Should OC Transpo change its transfer window to two hours? One councillor thinks so

If you’ve ever commuted to or from Barrhaven on public transit, chances are you’d be aware of how long it takes to get to your destination.

When ‘New Ways to Bus’ was introduced in late April, the community benefited from new neighbourhood routes that would get people across the suburb. However, it came at the expense of commuting downtown, and now some transit riders need to pay double. 

Barrhaven West Coun. David Hill said the issue impacts those who must commute to Gatineau for work, especially during rush hour. 

“The first issue is one of reliability. We need to make sure that the buses arrive when they're scheduled to arrive, and they take people to where they need to go on time,” Hill told the Lookout. “That transfer window timing would not be an issue if we had that reliability out of Tunney’s Pasture. 

Before ‘New Ways to Bus,’ commuters would hop on an express route to return to Barrhaven. But those more direct routes have been cancelled, requiring passengers to hop on another bus to get home. 

“They transition at either Fallowfield Station or Marketplace Station, and that is causing an additional tap,” said Hill. 

To help find a solution, the Barrhaven councillor is recommending that OC Transpo increase its fare window above the current hour and a half. For context, Gatineau, Montreal, and Toronto have a two-hour transfer window, while Calgary and Vancouver have a 90-minute window. 

In a statement, OC Transpo said it’s reviewing Hill’s motion but that most Barrhaven commuters can finish their trip in 90 minutes or less. However, for those who do find themselves paying twice, they can contact the transit organization for a refund. 

“Customers who pay twice for the same trip due to their transfer window expiring can contact OC Transpo by calling 613-560-5000. Refund requests are reviewed case-by-case and require sufficient information to investigate and determine eligibility. It’s important to note that some refund requests may take longer to process depending on the complexity of the investigation,” said OC Transpo spokesperson Katrina Camposarcone-Stubbs. 

So why is the Barrhaven bus service getting worse? 

Getting around Barrhaven has always been a problem, but the commute downtown was relatively stable — minus some issues with bus overcrowding. 

Before, the bus would travel down the transitway in Barrhaven from Marketplace Station to Longfields Station and Fallowfield Station, before going down Woodroffe Avenue until reaching Baseline Station. From there, it would be back on the transitway to Lincoln Fields, on the Kichi Zībī Mīkan Parkway for a brief stint to Dominion Station, and then back on the bus-only lanes to Tunney’s

But light rail construction has derailed the second part of that easier journey. 

“Until Stage 2 is completed, those buses leaving Algonquin College are principally going to be driving in regular traffic. So that does cause pretty substantial delays,” said Hill. “And there's nothing that's going to mitigate that until that construction is completed. But once it is completed, that will make for a much better ride. It's just going to take a while to get there.”

Hill said other factors that will improve the system include putting more buses on the roads. OC Transpo was expecting 26 electric buses by the end of 2024 and another 77 by the end of 2025, but as of February, only eight were running. It has blamed a “delay in electrical infrastructure work at OC Transpo maintenance facilities” for the slowed rollout. A total of 350 new zero-emission buses are expected to be on city streets by the spring of 2027. 

Because of an aging fleet, OC Transpo purchased 11 used buses from Waterloo, Ont., which were 15 years old, but were “in good condition.” The transit organization also said it purchased 50 new diesel buses that would arrive in 2026 and 2027.

But that won't fix François Lavigne's afternoon commute from Barrhaven to the University of Ottawa. He told CBC the trip used to take a little over an hour when the 200-series express buses were running, but now it takes 90 minutes on paper. And if the buses are late, it can take two hours. 

“It's demoralizing. It's frustrating. It's draining. It makes me reconsider transit,” said Lavigne, who asked OC Transpo for a refund but was still waiting for a reply.