Transit riders disappointed by fare raise detailed in 2022 budget

Ottawa transit riders say they don't understand why fares will increase in January, considering the still out-of-service train service, reports of crowded buses and schedules riders have felt were less than reliable.

"I mean, how can you justify raising fares in January? I just don't see it," said Audrey Moey, a regular commuter. "It's going to drive people away from using transit and we'll never recover."

The transit budget tabled on Wednesday calls for an average fare increase of 2.5 per cent.

• OC Transpo seeks $21M more in 2022 budget, expects $60M from province

That means thecost of a singleOC Transpo fareis set to rise to $3.70 and the monthly pass is set to increase by $3 to $125.50as of Jan. 1. The prices for the EquiPass for low-income riders and the Community Pass, with eligibilitythrough the Ontario Disability Support Program, will remain frozen.

Kari Glynes Elliott, who represents the advocacy group Ottawa Transit Riders, considers the freeze for those riders a move in the right direction, saying low-income people have borne the brunt of the problems with Ottawa's transit system.

But that's just about where the good news stops for her.

"We're not happy about the increase in fares," she said Wednesday."We have been fighting quite hard for the city to freeze the fares."

"We feel that when you've declared a climate emergency, you need to be making transit much more attractive, much more reliable, much cheaper."

Overall, OC Transpo is asking for an additional $20.9 million next year, with a net operating budget of $372.3 million. The city isalso expecting the province will chip in$60.6million in COVID-19-related costs.

And whilecity council previously approved a plan to make fares free in December, for Glynes Elliott, the January increase indicates those making the decisions are out of touch with the mood of the public.

The LRT has been out of service for more than six weeks as of Wednesday, after a train derailed on Sept. 19 before entering Tremblay station.

"That's salt in the wound, really. I mean, even if it's a very small increase," she said.

The January increases mimicthe exclusions and 2.5 per cent bump of last year's New Year's Day fare hike.

• Commuters share their stories of life in a post-LRT world

The transit budget is also based on ridership at 82 per cent of the pre-pandemic level by the end of 2022, a figure everyday commuters like Moey consider "aspirational".

She believes more needs to be done to encourage ridership, even when more people return to working in offices.

"Unless people can feel that transit is safe,reliableandfrequent enough to make it convenient, they are not going to want to come back, especially at a higher price," she said.

Public delegations on the transit budget will be made at the commission meeting scheduled for Nov. 17.