Seniors facing 60% hike for OC Transpo monthly transit pass in 2025 under new proposal

Seniors facing 60 per cent transit fare hike While the city has backed down on a plan to double transit fares for seniors, some say a new proposal is still too high.

Ottawa seniors will be facing a 60 per cent hike in transit fares in 2025, instead of a 120 per cent increase, under a new plan to halve a proposed hike in fares for riders over the age of 65.

The 2025 draft City of Ottawa budget initially proposed a 120 per cent increase in the cost of a seniors' monthly pass from $49 to $108, along with the elimination of free transit for seniors on Wednesdays and Sundays. The proposal has sparked backlash from some councillors and the public about the $59 a month increase for transit riders over 65.

In an email sent to councillors Friday afternoon, Mayor Mark Sutcliffe said a motion will be presented during Monday's transit commission meeting to increase the cost of a seniors' monthly pass to $78.50.

"We've all heard feedback from the community about proposed changes to transit fares included in the draft 2025 budget," Sutcliffe said.

"The members of the Long-Range Financial Plan Working Group on Transit (Councillors (Jeff) Leiper, (Glen) Gower, (Tim) Tierney and I) have continued to work together to respond to that input."

Sutcliffe says the senior fare discount will be 42 per cent off the price of an adult monthly pass.

"This fare level ensures we continue to protect affordability for seniors and aligns more closely with other seniors fares in Ontario."

OC Transpo would also continue to offer free transit to seniors on Wednesday.

The motion for Monday's transit commission meeting directs staff to offset the $820,000 reduction in seniors' fare revenue by reducing the contribution to the Transit Capital Reserve in 2025.

The 2025 City of Ottawa budget proposes a five-per-cent hike in transit fares to help cover a $120 million deficit in the 2025 OC Transpo budget. The cost of a monthly adult pass will increase to $135 in 2025.

The city is also eliminating free transit for 11- and 12-year-olds and eliminating the discounted youth transit fare for 13- to 18-year-olds, requiring riders to get an adult transit fare.

University students have also raised concerns about the city's plans to increase the cost of the U-Pass five per cent in 2025, hiking the price from $229 to $240 a semester.  The University of Ottawa Student Union has said it's "incredibly disappointed" with the proposed hike, noting the contract between the city and universities calls for a maximum 2.5 per cent hike.

Sutcliffe says staff will "work collaboratively" with post-secondary institutions to negotiate a new fare level and implement any changes.

"The proposed 5 per cent U-Pass adjustment amounts to only $2.86 per month," Sutcliffe said. "Even with this modest increase, students continue to enjoy a significant 55 per cent discount off the regular adult monthly pass, paying only $60.13 per month, compared to $135.00 for adults."

"In every case, we are striving to strike a balance to ensure sustainability of transit services while protecting affordability for students, seniors, and the most vulnerable."

During the fall and winter semesters, there were approximately 74,500 post-secondary students in Ottawa who were eligible for and received a U-Pass.

In a letter to OC Transpo's director of transit customer systems and planning on Wednesday, the University of Ottawa Student Union issued a warning about the future of the U-Pass.

"The UOSU will be auditing student satisfaction with the U-Pass program and will reconsider the program’s continuation if OC Transpo continues to deprioritize services for our members, who collectively contribute $20 million annually to its budget," the letter signed by UOSU president Delphine Robitaille and UOSU advocacy commissioner Alexandra Stratas said.

"With ridership rates in Ottawa steadily declining, we urge the City to rethink its decision to violate a contract that grows in value for the City each year."

With files from CTV News Ottawa's William Eltherington