NOTEBOOK: Recap of Transit Committee on November 24, 2025

by | Nov 25, 2025 | Notebook

NOTEBOOK: Recap of Transit Committee on November 24, 2025

This week, the Transit Committee approved OC Transpo’s 2026 draft budget and it will now rise to Council on December 10, 2026.

Operating and capital budgets continue to make significant investments in the transit system, bringing the draft Transit gross budget to $938.7 million. This represents another significant increase of 10.8 per cent in 2026, bringing the two-year combined increase to 22.2 per cent (following an 11.4 per cent in 2025)

The draft budget supports several strategic initiatives tied to OC Transpo’s 5-Year Roadmap and goal of reaching 99.5 per cent for bus service delivery.

Key investments

  • The opening of the O-Train Line 1 East Extension to Trim Station and connecting the surrounding bus routes
  • Investments to maintain and improve bus and train service reliability
  • Investments to support zero-emission battery-electric buses and to sustain fare enforcement
  • $177.1 million of new capital projects to maintain equipment and facilities, improve service reliability, improve safety and security, meet regulatory requirements, and prepare for the opening of O-Train Lines 1 and 3 to Algonquin and Moodie
  • Introduction of new buses (funded in previous years)
  • Introduction of on-demand transit services

Transit levy and fares

As part of the draft budget, an 8% increase to the transit levy is proposed, as well as some changes to OC Transpo’s fares:

  • Most fares will increase by 2.5%.
  • The new Adult single-ride fare will be $4.10, and a monthly adult pass will be $138.50.
  • EquiPass, Community Pass and Access Pass fares will be frozen.

Fare changes proposed in the draft budget will take effect January 1, 2026.

OC Transpo customer improvements motion

We also referred a motion to City Council for consideration at the December 10 meeting that would:

  • Make fares for riders ages 18 and under free on Saturdays, Sundays, and public holidays;
  • Have staff explore the technical feasibility of implementing free fares after 5:00 p.m. to riders ages 18 and under.
  • Have staff develop a process to provide senior riders ages 65+ on Para Transpo with up to four free rides per month.
  • Extend the transfer time for weekdays between 3:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. to 105 minutes. This would be a temporary measure until the launch of LRT Stage 2 west to Algonquin Station and Moodie Station which is expected in 2027.

Besides the budget, we also had our regular OC Transpo update.

Public Safety Strategy

The strategy sets out safety priorities, initiatives, milestones, and key performance indicators aligned with industry best practices and recommendations from the Westboro Coroner’s Inquest. It includes a communications plan, additional provincially supported staffing, and enhanced Special Constable training, including for hate-motivated incidents. Riders will see more uniformed personnel, a new high-visibility patrol platoon and increased peak-hour coverage. A new safety and security reporting app will launch next year as part of the phased rollout.

Update on O-Train Line 1 East Extension

Work is underway to address final construction items before Substantial Completion of the system can be achieved and before Trial Running can begin. This process is thorough and deliberate to ensure that the East Extension is safe, ready for customers and meets all requirements. It is anticipated that the East Extension will be ready to open to the public in early 2026.

OC Transpo/Loblaw Holiday Food Drive

The 41st annual OC Transpo/Loblaw Holiday Food Drive will take place on Saturday, December 13 from 10 am to 5 pm at participating Loblaws, Real Canadian Superstore, Your Independent Grocer and No Frills stores across Ottawa. The OC Transpo/Loblaw Holiday Food Drive is Ottawa’s largest annual, single-day grocery store food drive.

Ridership

Ridership was 7.4 million in September, and 7.8 million in October. These are the highest ridership numbers OC Transpo has seen since the pandemic. Year-over-year, September’s ridership was 6% higher and October’s ridership was 17% higher.

Para Transpo’s 12-month total ridership is 873,000 customer-trips, an increase of six per cent compared to the previous year.

Full ridership and reliability data is available on OC Transpo’s Key performance indicators page.

Presentation slides

Youtube index