As Ottawa’s transit network expands, the question remains: will these changes truly address the challenges faced by those who rely on it most?
Ottawa Transit
City staff are projecting a $25 million deficit and are anticipating the 2025 deficit to be as high as $120 million, a financial bullet that has to be dealt with. But a Scrooge-like way of addressing budget concerns will put customers in the line of fire, and threaten to plunge OC Transpo into a vicious cycle.
Ottawa city councillor Jeff Leiper tabled a motion to bring LRT service from the current 10 minute wait, back to five minutes. This motion will be voted on at the city council meeting on Sept. 18.
For now, OC Transpo is still studying the feasibility of same-day on-demand booking and 24-hour hour booking and service. “The budget factors into that,” added Councillor Gower. He stressed though, that Para-Transpo was not affected by any cuts due to the City of Ottawa’s deficit.
For the first time since 2019 students are required to purchase a U-Pass. I find that perplexing.
