Bluesfest reaches transit deal with City of Ottawa for extra bus service

The City of Ottawa has reached a deal with Bluesfest to pay for extra bus service to the summer music festival, but for lessthan the city had been seeking.

• Sens refuse to pay extra transit fee while Bluesfest still on the hook

The five-year agreement will see Bluesfest pay $100,000 a year for the extra bus service, plus additional charges for more supervisors and security, OC Transpo head John Manconi said in a memo to city council Friday.

Under the agreement, free transit service will be provided to ticket holders and customers with valid tickets or bracelets three hours in advance of the opening of the gates at the festival and two hours following the end of the last performance on festival day.

Bluesfest will also have to acknowledge OC Transpo as a sponsor and share any revenue if a transit sponsor is secured.

The city had been seeking $200,000 a year to pay for the extra bus service.

This is the first year the city has tried to charge Bluesfest for the costs of putting extra buses on the road, even though the special events bylaw that allows the city to do so was passed in 2013.