Ottawa Now - City Hall debates the best way to compensate inconvenienced transit riders

The rumours are true! We are talking public transit once again. We don’t have any LRT updates, or thankfully any new LRT problems to deal with. Today’s discussion is centered around the idea of OC Transpo riders being compensated for poor service. As we all know, it was a really tough Winter for local transit users, especially those who rely on it every single day. A shortage of buses and LRT headaches led to trip cancellations and unreliable service. Many riders were left waiting in the cold for a bus ride that never came. We are now in May, and Line 1 of LRT is still not at full strength. And so, today, the City of Ottawa is mulling over different methods to compensate riders, an idea started with a motion from Capital Ward councillor Shawn Menard. City Staff has returned with 3 options: Retroactive refunds, future discounts or perhaps free fares, or anything that promotes a better product. But which option is the most affordable?

A trio of city councillors assemble for the inaugural edition of Councillor Confidential!

• River Ward councillor Riley Brockington
• Beacon Hill-Cyrville councillor Tim Tierney
• Rideau-Vanier councillor Stephanie Plante