Transpo Youth Fare Changes ‘Idiotic’: DEVINE

It’s hard for Ottawa to take steps forward on transit when we keep shooting ourselves in the foot.

A few weeks ago, OC Transpo made the announcement that, effective Sept. 1, it was eliminating the discounted youth pass, which affects transit riders aged 13 – 19, as well as eliminating free transit for youth aged 11 – 12. What this will mean is that transit riders as young as 11 years of age will soon be charged the same fare as adults.

For youth aged 13 – 19 who don’t get their transit passes paid for by the school board, this means that their monthly pass will increase from $104 to $135. This amounts to an additional cost of $372 for any youth purchasing monthly passes all year long, whether it’s for school, or work, or simply as their primary mode of transportation.

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This newsletter excerpt from Knoxdale-Merivale Councillor Sean Devine is courtesy of the city-wide community group Your Applewood Acres (And Beyond) Neighbours

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To put that in context, here’s what various Canadian cities charge for a youth monthly pass:

Ottawa: $135 (as of September 1)
Toronto: $128.15
Hamilton: $103.40
Calgary: $86 (for youth aged 13 – 17)
Winnipeg: $84.70
Edmonton: $66
Vancouver: $63.80
Montreal: $62.75

And when it comes to charging 11 and 12 year-olds the same fare as adults, this means that we’ll be charging $4 for a single fare to 11 year-olds. Across Canada, only two other cities charge a fare to 11 and 12 year-olds (Winnipeg at $2.15, and Calgary at $2). Every other major Canadian city does not charge a fare to youth aged 11 – 12.

This is as embarrassing as it is unjust and idiotic.

There’s no need to explain why it’s embarrassing to be Canada’s leader in charging the highest transit rates for little kids.

It’s unjust, because the people who are going to be most hurt by this shift in policy are those who don’t have a choice other than to pay the higher fares. This is OC Transpo’s “captive riders”, the riders who have no other viable mode for transportation. For example, the single mother with two kids aged 11 and 12 will need to pay to pay $24 return fare to take her kids to their dentist appointment, instead of the $8 she pays now.

It’s idiotic because how is this going to help grow OC Transpo’s ridership over the long-term? Building our transit ridership needs to be one of OC Transpo’s core objectives towards achieving sustainability, instead of counter-productive measures that only address a short-term budget deficit. For every family who decides to walk or bike or buy a car instead of taking transit, for every parent who chooses to leave their kids at home and not expose them to using transit at an early age, those are lost potential riders.

It didn’t have to be that way.

During last year’s deliberations for the 2025 budget, Council wrestled with how to address OC Transpo’s $120 million deficit. While a majority of Council approved the elimination of discounted youth fares as one way to address this deficit, I did not. I brought a motion seeking to pay for the discounted use fare through a minor increase to the transit levy, in the range of $1 more per month. Rather than have the entire city pay for this component of the transit deficit, it was put on the backs of young riders and their parents, some to the tune of $372 more per year.

The big debate during last year’s transit budget involved the proposal of a drastic increase to fares for seniors. Those seniors organized quickly and effectively to oppose the increase, and the resulting increase was far more modest. I hope that youth, their families, and other stakeholders are just as effective this year. While I’m eager for Ottawa to be perceived as less embarrassing or unjust when it comes to transit, I’m also eager for us to be less idiotic.

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