OC Transpo grappling with a shortage of bus mechanics: union

Buses are running past their expected lifespan, and the people tasked with keeping them going are burning out.

Published Dec 30, 2024  •  Last updated 6 hours ago  •  2 minute read

Noah Vineberg is a union rep and former mechanic with OC Transpo who says mechanics are leaving OC Transpo for better paying gigs. Photo by JULIE OLIVER /POSTMEDIA

OC Transpo has been facing a shortage of mechanics over the past five years because of working conditions and it’s affecting bus reliability, according to its union.

In 2019, OC Transpo had a staff of 171 mechanics while five years later that number has dropped to 154.

Noah Vineberg, president of the OC Transpo union, said the shortage isn’t new. As buses age, more mechanics are needed to provide servicing to the OC Transpo fleet.

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The average bus lifespan is meant to be 12 years and many of these buses are reaching or surpassing that time frame, he said.

There are currently 818 buses in OC Transpo’s fleet.

The dropoff in the number of mechanics since 2019 isn’t a mass decline, but it illustrates the trouble of finding and retaining staff, Vineberg said. A lot of the staff are working long hours “just to keep these units alive.”

Mechanics have been leaving for a variety of reasons, he added, whether that be better pay from bigger corporations or burnout from the long hours at OC Transpo.

Rami El Feghali, the City of Ottawa’s director for transit bus operations, said in a statement that OC Transpo is working to implement long-term solutions that will increase fleet available through their maintenance action plan.

OC Transpo is drastically increasing the number of apprentices as part of a long-term solution; the number of apprentices has more than doubled in the past five years, from 11 to 27.

Despite the uptake in help, Vineberg said licensed mechanics are needed to go over repairs before being checked off for safety. Often the repairs have to be fixed or redone.

“We don’t have the buses, we don’t have the infrastructure, we don’t have the logistics to put those buses on the road,” he said. “And now we’re scrambling.”

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