Free Transit Ottawa 🇨🇦
@freetransitottawa.bsky.social
Free Transit Ottawa is fighting to make Ottawa's transit system free, reliable, and accessible for a more equitable and sustainable future for all.
https://freetransitottawa.ca
https://freetransitottawa.ca
Faster boarding, higher ridership, fewer driver assaults - and less time and bureaucracy wasted punishing fare evaders!
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/13/o...
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/13/o...
Opinion | Something Surprising Happens When Bus Rides Are Free
www.nytimes.com
February 13, 2026 at 6:21 PM
Faster boarding, higher ridership, fewer driver assaults - and less time and bureaucracy wasted punishing fare evaders!
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/13/o...
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/13/o...
Full text of remarks by Noah Vineberg, President of the union representing transit workers in Ottawa (ATU Local 279) to Transit Committee. He rightly notes many of those sitting on the committee are responsible for the crisis they are now decrying.
freetransitottawa.ca/atu-to-city-...
freetransitottawa.ca/atu-to-city-...
ATU to City Hall: “You had the warnings, you had the authority, you chose to ignore both” | Free Transit Ottawa
freetransitottawa.ca
February 13, 2026 at 4:21 PM
Full text of remarks by Noah Vineberg, President of the union representing transit workers in Ottawa (ATU Local 279) to Transit Committee. He rightly notes many of those sitting on the committee are responsible for the crisis they are now decrying.
freetransitottawa.ca/atu-to-city-...
freetransitottawa.ca/atu-to-city-...
Ottawa needs more buses. We also need more dedicated lanes - to keep buses out of traffic and on schedule.
Bus lanes can cut trip times in half and are badly needed on arteries like Bank, Carling, Baseline, Richmond and Rideau to speed up key routes like the 6, 7, 11, 85 and 88.
Bus lanes can cut trip times in half and are badly needed on arteries like Bank, Carling, Baseline, Richmond and Rideau to speed up key routes like the 6, 7, 11, 85 and 88.
February 13, 2026 at 2:05 PM
Ottawa needs more buses. We also need more dedicated lanes - to keep buses out of traffic and on schedule.
Bus lanes can cut trip times in half and are badly needed on arteries like Bank, Carling, Baseline, Richmond and Rideau to speed up key routes like the 6, 7, 11, 85 and 88.
Bus lanes can cut trip times in half and are badly needed on arteries like Bank, Carling, Baseline, Richmond and Rideau to speed up key routes like the 6, 7, 11, 85 and 88.
Ottawa is set to grow by 500,000 people in the next two decades. Will we provide good enough transit for all of them to get around, or sit by while tens of thousands of cars are added to our roads?
www.ctvnews.ca/ottawa/artic...
www.ctvnews.ca/ottawa/artic...
Number of Ottawa households to grow by 257,000 over next 25 years
The City of Ottawa is projecting a “sustained period of high housing demand” as the population grows to 1.68 million over the next 25 years, requiring a broad range of housing options and supporting i...
www.ctvnews.ca
February 11, 2026 at 8:22 PM
Ottawa is set to grow by 500,000 people in the next two decades. Will we provide good enough transit for all of them to get around, or sit by while tens of thousands of cars are added to our roads?
www.ctvnews.ca/ottawa/artic...
www.ctvnews.ca/ottawa/artic...
Sutcliffe says this is a no-go because it would mean less money to invest in reliability, which they are also not doing.
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
Councillors seek compensation for transit riders after latest disruption | CBC News
Two Ottawa city councillors want to explore ways for OC Transpo to compensate riders for recent service disruptions, including a stopped LRT train that caused mayhem across Line 1 on Tuesday.
www.cbc.ca
February 2, 2026 at 2:38 PM
Sutcliffe says this is a no-go because it would mean less money to invest in reliability, which they are also not doing.
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
Reposted by Free Transit Ottawa 🇨🇦
We need emergency bus lane and transit priority measures enacted on key corridors to ensure our working buses are used as efficiently as possible. We can't have our limited bus fleet standing still in traffic.
I’ve heard from many residents frustrated at the state of the bus service in #Ottawa. They are looking for answers. This needs to be treated like an emergency watermain repair. It is a critical service that can not be allowed to flounder in this way. Two immediate solutions need to be considered:
January 20, 2026 at 8:58 PM
We need emergency bus lane and transit priority measures enacted on key corridors to ensure our working buses are used as efficiently as possible. We can't have our limited bus fleet standing still in traffic.
Great coverage of the Launch of our New Vision for Transit last night! Fabulous turnout of many fabulous people.
Fun, community, and optimism brings people together!
www.ctvnews.ca/ottawa/artic....
Fun, community, and optimism brings people together!
www.ctvnews.ca/ottawa/artic....
Community group rolls out vision for free off-peak service on OC Transpo
A new organization called Free Transit Ottawa is looking for a few volunteers to help make their vision of transit in the capital a reality, which includes free transit during off-peak hours and on we...
www.ctvnews.ca
January 20, 2026 at 5:49 PM
Great coverage of the Launch of our New Vision for Transit last night! Fabulous turnout of many fabulous people.
