Dude, where's my bus?
Very grateful to Gio Petti for his hard work creating a documentary on how we got into this situation with transit in Ottawa. We used to have a functioning system!
What happened at Transit Commission?
Budget “consultations” are ongoing in Ottawa.
I use quotations because none of this is meaningful collaboration with residents or voters or people affected by the decisions at City Hall.
Most decisions are made in backrooms before they are presented to the public. Then the city holds performative exercises.
Four members of the Ottawa Transit Riders spoke at yesterday’s Transit Commission meeting among the 38 people who signed up to speak. Some other speakers were well-known – Alex Cullen, a former city councillor and member of the Council on Aging; Nick Grover from Free Transit Ottawa; and Sam Hersh from Horizon Ottawa for example.
Many seniors explained why raising fares hurt them. Many students spoke about the harm of raising fares. Delphine Robitaille, Students’ Union President at University of Ottawa noted that she was not informed in advance of the proposal to raise U-Pass fares by more than 5% which is a direct violation of the agreement with OC Transpo and the city to limit fare increases.
In the end, the Commission voted on one amendment – to raise senior fares by “only” 60% rather than the original proposed hike of 120%. The Transit Commission is not allowed to propose tax increases (as an alternative to fare increases).
City councillors will vote on the whole budget on December 11th.
Many items in the proposed budget rely on things that are unlikely to happen – other levels of government offering the city new funds, students agreeing to drastic fare increases (a referendum is necessary for it to pass), and fare enforcement bringing in a windfall. It is not clear what the city will do when these things do not happen.
You can participate in a survey on whether raising senior fares is fair here:
Survey Proposed increase in seniors transit fares - Is it fair?
You can also sign a petition from Horizon Ottawa here: PETITION: No Cuts to Public Transit - Horizon Ottawa
Here are some articles about the Transit Commission
Plan to cut seniors' pass fare hike in half passes at Transit Commission | CTV News
Seniors give transit commission earful about fare increases | Ottawa Citizen
CBC Ottawa News - November 25, 2024 | CBC.ca
Councillors move to pare back fare increase for seniors, but other changes on hold | CBC News
What does the budget mean for transit?
The city is working on the 2025 budget right now. A draft was presented to city council that proposed increased transit fares and a modest increase in the transit levy (part of city taxes).
Draft Budget 2025 - Transit Commission Condensed Book EN.pdf
One shocking proposal was to raise fares for seniors by 120%. Not surprisingly, a lot of people pushed back and the city is now reconsidering. Seniors have significant power in Ottawa.
City backs down on big transit fare increases for seniors | Ottawa Citizen
City ready to reconsider 120% hike to transit passes for seniors, mayor says | CBC News
The Ottawa Transit Riders advocates for better public transit for everyone – seniors, youth, people on low income, people with disability, and people who care about climate change. We want the city to freeze fares (and eventually to reduce fares) while raising the transit levy to improve service.
Youth don’t have the lobbying power of seniors in this city, but it’s downright disgraceful how the city keeps making lives harder.
The draft budget proposes to increase student fares by 5% which is a violation of the U-Pass agreement that OC Transpo has with local colleges and universities. Every transit agency wants a regular guaranteed source of revenue and the U-Pass provides OC Transpo with 20% of its revenue.
Some university representatives have warned that if the city continues to treat students badly, they will withdraw from the U-Pass.
uOttawa to reconsider participation in U-Pass if city increases student fares, student union says
So what can we do?
- Sign Horizon’s petition
- Email your city councillor (and other city councillors) to tell them that you want them to support public transit
- Attend the Transit Commission meeting on Monday, November 26th
Advocacy got the city to back down on senior fare increases – we can make our voices heard for other transit riders as well.
Book Club discussion on transit Nov 25th
People who like to talk about transit might be interested to hear that the Ottawa Urbanism book club is going to discuss “Better Buses, Better Cities” at their meeting on November 25th.
This is a drop in event – you do not need to register.
