The heat waves, floods, droughts and wildfires spreading across the globe the past few years are searing evidence of the climate crisis and its devastating impact on human societies everywhere. The leading source of the greenhouse gas emissions causing climate change in Ontario is the transportation sector. In Ottawa it accounts for 44% of GHG emissions, most of which come from private automobiles. Switching to public transit cuts emissions per passenger km by more than 50%. Public transit is therefore key to any serious strategy to address climate change. It also has to be central to our efforts to offset the impact of the tariffs imposed by the Trump administration on the livelihoods of Canadian workers.

In Ottawa, however, public transit is in a deep crisis. This crisis predates the arrival of COVID-19 in 2020 but it was deepened by it.  Designed principally to get people with regular 9-5 jobs in and out of the City core, transit ridership plummeted as people lost jobs and/or workhours, or moved to working from home or to limiting social interactions. The resulting loss of fare revenue threw OC Transpo into a deficit exceeding $120M as of July 2020.

Perverse Response
The City of Ottawa’s response to this crisis has been disappointing. Unlike many Canadian cities, it has taken no steps aimed at increasing ridership on OC Transpo. Indeed, its response has been perverse. It has regularly increased fares that have long been among the highest in Canada. It has repeatedly reduced services and re-organized others most recently with New Ways to Bus, making the system harder to use.  

The impact of these policies has been devastating for the 25-30% of the population – overwhelmingly low income, racialized, many coping with disabilities – that depend on public transit to get to work or school, shop, access public services, etc. At the same time, those with access to cars have increasingly forsaken public transit, increasing green house gas emissions and adding to OC Transpo’s deficit.  

The LRT is improving transit for some people but has been accompanied by reduced bus service and more transfers for others, making transit even more difficult for many people to use. 

Need for a New Vision
A return to “normal” is not enough. To win the affordable, low carbon city we all deserve, bold measures are needed to attract people to public transit and away from using private automobiles. The transportation system we need must place public transit at its heart. 

It needs to be a real public service – free at the point of delivery, like public schools, health care, fire services and sidewalks. But fare-free transit is of limited value if the transit system doesn’t take you where you want to go in a safe and reliable manner. This requires a much expanded transit system, one developed in consultation with transit users and providers. Creating such a system would require new taxes, but these would be more than offset by savings in other areas. These would include a reduced need for people to buy and maintain a car, lower health-care costs due to fewer accidents and less pollution, and less time lost due to sitting in traffic jams.

Measures on this scale would require support from the Provincial and Federal governments. But there is a lot that Ottawa could do on its own through better use of the financial resources it already has and tapping others that are available to it. 

Here is what we think is possible, what it would cost, and how it could be financed – without raising property taxes.

Our Vision

  1. Make OC Transpo free in off-peak hours (9:00 am – 3:00 p.m.; 6:00 pm – 6:00 am; and on weekends)
  2. Add 150 buses to improve service in peak and off-peak hours 
  3. Add 50 local/neighbourhood buses in underserviced areas
  4. Add 25 Vehicles to Para Transpo and provide same day booking
  5. Expand dedicated bus-only lanes, starting with the most unreliable routes  
  6. Democratize the Transit Committee by replacing 6 of the 12 Councillors with 4 members who are directly elected by the citizens of Ottawa and 2 members selected by ATU Local 279

The annual cost of these improvements would be $125 M: 

  • Free transit during off-peak hours – $50 M1
  • 150 electric buses – $52.5 M2
  • 50 neighbourhood buses – $13 M3
  • 25 ParaTranspo buses – $6.5M4
  • Expanding bus-only lanes – $2.55 M5
  • Election of 4 Citizen Transit Commissioners – $250,0006

There are various ways to finance these improvements without an increase in property taxes and our approach centres on ‘progressive’ measures that also discourage the use of private cars.

  • $50 M – Reallocate funds budgeted for road widening7 to transit
  • $10 M – Raise parking rates to $6.00/hr (including Sundays and expand paid parking to all commercial areas)8
  • $15 M – Increase Uber/Lyft accessibility surcharge from $0.10 per ride to $0.50 per ride9
  • $21 M – Increase development charges on single-family dwellings by 25%10
  • $14 M – Eliminate Main Streets and Brownfield Site tax rebates11
  • $15 M – Savings from adopting bus-only lanes12
  1. Annual Fare Revenue is roughly $140M.  The off-peak portion was calculated from figures in  the Arcadis Transportation Trends Final Report to City of Ottawa May 30 2024. This figure  coincides with the typical estimate of the share of revenue derived from off peak hours. Figures assume that the division of riders with discounted fares between peak and off peak hours is the same as that of ‘full fare’ riders. ↩︎
  2. In addition to what OC Transpo already plans on ordering. Figures are based on City of Ottawa data regarding purchase cost and lifespan of electric buses, expected operating costs, including operator wages & benefits @ 75 hours/week for 52 weeks. Wage data provided by ATU Local 279. ↩︎
  3. Figures are based on the upper end cost ($120,000) of a 20 passenger diesel vehicle with a life of 12 years (although many last 20).  Fuel ($50,000) is calculated at two-thirds that of a regular bus operating 75/hrs week.  Annual cost of repairs ($2,500) is assumed to be the same as that for a regular diesel bus. Annual operator costs are the same as for a regular bus operated for 75 hours/wk. ↩︎
  4. Cost estimates assumes the use of the same type of vehicles as in previous endnote. ↩︎
  5. Creating bus only lanes can involve as little as painting lane markings but roadwork can be required in other cases. ↩︎
  6. Figure assumes election is part of the regular Municipal elections and for a 4 year term. ↩︎
  7. The City Capital Budget allocates an average of $50 M annually over the next several years to widen 2 lane roads to 4.  This would be diverted to funding transit. ↩︎
  8. Ottawa collected $18.04 M in parking revenue in 2024. Hourly rates vary but average about $4.00. A 50% increase to $6.00, still comparatively low, should raise an additional $9 M; extending the scope of paid parking as indicated would generate at least an additional $1M. ↩︎
  9. Ride-Hailing services pay a ‘surcharge’ in lieu of providing an accessible service. In 2017, the $0.07 per ride charge managed to generate $1.2 million. (It is now $0.10 per ride but no details on the revenue to the City have been released since). Since 2017, ride-sharing services have grown dramatically, with Uber’s world-wide revenues, for example, growing to roughly 4.5 times the 2017 levels. We conservatively estimate that use in Ottawa of ride-sharing services has doubled. Raising the value of the surcharge from $0.10/ride to $0.50, would generate at least $17 million or a $15 million increase on the City’s current revenue. ↩︎
  10. Development charges on a Single Family Dwelling (SFD) were $34,000 inside the Greeenbelt and $40,000 outside. SFDs were 26.4% of all new starts (9,200) or 2,400. City Revenue from Development Charges on new SFDs is $35,000 x 2,400 or $84 M. A 25% increase in Development Charges would generate $21M in additional revenue. This would add $8,500 to the cost of a SFD inside the Greenbelt and $10,000 to a SFD outside the Greenbelt. ↩︎
  11. Eliminating the tax rebate on Brownfield developments and the Main streets programs could add $14 million. There is no evidence suggesting that these grants, which have been averaging $7 M per year, actually have an impact on the location of real estate development. ↩︎
  12. A report from Vancouver’s TransLink found that 15% of bus operating costs are attributable to traffic delays. Some Ottawa bus routes are on 2-lane streets unsuitable for bus only lanes so we believe 2.5% or $15M is a conservative estimate of the savings. ↩︎