$939M transit budget approved by committee with suggestion for free rides for kids, seniors

People board an OC Transpo bus at the Bank and Somerset stop. (Tyler Fleming/CTV News Ottawa)

The City of Ottawa’s transit committee is recommending the 2026 transit budget for council approval, including a 2.5 per cent fare increase and an eight per cent hike to the transit levy.

But the committee is also recommending council consider offering free rides at select times for children and seniors.

Committee members voted 8 to 1 to recommend that council approve the transit budget on Dec. 10, with councillors David Hill, Tim Tierney, Jeff Leiper, Shawn Menard, Marty Carr, Wilson Lo, Steve Desroches, and Glen Gower voting in favour. Coun. Riley Brockington voted no, and Carr dissented to the section referring to user fees.

Staff also accepted directions to continue to improve Para Transpo service, continue discussions with student transportation authorities regarding discounted youth passes, and return to Budget Committee of the Whole with potential funding sources for 18 and under youth passes for weekends, after 5 p.m., and summers.

City staff say the transit system is seeing a 10.8 per cent increase in its operating budget in 2026 compared to 2025. The budget also includes $177 million in capital investments.

There is also a $46 million placeholder in the transit budget for funding from the Ontario government, as negotiations get underway to upload the light-rail transit system to Metrolinx.

The budget proposes increasing the price of an adult monthly bus pass to $138.50 from $135. A senior’s pass will increase $1.50 to $59.75, which staff say is in line with inflation.

Single-ride fares are proposed to increase by 10 cents. An adult single-ride fare paid by Presto or debit/credit card will be $4.10, while a single-ride fare paid by cash will be $4.15.

Fares for the Community Pass, Access Pass and EquiPass would remain frozen.

More than 20 people signed up to speak to the budget on Monday, with many saying a fare increase would continue to erode ridership and put additional financial pressure on the people least able to afford it.

Staff told committee members that eliminating a fare increase in 2026 would cost $4 million. Offsetting that through the transit levy would require an additional 1 per cent increase, which would mean a 9 per cent increase in the citywide levy next year.

“A 2.5 per cent fare increase ($4M), plus the 8 per cent transit levy increase and assessment growth ($43.4M) in the 2026 Budget allows Transit Services to continue to implement previous investments while maintaining services,” a staff presentation.

Staff are forecasting 80 million customer trips in 2026, or 82 per cent of pre-pandemic levels. Committee members were told that 58.4 million passenger trips were recorded in the first 10 months of this year, up from 55.8 million passenger trips in the January-October period in 2024. Ridership in September and October was 81 per cent of pre-pandemic levels.

Nearly half of the operating budget, $417.6 million, is being spent on bus operations and maintenance.

Free rides for kids and seniors

A motion put forward by committee vice-chair Coun. Steve Desroches, which is being referred to council, calls on OC Transpo to consider several measures to make transit more affordable for young people and senior citizens in a bid to boost ridership.

The measures include free rides for people 18 and under on weekends and holidays, a direction to explore the technical feasibility of free fares for people 18 and under after 5 p.m., and a direction to develop a process to provide up to four free rides per month on Para Transpo for seniors 65 and older. It also recommends extending the transfer window from 90 minutes to 105 minutes between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. daily until the Stage 2 LRT west extension is launched in 2027.

All of these measures are estimated to cost approximately $712,000 per year, to be offset elsewhere within the transit budget. The motion directs OC Transpo to implement the changes as early as possible in the new year, if approved by council.

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