A Milestone for the Fleet
The city’s first 60-foot articulated bus is now officially carrying passengers, kicking off a rollout that will bring 52 of these new vehicles into the OC Transpo fleet by the end of 2027. The buses were greenlit through the 2025 Budget as a direct response to growing ridership across the network.
Manufactured by New Flyer, each Xcelsior XD60 is built to move a lot more people at once, with room for about 120 passengers and 53 seats. That extra capacity should help ease crowding on some of the city’s busiest routes.
What Riders Will Notice
The new buses come with three automatically operated doors, which should make boarding and exiting smoother during busy commutes. Riders can also expect air conditioning, larger exterior destination signs and upgraded interior information screens that make it easier to track where you’re headed.
Accessibility was clearly part of the design brief too, with a low-floor front section and two dedicated accessible seating areas built into each bus. Before ever picking up a passenger, every new bus goes through a full round of inspections, testing and training to make sure it meets OC Transpo’s standards for safety and reliability.
Why It Matters for Ottawa Commuters
These new articulated buses are part of OC Transpo’s broader long-term Fleet Plan and tie directly into its Customer-First Action Plan, both aimed at making daily transit more dependable across the city. For anyone who relies on the bus to get to work, school or weekend plans, more capacity on the road generally means fewer skipped buses and a bit more breathing room during peak hours.
The rollout won’t happen all at once. OC Transpo expects 20 of the new articulated buses to be in service by the end of 2026, with the remaining vehicles following over the next year after that.
Looking Ahead
If you’re a regular OC Transpo rider, keep an eye out on your route. As more of these longer, higher-capacity buses join the fleet, commuting across Ottawa should start to feel just a little more comfortable. For more details on the city’s bus fleet and what’s coming next, OC Transpo’s Vehicles page is worth a bookmark.