OC Transpo route changes: What to expect for Monday’s commute

Commuters in Ottawa will have a much different trip to work on Monday as OC Tranpso is set to implement new bus routes on Oct. 6 now that the Confederation Line of its light rail transit (LRT) has opened.

The route changes will primarily affect routes that come into the downtown area from the suburbs, with a few longer local routes also changing.

Commuters who would previously have taken the 200-series routes or the 90-series routes into or out of downtown will now have no choice but to disembark at Tunney’s Pasture station, Blair station or Hurdman station and hop on the train.

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The big changes

• The cross-city routes:
  • Route 95:
    • Will be replaced by Route 39 from Orléans to Blair and Route 75 from Barrhaven to Tunney’s Pasture
    • Route 75 will be extended to Gatineau during peak periods
    • These routes will not travel through downtown
  • Route 94:
    • Will be split into three routes: Route 25 travelling east of Blair and routes 73 and 74 travelling west of Tunney’s Pasture
    • Service to Leikin will be provided by Route 73
    • Will no longer travel through downtown
  • Route 91:
    • Will be replaced by Route 39 from Orléans to Blair, and Route 75 from Baseline to Tunney’s Pasture
    • These routes will not travel through downtown
  • Route 97:
    • Will be split into two routes: Route 57 travelling west of Tunney’s Pasture to Bayshore and Bells Corners and Route 97 travelling south of Hurdman to the airport
    • Will no longer travel through downtown
  • Route 98:
    • Will end at Hurdman station
    • Will no longer travel through downtown
  • Route 99:
    • Peak-period trips to LeBreton will end at Hurdman station
    • Will no longer travel through downtown

• The peak routes:
  • From the east:
    • Routes 221, 222, 224, 228, 231, 232 and 233 coming from Orléans
      • Will end at Blair station
    • Route 234
      • Will end at Blair station
      • Service to Gatineau will be provided by routes 15 and 17
    • Routes 235, 236 and 237
      • Will end at Blair station
  • From the west:
    • Route 252
      • Will end at Blair station
    • Route 256
      • Will end at Tunney’s Pasture station
      • In Bells Corners, will be replaced on Old Richmond Road by new Route 251
      • Will travel via Moodie to Moodie Station then to Tunney’s Pasture
      • Will use Bridgestone instead of Stonehaven in Bridlewood
    • Route 257
      • Will end at Tunney’s Pasture station
      • Will be extended to Bridgestone Drive
    • Routes 261, 262, 263, 264, 265, 267, 268, 270, 271, 275, 277, 278, 282 and 283
      • Will end at Tunney’s Pasture station
  • From the south:
    • Route 293
      • Will be discontinued and replaced by Route 93 from Blossom Park to Hurdman
      • Service to Gatineau will be provided by Route 17 and Route 15
    • Route 299
      • Will end at Hurdman station

OC Transpo recommends commuters use their travel planner to plan out their routes on Monday morning.

For anyone who is in need of assistance to find where they are supposed to go, OC Transpo says there will be staff on hand to help answer any questions.

For a more extensive list of changes, including those to local routes, OC Transpo says commuters should visit its website.

Initially, OC Transpo kept routes to the downtown area open in order to facilitate an adjustment period for commuters to get used to the new system.

While there have been a few slight hiccups, OC Transpo says the system is working as it’s supposed to with only slight technical delays.

For those delays, OC Transpo has outlined its announcement protocol on how it plans to inform riders.

“Short delays have a low impact to customers and primarily affect those on the affected train or in the affected station; therefore, announcements are provided only to customers on the affected train or affected station,” said OC Transpo boss John Manconi in a release.

“Longer delays have a greater impact on customers and on the system, and so we provide alerts on trains and stations, on octranspo.com, on social media and through our notification system.”