As thousands of students and workers return to their regular routines this fall, Ottawa’s struggling transit system is about to face one of its biggest tests yet.
The annual September surge will bring students back to classrooms, summer vacationers back to work and thousands of federal and municipal employees back to offices under return-to-office mandates. But after years of unreliable buses, LRT problems and shifting schedules, the question is whether riders will bother to come back to OC Transpo — and whether the system is ready for them.
Many riders are concerned that even with promised improvements to scheduling and routes, OC Transpo isn’t doing enough to convince them to return.
Recent figures released by the City show transit ridership in the first half of 2026 had returned to only about 67 per cent of pre-pandemic levels, with the organization forecasting a year-end deficit of $12.35 million, largely due to low passenger revenues.
For transit users in Orléans, an Aug. 19 OC Transpo town hall at the Bob MacQuarrie Recreation Complex was a good, if hesitant, starting point toward rebuilding trust in the organization’s ability to deliver reliable and consistent service.
This story is only available for members. Unlock this and other City Hall Insider stories.
We’re building the future of local news, producing in-depth, hyper-local journalism and not clickbait content. As a mostly reader-funded publication, we cannot write the stories you read without your help. Become a member today and unlock additional membership perks.
Save 21% off a membershipJoin 2,600+ Lookout members who get:
- Exclusive City Hall Insider newsletter
- Access to all paywalled stories
- Early access to Lookout events
- Invest in local journalism and the Ottawa journalists who write our stories
- Risk free: Cancel anytime and get a 100% refund