Fun, community, and optimism brings people together!
www.ctvnews.ca/ottawa/artic....
Fun, community, and optimism brings people together!
www.ctvnews.ca/ottawa/artic....
Reposted by Free Transit Ottawa 🇨🇦
I love a good community event about an important municipal policy issue (public transit) featuring local musical talent 🚌🎶💛
@freetransitottawa.bsky.social
@freetransitottawa.bsky.social
January 20, 2026 at 12:55 AM
I love a good community event about an important municipal policy issue (public transit) featuring local musical talent 🚌🎶💛
@freetransitottawa.bsky.social
@freetransitottawa.bsky.social
“It was haphazard to put all of the eggs in the electric bus basket. More buses are the only way we’re going to be able to offer the service that’s been posted and promised. But we are at a bit of a standstill with getting buses into the system.”
www.ctvnews.ca/ottawa/artic...
www.ctvnews.ca/ottawa/artic...
Waiting to go green: City lagging on electric bus targets, only a fraction in service so far
Councillors in Barrhaven are pushing the city to buy more diesel buses to help solve reliability issues as the city lags on its electric bus targets.
www.ctvnews.ca
January 8, 2026 at 5:18 PM
“It was haphazard to put all of the eggs in the electric bus basket. More buses are the only way we’re going to be able to offer the service that’s been posted and promised. But we are at a bit of a standstill with getting buses into the system.”
www.ctvnews.ca/ottawa/artic...
www.ctvnews.ca/ottawa/artic...
Join us at Irene’s Pub on Monday January 19th for an evening of music, speakers, and community!
It's time to build a movement around a set of bold ideas to deliver the transit we deserve – without barriers and which provides a real alternative to high emissions private vehicles.
It's time to build a movement around a set of bold ideas to deliver the transit we deserve – without barriers and which provides a real alternative to high emissions private vehicles.
January 6, 2026 at 4:47 PM
Join us at Irene’s Pub on Monday January 19th for an evening of music, speakers, and community!
It's time to build a movement around a set of bold ideas to deliver the transit we deserve – without barriers and which provides a real alternative to high emissions private vehicles.
It's time to build a movement around a set of bold ideas to deliver the transit we deserve – without barriers and which provides a real alternative to high emissions private vehicles.
To overcome many years of neglect, we must urgently tackle the fundamental issues with bus service — not in baby steps over the years and decades to come.
A city focused on affordability, climate action, and good services is waiting. Let's fight for it, together.
A city focused on affordability, climate action, and good services is waiting. Let's fight for it, together.
December 12, 2025 at 5:48 PM
To overcome many years of neglect, we must urgently tackle the fundamental issues with bus service — not in baby steps over the years and decades to come.
A city focused on affordability, climate action, and good services is waiting. Let's fight for it, together.
A city focused on affordability, climate action, and good services is waiting. Let's fight for it, together.
Reposted by Free Transit Ottawa 🇨🇦
We did it- 18 and Under Youth Pass is coming to #Ottawa as of July 1st, 2026. It will bring free transit for youth on weekends, holidays, after 5pm on weekdays and all day every day in the summer (July and August)!
December 11, 2025 at 2:59 AM
We did it- 18 and Under Youth Pass is coming to #Ottawa as of July 1st, 2026. It will bring free transit for youth on weekends, holidays, after 5pm on weekdays and all day every day in the summer (July and August)!
Iowa City Made Its Buses Free. Traffic Cleared, and So Did the Air.
www.nytimes.com
December 8, 2025 at 4:09 PM
Reposted by Free Transit Ottawa 🇨🇦
Those fuel savings are all over the budget, all the result of external policy changes from another level of government. The City of Ottawa has no right to claim that as an achievement. The only action the City took was not to re-invest those transit savings back into improved transit service. 5/
December 3, 2025 at 3:25 AM
Those fuel savings are all over the budget, all the result of external policy changes from another level of government. The City of Ottawa has no right to claim that as an achievement. The only action the City took was not to re-invest those transit savings back into improved transit service. 5/
The 2026 transit budget includes $47M in savings from uploading the LRT to Metrolinx... a deal the mayor admits won't be finalized for up to two years.
Why are we claiming money we haven't saved yet?
This creative accounting allows the City to appear spending while doing austerity.
Why are we claiming money we haven't saved yet?
This creative accounting allows the City to appear spending while doing austerity.
December 3, 2025 at 4:46 PM
The 2026 transit budget includes $47M in savings from uploading the LRT to Metrolinx... a deal the mayor admits won't be finalized for up to two years.
Why are we claiming money we haven't saved yet?
This creative accounting allows the City to appear spending while doing austerity.
Why are we claiming money we haven't saved yet?
This creative accounting allows the City to appear spending while doing austerity.
"Pairing free buses with paid parking says we value people in motion more than cars at rest. Some drivers will denounce this as a cash grab. But for decades, the city has handed out billions in free public real estate to a small minority of residents."
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/02/o...
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/02/o...
