As Ottawa residents become increasingly frustrated about reduced service on O-Train Line 1, one councillor is asking OC Transpo to conduct an audit “to ensure regulatory, safety and technical requirements and standards are being met”.

OC Transpo says approximately 70 per cent of vehicles have been out of operation since Jan. 21 after a problem was discovered with the cartridge bearing assemblies on the train vehicles, forcing the transit operator to pull all trains with mileage higher than 100,000 kilometres from its fleet.

While the transit authority works with experts to tend to the maintenance as soon as possible, it is currently operating severely underserviced.

Each week, OC Transpo updates its service status, but it is slow to improve.

Currently 21 vehicles are in service, up from 18 at the end of last month. OC Transpo says 26 vehicles are needed for regular peak service.

The transit authority says Line 1 service will continue to operate at three to four-minute frequency during peak periods. Staff will also be stationed at stops during the busiest period to support customers.

Interim general manager Troy Charter previously said the service “can and will do better”. Councillor David Hill, who represents Barrhaven, is looking to make that happen.

In a motion that will come before City Council Feb. 25, Councillor Hill is asking his fellow representatives to vote to direct the Quality Assurance Team at OC Transpo conduct an audit into the safety concerns that resulted in the Line 1 trains being removed from operation.

Ottawa’s Auditor General currently has an agile audit of the LRT set for 2026-2027, but the motion will also ask to increase the priority of that report so that work can begin as soon as OC Transpo’s report has been submitted to the Auditor General.

OC Transpo Line 1 fleet status Feb. 8 to 14. (OC Transpo)

Bus service

OC Transpo reported that bus service decreased slightly over the week of Feb. 8 to 14. During that week, 95.3 per cent of bus trips were delivered successfully.

The transit authority says the decrease in service was largely related to operator availability. Of the 2,087 undelivered trips, 884 were a result of operator availability.

Four new electric buses completed all of their inspections and will enter service this week, increasing the number of available buses.

On average, 495 buses are available every weekday, with an average weekday requirement of 500.