Welcome to the OC Transpo Travel Planner
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Welcome to the OC Transpo Travel Planner |
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Browser Requirements back to top ...
Scheduled times are approximate back to top ... Please arrive at your bus stop a
few minutes early
as arrival times at bus stops are based on typical driving conditions, and
can vary by a few minutes on either side of the scheduled time. Sometimes a travel plan cannot be found. If so, the Travel Planner will display one of these two messages:
This message means there is no service at either the “FROM” or “TO” location you have specified. The Travel Planner must be able to locate a bus stop within 1500 metres of your origin or destination, before it can calculate a bus trip. There are many streets, addresses and landmarks in the system which are not served by transit. If you are unsure of the closest bus stop, try using the map to pick a bus stop close to your location. Travel to/from Gatineau: back to top ... The Travel Planner recognizes addresses in the City of Ottawa only, as the OC Transpo GIS system and the STO system use different programs/applications. We do however have some "Landmarks" listed in the Travel Planner - located in Gatineau that we do travel to. For example, under the "Landmark" tab, you can select 'Work Places / Govt Offices'; then you can choose 'Place du Portage'. You can create a trip plan using the Travel Planner for your portion of travel within Ottawa to one of the Gatineau Landmarks. For your trip portion within Gatineau from the landmark (or from downtown Ottawa), please contact STO at 819-770-3242 ( www.sto.ca ) You may also be able to connect in downtown Ottawa to STO bus service.
Walking Speed: back to top ... Most travel plans include some time for walking to and from bus stops. The time allowed is based on an average walking speed of 65 metres per minute. If you think this is too fast, be sure to leave more time for walking to your stop, or for walking between stops to make a transfer. Connection TimesIf your travel plan includes a transfer, keep in mind that buses can sometimes run a few minutes ahead or behind schedule, depending on the location along a route, driving conditions, etc.. The Travel Planner allows a couple of minutes grace time for making these connections, but the plan will only work when the buses are close to being on schedule. Schedules are most reliable at major time-points along a route. Check your route timetable to see which locations are time-points. If you are catching a bus or transfering at a bus stop midway between time-points, or on a day when driving conditions are bad, you should allow a little extra time if possible. It also may help to know when the previous or next bus on a route is scheduled to arrive at the same bus stop. Call 560-1000 for scheduled bus stop times up to one week in advance. In an upcoming version of the Travel Planner, a new feature will let you click on any blue bus stop which appears along your trip to view all departure times for the day at that location. Alternate Routes: back to top ... For some trips, several alternate routes may be possible. The automatic Travel Planner will always find the quickest trip first. To see other possible routes, click the "earlier" or "later" buttons. If a different routing is available, the Travel Planner can find it by looking a few minutes earlier or later. Alternate trips will also be found if you make a slight change to the arrival time, or if you specify a departure time instead of an arrival time. Long-range detours are taken into consideration by the Travel Planner. This includes bus stops moved due to road construction, or buses travelling along a temporary routing. Trip times and transfer points will follow the detour routings when necessary. However, many short-range detours are not in the Travel Planner. If a bus stop is moved for a day or two, or if a parade results in route detours for a few hours, this will not be reflected in your trip plan. Check our detour information page for the latest details which may affect your travel plans. Or remember to call 560-1000 at the time of your trip, for up-to-the-minute information about delays and detours. Fares: back to top ...
OC Transpo operates some routes and trips specifically to high schools and middle-schools. The Travel Planner will suggest using these routes when they are the best alternative. All routes numbered 600 through 699 are School Routes. Other routes may have some specific trips designated for schools. These are indicated by a ”Note” which appears in your final travel plan. Unlike other routes, route numbers for the “600s” do not appear on most bus stop signs. Check the stop location description carefully before you try to locate a 600 route. Also, note that buses on these routes are often at full capacity after departing a school, until they start to drop off passengers. There is a greater likelihood that these buses will need to pass customers because they are already full. If you do not want to travel on the 600 routes, simply check the EXCLUDE SCHOOL ROUTE option on the Options Page. The Travel Planner will ignore these routes when it plans your trip.
Or if your trip “Note” indicates that a bus is a ‘school trip’,
press the EARLIER or LATER
button to find another trip at approximately the same time.
Transfer to "the same vehicle" When your trip requires a transfer from one route to another, the Travel Planner will sometimes indicate to you that the same bus is used for both parts of the journey. This is important to know, especially if there are only one or two minutes to complete a transfer, or if the first part of the trip arrives late. However, please note that sometimes you will be waiting through the bus operator’s scheduled “recovery-time”. Customers may be permitted to remain on the vehicle during this “recovery-time” at the operator’s discretion. OC Transpo fares are paid when you board the first bus in your trip. If you pay with cash or tickets, request a transfer to complete your trip on another bus. Transfers expire after about 90 minutes on weekdays, or 120 minutes on Sundays. This is usually more than enough time to complete your trip - as long as you board the last bus in your journey before the transfer expires, you will not have to pay an additional fare. The Travel Planner does not consider the transfer expiry-time in its calculations and may ask you to board a bus after your transfer has expired. Keep in mind that the Travel Planner will always show you the quickest trip to reach your destination. The Travel Planner usually shows a 4-digit number in parenthesis beside any bus stops used in your trip. This is the 560-1000 number for the bus stop. You can call this number at the time of your trip to check for up-to-the-minute information about delays and detours.
