An impending hike in OC Transpo fares could have thousands of Ottawa high school students taking yellow buses to school instead of public transit.
The Ottawa Student Transportation Authority (OSTA) said that a review of the new fees will take place in January and moving away from the city’s public transit service is a legitimate possibility.
“We would prefer avoiding doing that,” said OSTA general manager Vicky Kyriaco, “but we need to be as efficient as we possibly can.”
This change would take effect at the start of the 2017 school year.
OSTA represents students from the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board and the Ottawa Catholic School Board.
The new fare system would raise the price of a student bus pass to $84.75, up 50 cents from the current price.
Kyriaco told CBC News that there is value in having teenagers take OC Transpo, as it lets them get used to using sustainable modes of transportation.
OSTA buys bus passes for 9,600 students in Ottawa, which costs a total of $7.8 million
Also included in the 2017 price changes is a new youth monthly pass for $87.75, which is only available for students under the current plan.