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An OC Transpo operator has written a blistering critique of the organization, saying its schedules are ill-designed “works of fiction” that have let down passengers for years and created chronic absenteeism among overworked drivers.

In a rare, unblinking assessment from someone on the front lines, Chris Grover, 46, submitted a letter to this newspaper, personally apologizing for longstanding, unreliable bus service.

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“First, I would like to apologize to every resident, taxpayer and transit user on behalf of OC Transpo and of the City of Ottawa,” Grover writes, though cautioning that he does not speak for the city, OC or the operators’ union, ATU Local 279.

“I am sorry that we have lied to you for years.”

Grover, an operator since 2010, says OC schedules are so tightly drawn up that operators have virtually no time between runs, are constantly playing catch-up and sometimes don’t have a minute for a bathroom break, he writes.