62% of new OC Transpo drivers involved in collisions, audit finds

More than 60 per cent of OC Transpobus drivers who finished their training between 2017 and 2019 later ended up in collisions, a city audit has found.

Most of those collisions about three-quarters were deemed minor,causing less than $2,000 damage. The rest, 23 per cent, were considered major, and one-quarter of the new drivers were involved inmore than onecollision.

The audit covered the 227 drivers who took OC Transpo's31-day training course between 2017 and2019, as well as the ongoing training forexperienced drivers.

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Transportation general manager John Manconi assured councillors on the city's audit committee Tuesdaythat OC Transpo's training program meets or exceeds Ministry of Transportation requirements.

"You have my assurances, we're all over this audit. We're taking it seriously," Manconisaid.

He said unlike some other municipalities, everycollision is tracked bya program called Riskmaster, even a "$10 nick on a mirror."Because of the city's expansive geography, OC Transpo operators togethertravel some 64 million kilometres a year, Manconi noted.

The auditincludes20 recommendations to improve driver training. Nine have already been implemented and the rest will be by spring, said Brandon Richards, OC Transpo'snew chief safety officer, who washired since the audit began.

LRT delay affected recruitment, training

Deputy auditor Ed Miner pointed to one particular period in the fall of 2017when the city was rushingto hire more drivers in the lead-up to the opening of the city's new LRT line.

He said from October to December of that year, OC Transpohad a bigger pool of candidates and gave them fewer training days and less time behind the wheel, while still meeting MTO requirements.

"Based on the percentage of active [new bus operator training] graduates involved in a preventable collision within four months after graduation, it appeared that the general quality of the drivers coming out of these sessions was affected," said Miner.

Driver training is one of the most important tools available to reduce the risk of bus collisions.- Ed Miner, deputy city auditor

Auditors studying trainees' filescame acrossremarks about Highway Safety Act violations, as well asinstances whereinstructors had to intervene. Rather than end their training, the city might let them fail the MTO exam, Miner was told.

The current failure rate of the city's new driver training program, which includes the MTO tests,is 18 per cent.

Meanwhile, some plannedrefresher training forexisting drivers didn't happen because of the LRT launch.New drivers trained in good weather and didn't get their winter refresher, auditors found.

Given collective agreements, senior drivers get first choice of routes and bus types, leaving less experienced drivers to the more difficultroutesand longer articulated buses, even if they had only spent 20 per cent of their training behind the wheel of that type of bus.

"Driver training is one of the most important tools available to reduce the risk of bus collisions," said Miner.

Councillors concerned

"Reading this audit left me a little bit worried for obvious reasons, because driver training and the safety and qualifications of the driver behind the wheel are so very important," said Coun. Carol Anne Meehan.

Miner clarified thatthe original complaint that spurred the audit didn't specifically mention double-decker buses, which wereinvolved in both the tragic crash at Westborostation in January 2019 and the fatal collision with a Via Rail train in Barrhaven in 2013.

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"Our residents have to have total confidence that we're working toward all these ... 20 recommendations," said Coun. Theresa Kavanagh.

A second audit presented Tuesday showed that driver error, not mechanical problems, are responsible for nearly all preventable collisions.