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Hersh: Free Transit isn't just possible, it's popular
Hersh: Free Transit isn't just possible, it's popular

Ottawa Citizen

time22-07-2025

  • Politics
  • Ottawa Citizen

Hersh: Free Transit isn't just possible, it's popular

At the beginning of the month, our Mayor Mark Sutcliffe announced on social media that it was a record day for the LRT Line 1. Article content 'Almost 250,000 trips were recorded,' he said. 'The highest single-day ridership in the history of Ottawa's LRT, and a 66 per cent increase over Canada Day last year.' Article content Article content He forgot to mention an important detail: it was free. Article content Every year on Canada Day, the City offers residents a day of what they call 'no-charge' transit. They did the same thing at the beginning of May to encourage people to take the new LRT line. The result was similarly positive. Ridership was up 54 percent that weekend, according to OC Transpo. Article content Article content In December 2021, OC Transpo offered free transit for the whole month as a way to make up for the failings of the LRT. Despite it being a bit of a gimmick, the transit riders group Ottawa Transit Riders reported, based on a survey they conducted, that 'people chose to ride transit more often because it was free and some people changed their travel patterns.' Article content Other cities have also shown us that free transit is a popular idea. Article content Last month, Zohran Mamdani was elected as the candidate for the New York City Democratic Party. One of his biggest and most prominent promises was 'making buses fast and free.' Article content According to his campaign, it would save New Yorkers 36 million hours every year and generate $1.5 billion in economic benefits. The promise was also popular; according to a poll from the organization Data for Progress, 72 per cent of New York voters approved of the idea. Article content Article content Several other cities across the U.S.—like Albuquerque, New Mexico and Kansas City, Missouri—have also made transit completely free. The small Ontario town of Orangeville introduced free transit in 2023, and its ridership increased by 160 percent. Article content So, if fare-free transit is popular and might help encourage people to ride the bus or LRT, why hasn't our city jumped on the free transit train yet? Article content The argument is often made that there is a binary choice, that we must choose between reliability and affordability of our transit services. Article content Detractors argue that if we spend money on making our transit system free, then we would not have enough to increase reliability — something that is admittedly sorely needed in Ottawa, especially after Mayor Sutcliffe and our council approved the largest service cut in a decade in the last city budget. Article content This premise, however, presents a false choice — we can and we should have both. Our current approach makes clear that higher fares do not lead to a better, more reliable system, and the pandemic made it clear that solely relying on transit fares for revenue is not sustainable. Article content Ottawa's fares have now crossed the $4.00 threshold and are some of the most expensive in North America, yet our transit system has continued to disintegrate because of a lack of political will to improve it. Article content If ridership was up to pre-pandemic levels, free transit would cost the city about $200 million, according to OC Transpo's own estimates. This might sound like a lot. Article content However, when you consider other unnecessary expenses like the $258 million the city is projected to spend on road widening in the next couple of years, then the number does not seem that out of the ordinary. Article content Free transit on its own will not solve our transit woes. What it does do, however, is signal our city's willingness to prioritize the climate crisis, a cheaper alternative to car travel, and improve our most valued public services like health care, schools, roads and sidewalks — which by the way, are all free.

Renée Amilcar resigning as OC Transpo general manager as of July 18
Renée Amilcar resigning as OC Transpo general manager as of July 18

Ottawa Citizen

time03-06-2025

  • Business
  • Ottawa Citizen

Renée Amilcar resigning as OC Transpo general manager as of July 18

OC Transpo general manager Renée Amilcar will be leaving the transit authority on July 18 after more than three years in the position. Article content In a memo Tuesday afternoon, City Manager Wendy Stephanson said Amilcar had led OC Transpo 'through a period of significant operational transformation, modernization and service improvement' since joining the organization in 2021. Article content Article content Article content Troy Charter, director of transit service and rail operations for the City of Ottawa, will serve as interim general manager after Amilcar leaves, the memo added. Article content 'On behalf of the senior leadership team, I want to extend our sincere thanks and appreciation to Renée for her contributions and wish her continued success in her future endeavours,' Stephanson wrote. Article content 'I recognize that ensuring strong, stable leadership during this time is of paramount importance — particularly as we continue to deliver safe, reliable transit service to residents while advancing major city-wide transformational projects.' Article content The announcement of Amilcar's departure came a little more than a month after OC Transpo's 'New Ways To Bus' initiative was met with sharp criticism from transit users and advocates. Previously, she told reporters that the sweeping changes were designed to improve connectivity to community hubs and to provide 'a sustainable network that meets the evolving needs of our customers.' Article content Article content But the community group Ottawa Transit Riders had previously said that their voices and opinions were not heard. Transit users have also said they lost trust in the public transportation agency, especially because service could be very unreliable. Article content Members of ATU Local 279, a union representing OC Transpo operators, called for a 'serious, honest review of Ottawa's transit system' last Friday. Union president Noah Vineberg previously told reporters that riders were frustrated at the city's transit system and that operators were overworked and exhausted. Article content 'For years we've heard promises of New Ways to Bus — promises of innovation, better service, and a transit future we could believe in,' Vineberg said. 'But we lived through unrealistic schedules and a system spiralling deeper into dysfunction for both riders and workers.'

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