It’s been 10 years since the Barrhaven bus crash

Sept. 18. 2023 marks the 10th anniversary of the tragic Barrhaven bus crash.

Just before 9 a.m. on Sept. 18, 2013, an OC Transpo double-decker bus collided with a Via Rail train on the Transitway, at the rail crossing near Fallowfield Road and Woodroffe Avenue.

“It’s still a fairly sensitive subject in Barrhaven,” said Wilson Lo, the city councillor for Barrhaven East and a former OC Transpo bus driver on The Sam Laprade Show on Sept. 18. “There are lives that were tragically cut short and many more lives that were forever changed that one morning.”

Six people were killed, including the bus driver, and 35 other people on board bus were injured.

There were no injuries among train passengers.

A Transportation Safety Board (TSB) investigation concluded that the bus driver was not at fault, and that his view of the road was obstructed by foliage as the bus approached the crossing.

The investigation also determined that the driver was probably distracted by the video screens he was required to monitor on the bus, and the TSB recommended that guidelines be developed for the use of in-vehicle screens to reduce distraction.

“Most of the recommendations from the TSB report have been implemented — all except the grade separation have been implemented,” Lo said. “So, we’re going toward a place where it’s likely to not ever happen again.”

The TSB also recommended the City of Ottawa review the need for grade separation at level crossings, though then years on, the crash site is largely unchanged.