The first order of business for OC Transpo's new management team is to tackle rising fuel costs, manager John Manconi announced Friday.

Manconi said diesel fuel costs are becoming an issue and Ottawa's hybrid buses are experiencing problems of their own, not saving as much money as expected.

"Hybrids have not resulted in reduced fuel. It has not been successful for us," Manconi said.

"They're not being put on the proper routes where it's a stop and go, stop and go, where the batteries are being regenerated by the braking mechanism," said OC Transpo driver Rob McCaig.

Transit commission chair Diane Deans said fuel costs are the one thing that can make transit fares rise above inflation.

"Both Mayor Watson and I made it clear that will be our goal, but we both understand that there is a huge pressure on transit services because of fuel prices," she said.

Many OC Transpo riders are driven to taking public transit because the cost of filling their vehicle gets too high, but they said they understand those prices affect transit as well.

"You've got to expect it, everything is going up these days," said Rob Foley.

"Everybody is fighting the fuel costs right now," said Beverley Charles.

Scaled-down renovations, cameras also high on list

Manconi also said he's cutting the $14 million cost of renovations to OC Transpo's east Ottawa headquarters down to $7 million.

In a memo to the city, Manconi said those savings will largely come from moving away from a total rebuild to only working on parts of the building at the end of their life cycle.

This means aspects like the ventilation and heating systems won't be touched, as they have about ten years left in their lifespan.

"The replacement of advanced life cycle items will be deferred as they are not required to be replaced at this time and will not impact the proposed renovation plan or compromise the health and safety of employees," he said in the memo.

The city and its transit union both spoke favourably towards getting cameras on OC Transpo buses.

With a report from CTV Ottawa's John Hua