Street addresses are also typed and displayed in the Travel Planner with the number in front of the street name – eg 1500 ST. LAURENT BLVD
Different route destination names are sometimes used by different trips on the same route. The Travel Planner always uses the 'main' route name for every trip - if your bus is going to display a different name, the Travel Planner will put this information in a "note". If a "note" link appears in your travel plan, be sure to click it for these important details. At Transitway Stations, the Travel Planner will sometimes describe a transfer as a “direct transfer”. This simply means you do not have to leave the station to make your connection. You can walk from one bus stop to another without exiting to a street. Walking instructions are sometimes provided for direct transfers, but usually the text will simply say “walk through the station”. The Travel Planner uses the term “portal” to describe an entrance to a station from a street. These are used when several entrances are possible, or when a station is not actually on a street – eg O-Train stations are located on a track, not a street. The Rideau Centre is an example of a location with several “portals” – one on Rideau Street, one on Mackenzie King Bridge, etc. When you type in an intersection, you may either type both streets or, if you prefer, simply type one street in the first box, then press the ‘OK’ button.
Street Address: back to top ... Sometimes the Travel Planner will not find the street address you typed:
There are four reasons this might happen: 1. The street type was entered into the wrong field. When you enter the address - please just type in (for example) '1161 Meadowlands '. The street type ('Drive' in this case) will be found automatically. You can also select the street type - "DR"- from the drop-down box which is located to the right of the address field. 2. The street name was spelled incorrectly. If you are unsure of the exact spelling, simply type the address number, plus the first few letters of the street name. For example, if you type “180 BAN” and press the ‘OK’ button, the Travel Planner will ask you to choose from a list of all streets which match – in this case 180 BANK and 180 BANNING. 3. The street was correctly spelled, but that address does not exist on that street. If a nearby address is located, within a short distance, the Travel Planner may select it. But usually you will have to specify an exact address. 4. The street and address exist, but the information in our street-map is incomplete or out-of-date. The street-map in the Travel Planner is approximately 14 months old. An updated map will be available in late September. If you know that the address you typed is more than 14 months old, and if the Travel Planner still did not find it, please let us know! We probably have a mistake which we would like to fix. Landmark: back to top ... There are more than 2,000 different landmarks to choose from in the Travel Planner – but there is room for more. If you cannot locate a particular landmark, maybe it is in a different category, or maybe it is simply missing. Please let us know if there are important landmarks or a category of landmarks you would like to see added to the Travel Planner. Special Events Revised OC Transpo often runs bus service to special events such as Winterlude and events held at Scotiabank Place. When this service is scheduled in advance, the Travel Planner will plan trips on these buses. An easy way of selecting a destination such as Scotiabank Place is to select the 'Landmarks' tab and then 'Events'. The Scotiabank Place is one of the many popular event locations listed.
If you do not want your travel plan to include special event routes such as the Conexion 400 service, simply check the "Exclude Special Event Routes" box in the options panel. The options panel is on the same page you would specify your travel date and time. Accessible Service: back to top ... If you use low-floor buses to make your trip, be sure to check the "accessible buses" option. The Travel Planner will only look for trips which are scheduled to use low-floor accessible vehicles.
Many Transitway Stations provide elevators and stairs to move from one platform to another – e.g., Bayshore, Westboro, Tunney’s Pasture, Mackenzie King, Campus, Lees. From time to time, an elevator may be out-of-service or under repair. This does not happen often, but when you are planning an “accessible” trip, the Travel Planner may ask you to board a bus or transfer at one of these stations, even if the elevator is out of service. To become familiar with alternate services or transfer locations, try using the Travel Planner to identify other routes – or call the OC Transpo Access Hotline at 842-3625. Not all bus stops are accessible to people using wheelchairs and scooters or other mobility devices. Lack of sidewalks or curb-cuts at a bus stop can make it difficult or impossible to use the stop. The travel planner does not currently have information about which stops are accessible and which are not, and therefore it may create a travel plan using inaccessible stops, even if you checked the 'accessible trips' icon. We are in the process of collecting information about bus stop accessibility across the city. In the future, this information will be added to the Travel Planner. Some OC Transpo buses are equipped with bike racks, and the O-Train has space for bicycles. To plan a trip using only these vehicles, be sure to check the "bike racks" option.
Only a few OC Transpo bus routes have bike racks – try planning your trip between major points, such as from one transit station to another, or specify locations which you know are close to designated “rack-and-roll” bus routes. Please keep in mind that bike racks are removed from buses annually on November 1. The Travel Planner considers that these racks are available until December 18 … but please don’t count on bike-racks being available after October, regardless of what the Travel Planner says. The Rack & Roll service resumes every spring in the month of April, on the date of the spring service change.
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Sometimes a bus stop description will include an address number.
For example, CARLING/
AD. 3026 describes the bus stop on Carling Avenue, at address
number 3026. 
Connexion 400 service to Senators's games is scheduled
well in advance, and the Travel Planner always has these in its
calendar. Other events at Scotiabank Place, such as music concerts, are
usually available in the Travel Planner about one month in advance. If the
Travel Planner does not find service to your event, try checking closer to
the date of the event; check our 
