Free Transpo fares good, but not enough

This is an expanded version of the story that appeared in the print version of the March 2022 BUZZ.

Alayne McGregor

Free is good, but reliability is necessary, too. That was the message from more than 700 transit riders when surveyed about the free-fare month offered by OC Transpo last December.

The fare holiday was offered in recompense for the breakdowns, delays, and overcrowding on Ottawa’s LRT since it opened in 2019. A further fare holiday is now being offered until March 26 on LRT Line 1 and downtown-bound bus routes in recognition of the bus detours caused by the recent convoy occupation.

Ottawa Transit Riders (OTR) ran the non-random survey in the first half of January, advertising it to the advocacy group’s members and on Twitter. 695 regular transit and 16 Para Transpo riders, plus 24 OC Transpo drivers, responded.

Free fares inspired 43 percent of the respondents to ride transit more. Some took more short trips and worried less about transfers expiring. Boarding was also faster since people didn’t have to pay and “many reported feeling less stressed about making sure that they had their wallets or Presto card ready.”

One response said, “Riding transit was a happy experience every time – it was a more positive experience. I didn’t stress about cramming as much as possible into a trip, and hurt my health doing so. I didn’t have to decide whether I could afford it or not.”

But, at the same time, others avoided buses because they were worried about overcrowding. Several stayed off transit because of worries about the Omicron COVID-19 wave, described free transit as “extra risky,” and noted that “there might have been a surge in interest if the month of free transit had not coincided with a surge in COVID.”

When will my bus arrive?

Not knowing if a bus would appear was a major issue. Forty percent highlighted communication about delayed or cancelled buses as affecting service quality. About 30 percent were dissatisfied with frequency and reliability. A few noted that buses were late or failed to show up so often that they were forced to use a taxi or Uber as a backup, the report said.

Unsurprisingly, respondents’ three top priorities for transit were reliability (62 percent), affordability (56), and frequency (52).

Para Transpo riders benefitted less from the fare holiday, with just over 10 percent making more or longer trips. They picked reliability and affordability as their highest priorities, but were also concerned about adherence to COVID-19 protocols and ease of booking.

Not the best month

OTR board member Kari Glynes Elliott said it was difficult to make firm conclusions about free transit from this trial because of its timing.

“I thought it was the worst month possible because, even in a regular year, December has the funkiest transit patterns. We have some people riding transit who don’t usually ride transit, to do Christmas shopping. We have people who are not riding transit – students, for example, are only in school for a week or two and so they don’t get a bus pass that month. December isn’t representative of any other month. The other 11 months are quite different.”

Current downtown fare holiday not thoroughly considered

Glynes Elliott said she thought this month’s fare holiday was not well-advertised or thoroughly considered. Because it didn’t cover a full month and didn’t include routes one might transfer to outside downtown, it was less likely to be useful for regular users.

“It may help a little bit in reducing costs very briefly but it’s a pretty small dent.”

The BUZZ had noted that, on some free-fare routes like route 11, the Presto readers were not covered, leading some riders to mistakenly tap their cards.

Many people downtown were “abandoned” during the occupation, Glynes Elliott said.

“There was kind of a shrug. People said, ‘Well, don’t go downtown’ – entirely ignoring the fact that people actually live downtown and need things like public transit. During this occupation they were not given options and alternatives and aid to to get around.”

OTR will officially present its survey on the December free-transit experience to the city Transit Commission at the commission meeting on March 30. Glynes Elliott said the group was not planning to do another survey about this month’s free fares on downtown routes.