With a long anticipated fare hike set to kick in on Tuesday, Ottawa remains one of the most expensive cities in the country for public transit.
On October 1st, the price for a monthly transit pass will rise another 2.5%, from $116 per month, to $119.
A survey of monthly transit fare passes across the country, confirms that riding the bus or the rails in Ottawa is more expensive than similar sized cities with much larger transit systems.
For instance, Edmonton’s monthly transit pass currently costs riders just $97 a month.
And Edmonton’s LRT system is much larger than Ottawa’s new Confederation Line. Edmonton includes 18 stations on two different lines for a total of 24 kilometres of track, more than double Ottawa’s current distance.
Edmonton’s population is roughly the same as Ottawa’s, about one million people.
Calgary, is slightly more expensive at $106 per month.
But Calgary’s system is much larger and more spread out, reaching all four quadrants of the city including over 45 stations, and 60 kilometres.
Ottawa’s new price for a monthly pass will be slightly less than Vancouver’s. Riders there pay $131 a month for “two zone” access, which covers all trains and buses in Vancouver proper and the major suburbs.
The most expensive transit pass in Canada is the TTC in Toronto. Riders there pay $151.15 a month.
The public transit bargain in Canada remains Montreal. Regular riders there pay just $86.50 a month for a pass.
