4 Additional Trips Added to Route 256 this Month
As many of you know, I have been working with OC staff to improve service to the ward and one of the routes that I hear about frequently from residents is route 256. I am pleased to share that working with OC Transpo, we have been able to add 3 new trips to the morning 256 route and 1 extra trip to the afternoon route.
I will continue to advocate for additional service in Kanata South, and as more buses are becoming available, they are being allocated to the west/south ends of the city. Thank you to the residents who have been sharing their feedback with me regarding your commutes, I hope the addition of these new trips will lessen congestion and get you to and from work faster.
Effective today, September 17, we will be adding a new morning trip that starts at 6:30 a.m. This trip will operate ahead of the 6:43 a.m. trip (which is the trip operating at the most capacity), and is scheduled to arrive at Tunney’s Pasture at approximately 7:25 a.m. It may also serve as a convenient alternative for customers currently using the busy 6:17 a.m. departure.
Last week, thanks to resident feedback, we were successful in getting another trip added, as an unadvertised trip from Kanata South at 6:47a.m., to provide additional capacity on the busy 6:43 a.m. trip. Also starting on September 17, this supplemental trip time will be shifted to start at 6:58 a.m., so it runs between the two trips with the highest ridership at 6:43 a.m. and 7:13 a.m., and will be advertised publicly. This trip is scheduled to arrive at Tunney’s Pasture at approximately 7:53 a.m.
Both new morning trips will be retained through the winter service period. At this time, OC staff have been monitoring the afternoon 256 trips and they will continue to monitor ridership and capacity and will recommend further adjustments as needed, and where resources permit.
These changes will be reflected in the OC Travel Planner on Monday, September 21. Please note that third-party applications, such as Transit App, may require additional time to display the updated schedules.