OC Transpo issues $1 million in fines for not paying the fare

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

More than 4,000 people have been fined for not paying the fare to board OC Transpo buses and the O-Train this year.

A presentation for the transit committee meeting on Thursday showed 4,059 tickets were issued for fare compliance violations between Jan. 1 and Aug. 31. OC Transpo fare compliance officers have also issued 580 warnings to transit riders.

The fine for not paying the fare is $260.

Staff said of the 4,059 tickets issued for fare compliance violations, 2,654 tickets have been issued to O-Train riders, 989 tickets issued to riders at OC Transpo bus stations and 416 tickets to bus riders at stops on streets.

The report said the estimated fare compliance was 97.14 per cent on buses and the O-Train in January, February and March.

In June, the transit service said there were 12 fare enforcement officers working on buses and the O-Train, with the officers deployed Monday to Friday.

Transit ridership

OC Transpo saw a boost in ridership in June and July, which included a boost in riders during Canada Day and Ottawa Bluesfest events.

Statistics show OC Transpo saw 5.2 million ridership trips in June and 4.5 million trips in July. Ridership was up in 2025 compared to the same two months in 2024. The ridership data for August was not available.

Between January and July, there were approximately 39,600,000 passenger trips on OC Transpo buses and the O-Train. Transit ridership was up 3.5 per cent this year compared to the same period last year.

Approximately 246,000 people used Line 1 during Canada Day celebrations, while there were 24,000 trips on Line 2 on Canada Day.

OC Transpo says there were approximately 650,000 customer trips on Line 1 and 87,000 trips on Line 2 during Bluesfest.

Photo radar violations

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

Staff say 50 tickets have been issued to OC Transpo drivers for speed enforcement infractions so far this year, down from 77 last year.

There have been 30 red light camera infractions involving OC Transpo buses this year, down from 35 tickets last year.

Bus trip cancellations

OC Transpo bus Route 6 and Route 12 continue to see the highest number of bus trips cancelled.

OC Transpo delivered 98.4 per cent of bus trips in August, with mechanical breakdowns, operator availability and on-street adjustments for construction and delays the main reasons for trip cancellations.

Staff said 217 trips were cancelled on Route 6 in August, while 163 trips were cancelled on Route 12. There were also 158 trip cancellations on Route 7.

New Ways to Bus

Staff say the early results for the New Ways to Bus are showing improvement on some routes, but “decline on other routes.”

The transit committee was told OC Transpo is paying attention to routes 18, 21, 30, 31, 42, 48, 53, 92, 110, 168, and 226.

Some of the adjustments include extending Route 58 to Tunney’s Pasture Station and improvements to routes 25, 30, 32, 33, 35, 39, 40, 70, 74, 75,80, 92, 94, 110, 161, 197 and 221.

The New Ways to Bus was launched in April, overhauling the bus route system with changes to dozens of routes and new connections to the O-Train and in neighbourhoods.