Climate action, affordability, and accessibility means investing in good public transit. Right now, transit is in decline, so few people use it. We will never grow ridership with more route cuts and fare increases. We can do better, we deserve better.
Last year Council cut $47M in "cost savings" from the transit budget and left a $39M hole hoping upper levels would pick up the slack. The post-COVID recovery has been made more difficult by decades of neglect and mismanagement.
We are asking City Council to step up and make our transit system something people actually WANT to use. That means:
AFFORDABILITY
Make the Community and Equi Passes free for low-income riders and ODSP recipients. End costly fare enforcement and punitive fines.
FREQUENCY and RELIABILITY
We need more buses, not fewer, to achieve service levels that will attract new riders — and permanent dedicated lanes on major roads, including Bank, Carling, Robertson, St Laurent and Baseline, to keep routes out of traffic and on schedule.
ACCESSIBILITY
Ensure all stops are safe and accessible. Same-day booking for Para Transpo and service past midnight.
DEMOCRACY
Involve riders in route planning and service levels to give us a say over the service we rely on.
COMMUNICATION and ACCOUNTABILITY
Commit to real time updates when buses are delayed or canceled at least 20 minutes before routes are scheduled to start, and enable all routes with GPS by Q3 of 2024 so that transit apps can provide accurate information.
FUNDING
Redirect the $50M road widening budget, scrap corporate subsidies, raise City parking rates, and increase the Uber/Lyft surcharge to $0.70 to support improved and expanded transit operations.
This action is a joint effort by our organization and supported by:
Free Transit Ottawa
Ottawa Transit Riders
Ecology Ottawa
Public Service Alliance of Canada - National Capital Region
Justice For Workers Ottawa
Carleton University Students Association (CUSA)
