OC Transpo considers cuts in budget review

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Good morning!

Well, we certainly needed the rain. But maybe having it dumped all at once wasn’t the best way to get it. In any case, it’s enough moisture to have lifted the city-wide burn ban, and likely will make the threat of wildfires from this weekend’s fireworks displays much lower. So that’s something.

And don’t forget, there will be no Monday newsletter next week because of the Canada Day long weekend. But we’ll be back on schedule on Wednesday.

We’ve got a bunch to go through today, including a deep dive into OC Transpo’s new five-year plan.

So let’s get to it.

— Robert Hiltz, managing editor

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Weather Report

Wednesday: 20 🌡️ 15 | 🌧

Thursday: 26 🌡️ 12 | 🌦

Friday: 27 🌡️ 15 | 🌦

TRANSIT

OC Transpo contemplates cuts

What happened: OC Transpo is gearing up for big changes to its bus service as it works on a comprehensive route review and prepares for the north-south Trillium rail line to come online later this year. The agency published its new five-year roadmap, and the agency said it is contemplating cuts after its review.

OC Transpo said it will be doing a line-by-line review of its budget and “will prioritize these business lines and consider whether some should be phased out.”

• The threat of cuts comes at a time the agency is struggling to deal with changing patterns of ridership and an LRT system beset by problems.

Like Uber, but OC Transpo (worse): The transit agency is looking at offering “on-demand” bus service at certain off-peak hours. In its five-year plan, the transit agency said it will run a pilot project to test “flexible routing and scheduling that responds in real-time to customers’ travel demands.” The pilot will run over the next two years. Where it will run and how it will work is yet to be determined.

• OC Transpo struggles to run a pre-scheduled bus system on time, with fixed routes and timing, it also frequently leaves ParaTranspo riders waiting hours for scheduled rides. (We need not mention LRT performance.) Running an on-demand service might be a bit of a stretch for the agency.

Financial unsustainability: With OC Transpo facing a budget deficit of some $29 million this year, the agency has acknowledged its current model is not working. The system is budgeted to be paid for 55 percent by fare revenue, with the remaining 45 percent covered by taxes. Because of lower post-pandemic ridership, fares aren’t able to hold the system up. Now, something has to change.

• “The economic assumptions used in the previous [long-range financial plan] have changed significantly, particularly ridership projections, and the current model is no longer financially sustainable. A revised [plan] will be presented in the fall of 2023, detailing the changes in those assumptions, revised projections and long-term financial implications,” the agency’s report to council said.

Stung by its inability to get its deficit covered by another level of government, OC Transpo promises in its five-year plan to “develop government relations capacity” (lobbying), which will include the creation of a “Strategic outreach staff position” (internal lobbyist).

Fare ratios: The previous council voted down a proposal to study other funding ratios between tax dollars and fares. The study would have looked at the costs and benefits of relying more and less on fares, and how other cities manage their transit system. Now, as part of its funding review, OC Transpo will undertake that very study.

The Lookout’s view: During the campaign, Mayor Mark Sutcliffe made a point of dismissing the idea of launching such a study. He said repeatedly that “free transit” wasn’t affordable because it would increase property taxes too much. But here we are, a year later, and OC Transpo’s budget problems have only grown. The mayor’s plan for someone else to pay for the transit deficit, either the province or the feds, has come up empty so far.

• Council’s opposition to studying new options has only served to kick the can down the road. Now it’s Sutcliffe’s problem to solve with OC Transpo in worse shape than ever.

OTTAWA BY THE NUMBERS

📈 3.4%: The year-over-year inflation rate in May, compared to the same month last year. Food is still rising ahead of most goods, at 9.1 percent. [CTV]

💊 $308,000: The yearly cost of a drug that could save the life of a Cornwall woman with cystic fibrosis, but OHIP refuses to cover the cost. [CTV]

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OUTSIDE DOWNTOWN

⚡️ Two men were taken to hospital in life-threatening condition after they were struck by lightning in Carp on Monday at Loch March Golf and Country Club. [CTV]

🚧 It’s once again one of the country’s worst roads. Is there any way to fix Carling? Theoretically, yes, but it would take reimagining the street. [Ottawa Citizen]

👨‍🌾 A group of volunteers has come together to care for the Poole Creek Amberwood Garden in Stittsville. [Stittsville Central]

🚨 Police identified a man with a cane wanted in connection with two sexual assaults in a Barrhaven park. [CTV]

💐 Residents of Blackburn Hamlet mourned the passing of their honorary mayor, Greg Kazmierski who died at the age of 50. [Orléans Star]

WEATHER

Severe storms roll through the capital

What happened: Rain, lightning, and strong gusts of wind blasted through the capital, clearing much of the smoke that had wafted in the previous few days. Hail was reported in some parts of town, while the sudden downpour caused minor flooding on city streets, CTV reported.

