--- title: "Ottawa's 3-1-1 line saw abandoned calls rise 54% in 2025 as wait times worsened, audit finds" description: "An Ottawa auditor general audit found that 3-1-1 abandoned calls rose 54% from 2024 to 2025, and that a data error made the city's published wait-time figure look 5 minutes shorter than it actually was." canonical_url: "https://voche.me/on/ottawa-2026/news/ottawa-auditor-general-311-audit-november-2026" last_updated: "2026-11-02T20:47:34.779Z" --- The number of abandoned calls to Ottawa's 3-1-1 service line rose 54% in 2025, and a data error in the city's own reporting system made its average call wait time look about 5 minutes better than it actually was, according to the city's auditor general. The Audit of 3-1-1, issued by Auditor General Nathalie Gougeon in September 2026, is scheduled to be tabled at City Council on November 3. It covered January 1, 2025 to February 28, 2026. ## Call volumes and abandoned calls 3-1-1 received 457,524 calls in 2025, up from 447,281 in 2024, a 2% increase. The calls processed by agents dropped 8%, from 374,326 in 2024 to 345,437 in 2025. The number of abandoned calls, those where the caller hung up before an agent answered, rose from 72,955 in 2024 to 112,087 in 2025, a 54% increase. Public emails to 3-1-1 rose 66%, from 18,405 in 2024 to 30,493 in 2025. Of 10 public emails reviewed, 6 missed the city's own 48-hour response standard, with delays in some cases reaching 35 days. Online service submissions grew 37%, from 126,091 in 2024 to 173,300 in 2025. ## The wait-time data error The audit found a data error in how the city measured its average speed to answer (the time between a caller entering the queue and an agent picking up). The city had been reporting the figure for 2025 as 3 minutes 7 seconds. The auditor found the correct number was 8 minutes 17 seconds. The city revised its 2026 performance target to 7 minutes 52 seconds after the error was identified. By January and February 2026, the actual average speed to answer was 5 minutes 35 seconds, according to the report. For context, the report notes Windsor sets a target of answering 75% of calls within 45 seconds, and Toronto sets a target of 80% within 75 seconds. ## What agents told callers The auditor listened to 30 sampled calls and found gaps in what agents communicated. In those 30 calls: - 100% of agents did not tell callers why their personal information was being collected - 50% did not give the caller a timeline for when their service request would be completed - 50% did not mention online service options - 83% did not tell callers they could check the status of their request online - 30% did not collect the caller's email address 3-1-1 received 327,371 service requests in 2025. Solid waste services, by-law enforcement and roads maintenance together accounted for 65% of them. ## Five recommendations The auditor issued 5 recommendations, all agreed to by management. They cover stronger data quality controls to catch errors in performance figures, more consistent training and scripts so agents give callers the same information, better tracking of service timelines, improved promotion of online channels to reduce call volume, and closer monitoring of email response times. The audit report does not list implementation deadlines for these recommendations. ## What residents can do The full audit report is available through the Office of the Auditor General's website. City Council receives the report on November 3. Residents who want to follow the meeting can find the agenda at the City of Ottawa's meetings site at [https://pub-ottawa.escribemeetings.com/](https://pub-ottawa.escribemeetings.com/). ## Sitemap See the full [sitemap](/on/ottawa-2026/sitemap.md) for all pages.