Number of Ottawa bus drivers on Sunshine List spikes

The number of OC Transpo bus drivers earning$100,000 or more spiked in 2017, with 85 drivers ending up onthe province'sSunshine List.

The Ontario government released the annual list, which discloses the salaries of public employees making at least $100,000, on Friday.

The number of Ottawa bus operators on the 2017 liststands in stark contrast to just five years ago, when only seven drivers made the list.

The average salary made by drivers on the 2017 list was $108,456.17.

Canada 150 sparked overtime

A City of Ottawa human resources spokesperson said there were a wide variety of reasons behind the jump, ranging from obligations contained in collective agreements to the amount of overtime worked.

John Manconi, general manager of OC Transpo, said Canada 150 events partly caused thatincrease in overtime.

Obviously, operators don't make $100,000 a year. That's not their base salary.- OC Transpogeneral manager John Manconi

"In 2017, there were numerous events for our 150 celebrations which required a lot of extra service to be put on," he said.

Events like La Machine, the NHL Classic and the Grey Cup festival caused numerous delays and detours, adding to the time OC Transpodrivers spent behind the wheel.

In some cases, transit was included in the event ticket, leading OC Transpoto offer more frequent service and requiring overtime from operators. Grey Cup organizers even urged attendees not to drive to the game, suggesting they instead walk, cycle or takepublic transit.

During La Machine, parts of downtown and the ByWard Market were turned into temporary pedestrian zones, causing further disruptions to OC Transposervices.

"Obviously, operators don't make $100,000 a year. That's not their base salary,"Manconisaid. "Those that are achieving those levels of income are stepping up and volunteering, giving up literally their entire weekends."

According to Ottawa Tourism, more than 2.5 million people attended events in the city in 2017.

Construction woes

Construction in Ottawa also causedbig delays, Manconi said. When thosedelays happen, drivers often stretch out their shifts to finish their routes and make up for lost time, he explained.

"They're not going to strand the customers out in the middle of nowhere,so they have to complete their runs," Manconisaid. "Certainly all of those delays have an impact on overtime costs also."

The percentage of buses arriving late due to delays has increased in recent years, with around 21 per cent of vehicles running late between 6 a.m. and 9 a.m. betweenJanuary and June last year, according to numbers released by OC Transpo.

That's up from just fiveper cent running late during the same period in 2010.

With the LRT construction, the O'Connor Street closure and now the partial closure of Elgin Street, Manconisaid delays caused by construction won't likely come to an end in 2018.

However, overtime costs could drop when the LRTbecomes operational, Manconisaid.OC Transpo is planning to shed between 500 and 600 positions, including bus operators, maintenance and support staff.

The city estimated in 2016 thatthe opening of the LRTwill take 170 to 180 buses off the road.