldn’t keep up with the amount of snow piling up on the tracks.

“We have been told for a long time that they have plans in place, things to make sure that there’s always going to be train service,” said Shantz. “Even in snow events, for example, running the trains all night was something that we were told at one point. What happened to keep those rails clear?”

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The bus system fared better. While OC Transpo implemented a severe storm schedule, buses still got stuck around 140 times.

“We are pleased with how it operated; it was able to reduce the amount of buses on the road significantly,” said Camposarcone-Stubb. “Including over 50 per cent of our articulated buses, while we did see that some of them did get stuck, they weren’t for as long as they were in previous storms.”

Many riders are now wondering if the transit system can handle another major snowstorm on Sunday.

“For lines two and four, we aren’t open for Sunday operations yet, but folks can still expect to see some trains on the line,” said Camposarcone-Stubb. “They’ll be helping to keep the tracks clear going into Monday service and we will have people out there manually removing the snow, ensuring the switches are cleared.”