More storms: Tuesday evening, another band of storms rolled through but weren’t nearly as severe as Monday’s.

Return of the haze: While the smoke cleared for a while, it’s expected to return today. Environment Canada said the air quality index was forecasted to reach nine this evening and rise to 10 on Thursday. Monday, the index went off the scale at 10+.

HOUSE OF THE WEEK

Last week was a modest, average-priced home. This week…we’ve got a full-on estate. This home has five bedrooms, five bathrooms, and sits on two acres with a butler’s bar, with culinary kitchen and a basement with radiant floors. It’s also close to equestrian facilities.

Opulence comes at a price, check the listing to find out how much.

THE AGENDA

🔌 Hydro Ottawa workers voted to strike last night. The job action started today at 12:01, after 74 percent of workers voted to reject their employer’s latest contract offer. [CTV]

🔥 The city lifted the open-air fire ban, meaning you can have an outdoor fire once again as long as you’ve got a permit. [City of Ottawa]

🚸 The Ottawa Student Transportation Authority said next year it may have to cut van service for special-needs children because of a $6.5-million deficit caused by a drop in provincial funding. [Ottawa Citizen]

🏟️ Several prominent Ottawans are asking the mayor and council to slow down the Lansdowne 2.0 process, warning the process has not been transparent. They also warned staff may be advocating for the project on the private ownership group’s behalf, rather than scrutinizing the plan on behalf of citizens. [CBC]

🪩 The organizers of the Escapade electronic music festival held over the weekend are facing bylaw charges for excessive noise. The festival failed to get a noise exemption for the event held at Lansdowne Park. [CBC]

🏠 Less than a year after leaving the mayor’s chair, Jim Watson is back on the city scene, joining Ottawa Community Housing’s board of directors. Watson was harshly criticized in the LRT inquiry report for being dishonest with the public. [CTV]

🚔 Ottawa police are calling in reinforcements from across the province to assist them with Canada Day celebrations on LeBreton Flats. [CTV]

🚨 Crime statistics for 2022 were up compared to the previous year. The force said crime levels are returning to pre-pandemic levels. Violent crime was up six percent, while property crime was up 17 percent. [CBC]

🐤 A change to Twitter policies means the Ottawa Citizen’s annual project to tell the story of one of Canada’s war dead is in jeopardy. The name was selected by the @WeAreTheDead account, which published the name of a random service member every hour on the 11th minute. The account stopped publishing for the first time in 12 years last week because of the policy change. [Ottawa Citizen]

💰 Quebec Housing Minister France-Élaine Duranceau bought her first home in 2006 for $770,000 without a mortgage. Her and her partner used the home as collateral to invest in other properties. She sold it last year for $2.4 million. Duranceau is spearheading a new law that would give more power to landlords over renters. [Le Journal de Montréal]

COMMUNITY HIGHLIGHTS

• More than 100 people took to Beechwood Cemetery to cover its walkways with chalk drawings, hoping to break a world record. [CBC]

• This timelapse shows how quickly Monday’s storm rolled into town. [YouTube]

• Here’s another view as it blew into Nepean. [Reddit]

• OC Transpo’s summer service schedule starts on Sunday. [OC Transpo]

• Be prepared for street closures downtown for Canada Day celebrations. [Twitter]

• Want to have your announcement featured? Contact our partnership team for more info.

CAPITAL EATS

Lighting up the palate with Korean fried chicken

Capital Eats is written by our food editor Ralf Joneikies.

I’d recently heard about a new Korean eatery and so naturally I needed to get out there. Besides, one of our readers described their chicken as a “religious experience.”

I arrived for lunch on a warm day and seated myself in the modest and colorfully painted room. Along one wall was a table that held a glass cabinet with prepared food ready for take-away.

Their sign read Korean Cuisine and Fried Chicken and while that’s true, the menu selection was modest and did include some classics such as Jap Chae (stir fried glass noodles) and kimchi fried rice. However, I arrived here with the chicken recommendation in mind and so I stuck to that along with a couple of starters.

Read the rest of the article.

SPORTS

🏎️ After dropping out of the running to buy the Sens, Ryan Reynolds decided to look elsewhere. He and his business partner Rob McElhenney are part of a group that invested US$218 million in the Alpine F1 team. [The Associated Press]

🥅 Pierre Dorion will remain GM and DJ Smith will stay behind the bench of the Ottawa Senators as new owner Michael Andlauer takes over the team. [Ottawa Sun]

🏒 Bringing back Erik Karlsson is tempting, but it’s not without its costs. [Ottawa Sun]

OTTAWA GAMES

Congrats to Adam, Gord, Pat, Deborah, and Chantal, who all knew the answer to this week’s quiz: the Carleton Place hospital has closed its ER three times this month.

Do you know where today’s Ottawa Guesser is? The first five people to respond get their names mentioned in the newsletter.

Subscribe to Insider to read the rest.