Ottawa - OC Transpo will get you to your destination safely over the holidays and will once again offer free service after 11p.m. on New Year’s Eve on all OC Transpo routes and on Para Transpo. A special holiday schedule will run from December 25 to January7, and on January 8 new winter service will be introduced, featuring route improvements or extensions, service level increases, new rural shoppers’ buses and a new Park & Ride at Scotiabank Place.

Holiday Schedule:

December 25: Sunday schedule

December 26 and 27: Saturday schedule

December 28 to 30: Reduced weekday schedule*

December 31: Saturday schedule with free service after 11 p.m.

January 1: Sunday schedule

January 2 and 7: Saturday schedule

January 3 to 6: Reduced weekday schedule*

*The O-Train will run a regular weekday schedule.

Schools are closed over the holidays, so special school routes will not be running. However, supplementary service to Carleton University on Routes 4 and 111 will resume on Wednesday, January 4.

New Winter Schedules and Route Improvements:

Residents can avoid winter road conditions and leave the driving to OC Transpo. Along with the new winter schedules that start January 8, which affect most routes, there will also be several route adjustments and many service level increases.

Minor routing adjustments or extensions to improve connections for customers will be implemented on Routes 106, 169 and 232 starting December 28, and on Routes 5, 16, 93, 261 and 263 starting January 9. The Friday Shoppers’ bus on Route 186 will be renumbered Route 205.

Service level increases, which will improve capacity, frequency and choice for customers, will be introduced on Routes 2X, 96 Stittsville, 169, 261 and 263 starting December 28, and on Routes 4, 5, 16, 30, 87, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 106, 111, 118, 120, 143, 148 and 691 starting January 8. As well, capacity will be increased by using articulated buses on certain trips on routes 4, 38, 60, 62, 87, 93 and 114. Resources will also be added to Route 129 to improve service reliability.

New Rural Shoppers’ Bus:

Four new routes will be introduced January 9 to 12 that will provide rural residents with a convenient way to get into town for shopping. Each route will serve a different community and provide one trip a week arriving in town around 10 a.m. and returning around 2:30 p.m. A fifth route – 205 – will replace the current Route 186 Friday shoppers’ bus.

• Route 201 will operate on Mondays and serve residents in Richmond
• Route 202 will operate on Tuesdays and serve residents in Cumberland, Sarsfield, Navan and Notre-Dame-des-Champs
• Route 203 will operate on Wednesdays and serve residents in Dunrobin and Carp
• Route 204 will operate on Thursdays and serve residents in Metcalfe and Greely
• Route 205, which will replace the current Friday shoppers’ trip on Route 186, will serve residents in Kars, North Gower and Manotick on Fridays.

Park & Ride News

Effective Wednesday, December 28, the Carlsbad Springs Park & Ride lot will be relocated from Greyhawk Golf Club to the Carlsbad Springs Community Centre at 6020 Eighth Line Road. Route 232 will be rerouted slightly to serve the new lot.

Effective Monday, January 9, commuters in the west end can take advantage of a new Park & Ride option at Scotiabank Place. One hundred parking spaces will be available in the north parking lot near the transit terminal between approximately 5:45 a.m. and 6:30p.m., with the last morning trip at approximately 7:55 a.m. The lot will be served by ten trips on Express Routes 261 and 263, on request, with direct rush hour service to downtown.

Adjusted Office Hours during the Holidays:

The Transit Information Centre (613-741-4390) will be open every day over the holidays to help customers with schedules and trip planning, including Christmas and New Year’s Day from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. On December 26 and 27, and January 2, the Centre will be open from 8 a.m. until 9 p.m.

The Customer Relations Centre (613-842-3600) will be closed December 26 and 27, and January 2, and will be open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on December 28 to 30.

The OC Transpo Sales and Information Centre at the Rideau Centre will be closed on Christmas Day and New Year’s Day, but will be open Boxing Day from 10a.m. to 6p.m. The Rideau Centre office will also close early on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve at 5 p.m. The offices at Lincoln Fields, Place d’Orléans and St.Laurent will be closed on Boxing Day, but will be open Saturday, December 31 and January 7 from 11 a.m. until 5 p.m.

Holiday and winter schedules are available at octranspo.com or by calling 613-741-4390. Riders may also get automated schedule information up to six days in advance by calling 613-560-1000 or texting 560560 plus their four-digit bus stop number. For more transit information, contact OC Transpo at 613-741-4390 or visit www.octranspo.com.