As part of the service transformations and improvements taking place in OC Transpo’s transition to a multimodal system, riders will soon be facing an increase in transit fares.
As of July 1, 2016, fares will be raised an average of 2.5 per cent. For student U-Pass users, the fee per semester will be increasing from $192.70 to $197.52.
Due to the introduction of the Confederation Line in 2018 and the redesign of local bus routes, city councillor and transit commission chairman Stephen Blais said in a memo “policy changes that will impact the fare table will be required” in order to accommodate decisions city council has already made in regard to station design, size, location, and fare medium.
Implemented after a referendum held in March 2012, the U-Pass is a mandatory cost for all full-time (1.5 credits per semester or more) students at Carleton.
“Because OC Transpo increases their fares each year for all riders, it is required that the price of the U-Pass increase in line with OC Transpo’s rates,” Carleton University Students’ Association (CUSA) president Fahd Alhattab said in an email. “CUSA, alongside City Councillors and other Ottawa community organizations, is consistently in discussions with OC Transpo in hopes of making public transportation more affordable.”
According to Carleton’s website, the U-Pass saves any student 19 years of age or younger who travels with OC Transpo $240.90 over an eight-month period, while students 20 years of age or older save $396.90.
CUSA is currently working to make a summer U-Pass possible by May 2016, subject to student approval via referendum.
