OC Transpo hands out 2,700 fines for not paying the fares in 5 months. Here are the hot spots for fare evasion

An OC Transpo user paying for a transit fare. (Dave Charbonneau/CTV News Ottawa)

OC Transpo has issued more than 2,700 tickets to transit riders not paying the fare to board buses and the O-Train so far this year, with Hurdman and Rideau O-Train stations the hot spots for tickets.

A report for the Transit Committee shows 2,728 tickets were issued for fare compliance violations between Jan. 1 and May 31.  A total of 1,817 tickets were issued at O-Train stations, with 623 tickets handed out to riders at bus stations and 288 tickets at bus stops along routes.

The tickets resulted in $177,636 in fine revenue paid to OC Transpo through the first five months of the year.

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The fine for not paying the fare is $260.

According to the statistics, 687 tickets for failing to pay the fare have been issued at Hurdman Station.

A total of 2,531 of the 2,728 tickets for not paying the fare were issued at 10 locations. Here are the top 10 fare enforcement locations, according to OC Transpo.

• Hurdman Station: 687 tickets (bus and O-Train)
• Rideau Station: 500 tickets (bus and O-Train)
• St. Laurent Station: 348 tickets (bus and O-Train)
• Bus stops on streets: 322 tickets (bus)
• Blair Station: 168 tickets (bus and O-Train)
• Tunney’s Pasture: 145 tickets (bus and O-Train)
• uOttawa Station: 105 tickets (bus and O-Train)
• Lyon Station: 100 tickets (bus and O-Train)
• Billings Bridge: 87 tickets (bus)
• Parliament Station: 69 tickets (bus and O-Train)

OC Transpo has 12 fare enforcement officers, working Monday to Friday.

Transit Ridership

OC Transpo saw an increase in ridership in three of the first four months of 2025, compared to the year before.

The Transit Committee was told 25 million passengers used buses and the O-Train in the first four months of the year, including 5.9 million trips in May and 6.6 million trips in both January and March.

Transit ridership was higher in January, March and April this year compared to last year.

Staff say the dip in ridership in February may have been due to two snowstorms.

Bus trip cancellations

OC Transpo provided 98 per cent of planned bus trips in May, below the target of 99.5 per cent. The statistics show 82 per cent of frequent routes were on time.

Staff say 0.4 per cent of trips were cancelled due to mechanical breakdown, while 0.5 per cent of trips were cancelled due to a lack of bus drivers and 0.2 per cent of trips were scrapped due no buses available.

The routes with the most trips not delivered in May were Route 12 (261 trips cancelled), Route 14 (203 trips cancelled), and Route 6 (319 trips cancelled).

O-Train Line 1 had an average service delivery of 99.4 per cent in May, while Lines 2 and 4 delivered 98.6 per cent of planned trips.

Red light/photo radar tickets

Fewer OC Transpo drivers have been caught by red light and photo radar cameras this year.

OC Transpo drivers received 29 infractions through the automated speed enforcement program during the first four months of the year, down from 46 tickets during the January-April period last year.

A total of 15 red light camera tickets were issued to OC Transpo buses in the January-April period. Fifteen tickets were issued to drivers for red light camera infractions during the same period last year.