Opinion | This Is How Mamdani Can Pay for Free Buses
www.nytimes.com
December 2, 2025 at 9:27 PM
"Pairing free buses with paid parking says we value people in motion more than cars at rest. Some drivers will denounce this as a cash grab. But for decades, the city has handed out billions in free public real estate to a small minority of residents."
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/02/o...
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/02/o...
Reposted by Free Transit Ottawa 🇨🇦
In case anyone needed a better visual to show why the bus lane is "empty" and the car lane is "filled".
It's pretty simple. Cars are realllyyyy bad at moving large amounts of people.
They're definitely great for specific uses! But to rely on them for every single trip is where we have failed.
It's pretty simple. Cars are realllyyyy bad at moving large amounts of people.
They're definitely great for specific uses! But to rely on them for every single trip is where we have failed.
December 1, 2025 at 5:07 PM
In case anyone needed a better visual to show why the bus lane is "empty" and the car lane is "filled".
It's pretty simple. Cars are realllyyyy bad at moving large amounts of people.
They're definitely great for specific uses! But to rely on them for every single trip is where we have failed.
It's pretty simple. Cars are realllyyyy bad at moving large amounts of people.
They're definitely great for specific uses! But to rely on them for every single trip is where we have failed.
"The budget asks riders to pay more for the same unreliable service. The people who rely on it and the workers who deliver it live this every single day. We have less people riding our bus or trains because when they’ve gone to use it... it has let them down."
-- Noah Vineberg, ATU 279 president
-- Noah Vineberg, ATU 279 president
November 28, 2025 at 4:29 PM
"The budget asks riders to pay more for the same unreliable service. The people who rely on it and the workers who deliver it live this every single day. We have less people riding our bus or trains because when they’ve gone to use it... it has let them down."
-- Noah Vineberg, ATU 279 president
-- Noah Vineberg, ATU 279 president
Reposted by Free Transit Ottawa 🇨🇦
Plante roughly saying 'everyone's in the same boat with Transit having trouble' and that she couldn't find any cities that are successfully recovering.
15 second Google.
globalnews.ca/news/9477981...
15 second Google.
globalnews.ca/news/9477981...
Bus ridership on Edmonton Transit returns to pre-pandemic levels: city - Edmonton | Globalnews.ca
Edmonton bus ridership reached 100 per cent of 2019 pre-pandemic levels in January 2023, averaging 1.2 million rides per week, the city said.
globalnews.ca
November 24, 2025 at 5:30 PM
Plante roughly saying 'everyone's in the same boat with Transit having trouble' and that she couldn't find any cities that are successfully recovering.
15 second Google.
globalnews.ca/news/9477981...
15 second Google.
globalnews.ca/news/9477981...
Reposted by Free Transit Ottawa 🇨🇦
Cars Cars as far as the eye can see. We could replace pretty much every vehicle in this picture with two more buses.
November 22, 2025 at 6:02 PM
Cars Cars as far as the eye can see. We could replace pretty much every vehicle in this picture with two more buses.
Reposted by Free Transit Ottawa 🇨🇦
The 2026 draft Ottawa budget announces further delays to the Carling bus lane project, estimating the completion time for a bus lane project at 2035. This project was started in 2016 with designs released in 2017, which would make this be a 19 year long project just to install interim bus lanes.
November 13, 2025 at 1:38 AM
The 2026 draft Ottawa budget announces further delays to the Carling bus lane project, estimating the completion time for a bus lane project at 2035. This project was started in 2016 with designs released in 2017, which would make this be a 19 year long project just to install interim bus lanes.
"Ridership has surpassed pre-pandemic levels by 18%. Bus drivers say they’re navigating less congested streets. People drove 1.8 million fewer miles and emissions dropped by 24,000 metric tons a year - the equivalent of taking 5,200 vehicles off the roads."
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/18/c...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/18/c...
Iowa City Made Its Buses Free. Traffic Cleared, and So Did the Air.
www.nytimes.com
November 20, 2025 at 5:29 PM
"Ridership has surpassed pre-pandemic levels by 18%. Bus drivers say they’re navigating less congested streets. People drove 1.8 million fewer miles and emissions dropped by 24,000 metric tons a year - the equivalent of taking 5,200 vehicles off the roads."
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/18/c...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/18/c...
When transit sucks, many parents and seniors need to own a car -- maybe even two. This costs a household about $16,000 a year. Failing to invest in transit is a huge financial burden on everyone.
Even worse, the city scrapped the Youth Pass and raised the senior bus fare last year.
Even worse, the city scrapped the Youth Pass and raised the senior bus fare last year.
Two-parent families, seniors increasingly turning to Ottawa Food Bank: report
Two-parent families, seniors increasingly turning to Ottawa Food Bank: report
The Ottawa Food Bank’s eighth annual Hunger Report says broken social systems are leading more people, including seniors and two-parent families, to turn to them for food.
bit.ly
November 14, 2025 at 7:42 PM
When transit sucks, many parents and seniors need to own a car -- maybe even two. This costs a household about $16,000 a year. Failing to invest in transit is a huge financial burden on everyone.
Even worse, the city scrapped the Youth Pass and raised the senior bus fare last year.
Even worse, the city scrapped the Youth Pass and raised the senior bus fare last year.