Mayor Mark Sutcliffe will follow through with his promise to freeze transit fares while pumping an extra $30 million dollars a year into roads and road maintenance if the proposed 2023 budget is approved.
The budget also sets a more realistic target for ridership on OC Transpo, which has fallen drastically since the COVID-19 pandemic began nearly three years ago.Sign up to receive daily headline news from Ottawa Citizen, a division of Postmedia Network Inc.By clicking on the sign up button you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. You may unsubscribe any time by clicking on the unsubscribe link at the bottom of our emails or any newsletter. Postmedia Network Inc.
Ottawa’s fare freeze “not only helps with the affordability crisis, it also demonstrates respect to our customers and their recent experiences with trains and buses,” Sutcliffe said. “I don’t think we should be increasing fares at a time when we are striving to rebuild confidence in public transit.” Sutcliffe also said that OC Transpo has begun the process of realigning its routes and service, noting that he’s heard from complaints waiting for buses to take them home to the suburbs while watching nearly empty buses travelling on other routes.
“That means, like many other communities, we will have to continue calibrate our system to meet the needs and demand s of a post-pandemic community.” During the election, Sutcliffe promised to increase spending on roads and road maintenance by $25 million. On Wednesday, he said spending will be increased by $30 million to a total of $136 million. That represents a 31 per cent increase over the average spending on road over the past four years, he said.
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