Ottawa Says Goodbye to Its Double-Decker Fleet
Ottawa's OC Transpo is retiring almost its entire fleet of double-decker buses — and the workers who dealt with them day in and day out are breathing a collective sigh of relief.
The transit agency is phasing out all but 10 of its double-deckers at barely more than half their expected operational lifespan. The reason? OC Transpo skipped a critical mid-life refurbishment, and the cost of maintaining the aging buses has become too steep to justify.
"They Were Duds"
That blunt assessment comes straight from transit workers themselves. Staff who operated and maintained the double-deckers have been vocal about the buses' shortcomings for years — and the retirement announcement hasn't been met with much mourning from the front lines.
The double-deckers were once seen as a bold, eye-catching addition to Ottawa's bus network, offering more passenger capacity on busy routes. In practice, though, they became a source of persistent headaches: higher maintenance costs, mechanical issues, and the operational challenges that come with running a taller, heavier vehicle through Ottawa's winters and under the city's infrastructure.
A Costly Experiment
The decision not to invest in mid-life refurbishments sealed the fleet's fate. Without that upkeep, the buses degraded faster than expected, and the bill to keep them roadworthy climbed. OC Transpo ultimately determined that retiring the bulk of the fleet made more financial sense than pouring money into vehicles that were already behind on their maintenance curve.
Only 10 double-deckers will remain in service — a skeleton presence compared to what was once a more prominent part of the fleet.
What Comes Next for OC Transpo
The retirement raises natural questions about capacity on Ottawa's busiest routes. Double-deckers were deployed partly because of their ability to carry more riders without adding more buses to the road. As those vehicles disappear, OC Transpo will need to manage coverage and frequency with the rest of its fleet.
The agency has been navigating ongoing pressures — from the LRT's troubled rollout to budget constraints — and every fleet decision carries ripple effects for daily commuters across the city.
For riders who've come to recognize the double-deckers as part of Ottawa's transit landscape, their near-total disappearance will be a noticeable change. For the workers who kept them running? It sounds like it couldn't come soon enough.
Source: CBC Ottawa