The November book is Better Buses, Better Cities. How to Plan, Run, and Win the Fight for Effective Transit by Steven Higashide. Sunnyside Library, 1049 Bank St, Ottawa. Monday, November 25th from 6:15 PM to 7:45 PM.
Bus lanes on Bank street
The Ottawa Transit Riders wishes that the city would use evidence and data to make decisions. There are lots of studies showing that dedicated bus lanes reduce congestion and improve transit.
Strong Towns Ottawa is another group fighting for a better city. Here is their well-thought out argument about how to improve Bank street: Let’s Make a Better Bank Street – Strong Towns Ottawa
They point out that only 7% of available parking spots are ON Bank street. This might surprise people who have been following the debate since the pro-parking people seem to think that Bank street is the ONLY place anyone can park in the Glebe.
Not true.
They are calling for the city to remove parking on Bank street to have 24/7 bus lanes.
Here are some things that people can do.
- Sign their petition
- Email your comments to the project manager, Lise Guevremont, at [email protected]
- Stay updated on the project here
- Join groups that are fighting for a better city – Strong Towns Ottawa has a discord and a Facebook account.
- Tell your friends and family to make their voices heard as well
Debating Budget 2025
The city is discussing its upcoming budget, where serious decisions about transit will be made. Last year’s budget had unreasonably optimistic guesses for ridership. Here’s hoping that the city will be more practical this time around.
A recent article asked who will pay for transit – transit riders OR taxpayers? Let’s remember that transit riders ARE taxpayers in this city.
Transit deficit the elephant in the room as Ottawa prepares for draft budget
Community groups, including the Ottawa Transit Riders have released an alternative budget to offer better ideas to city council.
Community groups release alternative budget ahead of 2025 City of Ottawa budget debate
Please contact your city councillor to tell them that you want support for public transit. No-one benefits from increased traffic and unreliable buses.
Participate in McGill study
An interdisciplinary research group TRAM (Transportation Research at McGill) is currently undertaking research aimed at understanding how people in Canada experience transport in their regions and what their public-transit needs are.
Ottawa-Gatineau is one of their study areas so consider taking a moment to complete the survey.
TRAM: Transportation Research at McGill
We're on Bluesky
A quick reminder that Ottawa Transit Riders is no longer using Twitter / X – we’ve switched to Bluesky. Come join us – it’s a fun, friendly platform.
@otttransitriders.bsky.social
We’re also on Facebook at Ottawa Transit Riders | Facebook and Instagram at Ottawa Transit Riders (@ottawa_transit_riders) • Instagram photos and videos
update on Trillium Line
The new Trillium line – the diesel train that will run from Bayview to the airport recently passed the first set of tests with flying colours.
Trillium rail line passes crucial test and could be weeks from opening Trillium rail line passes crucial test and could be weeks from opening | CBC News
Trillium Line passes trial run with 99.5 per cent score, Amilcar announces 'with humility and great joy' Trillium Line passes 14-day trial running | Ottawa Citizen
A second seven-day phase of trials began Monday afternoon, when the operator will practise 15 different situations such as what to do if there is a stalled train, a delay caused by problems opening or closing doors, or how to operate when the line is reduced to a single track.
Before the line opens for full passenger service, the city will also run two mock emergencies to help first responders prepare for the LRT, one at the Ottawa airport and one in the tunnel under Dow’s Lake.
"Transit for Tomorrow" Summit Oct 28th
Environmental Defence is hosting a summit in Ottawa on October 28th. Sally Thomas, a board member of Ottawa Transit Riders will speak about accessibility and public transit. For tickets, visit this link: Tickets to Summit Environmental Defence Canada
The summit welcomes all public transit advocates and allies, rider advocacy groups, transit riders and enthusiasts, environmentalists, federal, provincial, and municipal officials, mayors and city councillors, public transit agencies, associations, unions, the business community and other groups interested in better public transit and sustainable, equitable cities.
