Transit authority OC Transpo issues nearly 2,700 penalties for fare evasion over a five-month period. High-evasion zones identified.
Unleashing the Numbers: Fare Evasion and Transit Activity in Ottawa
The transit authority of Ottawa, OC Transpo, has caught over 2,700 passengers this year for dodging fares on buses and the O-Train. The hotspots for these tickets? Hurdman and Rideau O-Train stations, leading the pack with a whopping 687 and 500 tickets respectively.
Within the five-month span from January 1st to May 31st, a grand total of 1,817 tickets were slapped on riders at O-Train stations, 623 at bus stations, and 288 at bus stops along routes. These fines amounted to an impressive $177,636 in revenue for OC Transpo.
If you've been thinking about skipping that fare, think again. The fine for going fareless is a hefty $260. And it seems like Hurdman Station is the one to avoid if you're planning to evade the fare – 687 tickets were issued there for fare evasion, making it the culprit for the highest number of tickets at both the bus and O-Train stations.
Out of the 2,728 fare evasion tickets issued, 2,531 of them were doled out at mere ten locations. Here's the lowdown on the top 5 hotspots:
- Hurdman Station: 687 tickets (bus and O-Train)
- Rideau Station: 500 tickets (bus and O-Train)
- Bus stops on streets: 322 tickets (bus)
- Blair Station: 168 tickets (bus and O-Train)
- Tunney's Pasture: 145 tickets (bus and O-Train)
But what about the rest of the city? Well, OC Transpo has a total of 12 dedicated fare enforcement officers, working diligently from Monday to Friday.
Riding the Rails in Ottawa
In the first four months of 2025, OC Transpo observed an increase in ridership compared to the previous year, with 25 million passengers hopping on buses and the O-Train. In particular, the number of trips in May and March reached 5.9 million and 6.6 million respectively.
However, February's ridership took a dip, possibly due to two snowstorms that hit the city.
Cancelled Rides
OC Transpo provided 98% of planned bus trips in May, falling short of their target of 99.5%. The vast majority, 82%, of frequent routes were on time. Interestingly, 0.4% of trips were scrapped due to mechanical breakdown, while 0.5% were cancelled due to a lack of drivers, and 0.2% were cancelled because there were simply no buses available.
The routes with the most trips not delivered in May were Route 12, 261 trips cancelled, Route 14, 203 trips cancelled, and Route 6, 319 trips cancelled.
The O-Train Line 1 delivered an average service delivery of 99.4% in May, while Lines 2 and 4 delivered 98.6% of planned trips.
Red Light/Photo Radar Tickets
In a surprising twist, fewer OC Transpo drivers have been nabbed by red light and photo radar cameras this year. Through the first four months, only 29 infractions were issued, compared to 46 tickets in the same period last year. A total of 15 red light camera tickets were also issued to OC Transpo buses, with the same tally as last year.
- The finance department of OC Transpo reported that a significant portion of the revenue from fare evasion tickets came from the transportation hubs, with Hurdman Station leading as the major contributor, accounting for $130,784 out of the total $177,636 collected.
- In the first four months of 2025, not only did news about an increase in public-transit ridership emerge, but also a decrease in violations related to red light and photo radar tickets in the delivery industry, with only 29 infractions being issued compared to 46 tickets in the same period the previous year.
- As the demand for transportation services in Ottawa grows, there is a pressing need for the news Industry to focus on the newest developments in the transit industry, particularly on the efforts by OC Transpo to improve the delivery of its services, ensuring a higher number of planned trips are fulfilled, and implementing strategies to combat fare evasion.
