Fewer people are travelling on OC Transpo buses and the O-Train this year, with seven straight months of ridership drop on Ottawa’s transit system. Statistics posted on OC Transpo’s website show there were 4.4 million passenger trips on buses and the O-Train in July, down from 5.9 million passenger trips during July 2025. OC Transpo reported 4.8 million passenger trips in June, down from 5.2 million passenger trips during June 2025, while there were 4.7 million passenger trips in May, compared to 5 million trips in May 2025. There were 36.9 million passenger trips on OC Transpo buses and the O-Train in the January to July period, down from 41 million riders during the same period in 2025. A report for the finance and corporate services committee meeting on Sept. 1 said OC Transpo’s ridership was averaging 67 per cent of pre-pandemic levels through the January to June period. Staff said bus reliability issues that resulted in hundreds of cancelled bus trips a week hurt ridership numbers. OC Transpo posted an $8.9 million deficit during the first six months of the year. Staff say the deficit is “primarily attributable to lower fare revenue, as ridership remains below budget assumptions.” The OC Transpo ridership figures show ridership dropped in each month between January and July, including 700,000 fewer passenger trips in March and 500,000 fewer passenger trips in February. The report for the finance and corporate services committee said OC Transpo expects ridership to increase over the final half of the year as federal government employees head to the office a minimum of four days a week. In a bid to improve service and boost ridership this fall, OC Transpo has implemented several new initiatives, including seven new Express bus routes, adjusting schedules on 30 bus routes and increasing frequency on O-Train Line 1. Councillors on the transit committee will receive an update on OC Transpo bus and O-Train operations, including a possible opening date for the O-Train East Extension, on Thursday. OC Transpo ridership Here is a look at OC Transpo ridership between January and July, 2026:
