NOTEBOOK: 20 points about Ottawa’s 2025 Transit Budget

(A version of this post was originally published in my Substack newsletter.)

City Council passed the 2025 City Budget on Wednesday. Some notes and numbers:

1. Ottawa’s transit budget is up 11% this year, with no cuts to service. Total transit budget is at $856-million.
2. Fares will cover 34% of the operating costs, and property taxes cover 66%. (As far as I know that’s the lowest fare recovery ratio in Ontario.)
3. The 2025 budget assumes a ridership of 77.98 million trips per year, compared to 73 million trips in 2024.
4. In 2019, Ottawa’s projected transit ridership for 2025 was 125.8-million trips.
5. From 2011 to 2022, the Consumer Price Index went up 26%; gas prices went up 30%; adult OC Transpo passes increased by 5%, and the single ride adult price increased by 12%. (Source: Transportation Trends Report, June 2024)
   Note: Although those are the numbers in the report, my calculations put the transit fare increases at a bit more than that – and it depends if you’re comparing the now-discontinued full “express” fares that were in place in 2011 – see note below!)
6. The 5% fare increase for adults amounts to 20 cents per ride ($4.00) or $6 extra on a monthly adult pass ($135.00).
7. The $58.25 Seniors pass rate in 2025 will be a 57% discount off the regular adult price.
8. A 5% increase to uPass would cost an extra $2.86/month for students.
9. The Equipass rate for low-income customers is frozen again for 2025 at $1.75 per ride or $58.25/month for a pass. The cost has remained unchanged since at least 2018.
10. Residents who live alone with an annual net income of $24,347 or less are eligible for the Equipass. Individuals in a family of four with an annual net income of $46,033 or less are eligible for the Equipass. (2024 Equipass eligibilty.)
11. In September, the City issued 563 free monthly passes and 1,899 free weekly passes through the Emergency Shelter and Physical Distancing Centre (PDC) transit pass program.
12. The average fare paid in 2024 is $2.16 (compared to a full adult fare of $3.80).
13. In September and October, 4 out of 5 trips on OC Transpo were made using a pass.
14. Adult pass sales for the months of September and October in 2024 were 7% higher compared to the same months in 2023. Youth pass sales for high school were 6% higher, Community Pass sales 3% higher, and Senior pass sales were 9% higher.
15. 67% of trips made on OC Transpo are on a discounted pass (uPass, Equipass, Youth pass, etc.)
16. In September and October 2023, 80% of single-ride fare revenue was from cash or Presto sales. In 2024, this has decreased to 67% with more customers using O-Payment (credit card, debit card, or mobile pay). In September and October 2024, 21% of single-ride fare revenue was from O-Payment.
17. In 2022-2023, Toronto received more than three times as much operational funding per capita from the province as Ottawa. (via the Ontario Financial Accountability Office)
18. Gatineau just approved a $60 vehicle registration fee starting in 2025, going up to $90 in 2026, with revenue going to fund transit. (They are allowed to do that under Quebec law, unlike Ontario.)
19. As part of the 2025 budget, Council directed staff to conduct a comprehensive review of the City’s transit fare structure “to inform future decisions on transit fare strategies that balance affordability, equity and financial sustainability”.
20. Expect a report and recommendations back on the Transit Long Range Financial Plan Working Group in the middle of 2025.