Looking Back

1991 marked the 100th anniversary of the first electric streetcar in Ottawa and the 125th anniversary of signing the charter to run public transit in Ottawa.

In the last 100 years we have seen a tremendous leap in technology from coal oil lamps to electricity, outdoor toilets to inside plumbing, the horse and buggy to a glut of cars, and from streetcars that were pulled by horses to the modern, air-conditioned, red and white buses that join our fleet today.

The first transit company in Ottawa was created on August 15, 1866, when the Ottawa City Passenger Railway Company was awarded "perpetual" running rights in the Capital by the Province of Canada. On June 29, 1891, two Ottawa entrepreneurs, Thomas Ahearn and William Soper, made the first run of the Ottawa Electric Street Railway Company.

Innovative Thinkers who Shaped Transit
Thomas Ahearn and Warren Soper were two Ottawa entrepreneurs who introduced the first all-electric streetcar system to Ottawa.

Early Letters from the Ottawa Electric Railway News
A look back to the way things were through two separate letters to Ottawa Electric Railway.

A Royal Streetcar "The Duchess of Cornwall and York"
When streetcars were in their heyday, there were many unusual types of vehicles running on tracks, including mail cars, milk cars and even an electric funeral coach. Among these vehicles, Ottawa had a novel one herself.

Ottawa Then and Now
Some special years in OC Transpo History

Public Transit Milestones in Ottawa
Chronology of transit from 1866 to 2007.




opposite: OER Streetcar #10 opened electric street car service in Ottawa, June 29, 1891