At a glance
Key takeaways
- 2025 was an electrifying year of expanding horizons.
- Lines 2 and 4 opened for service, creating opportunities and transforming our transit
- The O-Train broke ridership records, bringing communities together at events like Canada Day and Bluesfest.
- We grew our minibus fleet and introduced trip notifications for Para Transpo customers.
- We also had our fair share of fun, including an April Fool’s gag featuring Eddie Grant’s ‘Electric Avenue’ and our new ZEB fleet
- Most of all, we put people first, continuing our mission to connect and build Ottawa’s communities.
✨ Just like your favourite music streaming service, this time on The Next Stop Blog, we’re wrapping up the year, OC Transpo-style.
An electrifying year of expanding horizons, 2025 was full of pivotal milestones, exciting releases and lots of new tracks. As 2025 nears its last stops, there’s no better time than the present to look back and reflect.
Lines 2 and 4 - extended version
In 2025, you might say we got the year rolling in a big way. On January 6, Lines 2 and 4 opened for service, and for many Ottawans, this was the biggest release of the year. Providing light rail connections to new communities, the O-Train South extension’s launch meant residents could now take Line 2 from Bayview all the way to Limebank Station in Riverside South, while Line 4 created a direct link from South Keys Station to the Ottawa International Airport.
The O-Train was primed to provide service to record-breaking crowds. Each new Line 2 train can carry up to 420 passengers (no mosh pits) and every Line 2 station platform doubled in size. On average, 24,400 customer trips were taken on Lines 2 and 4 daily in 2025, making it a certified hit.
On Canada Day, Line 1 set a single-day record of 246,000 customer trips, with Lines 2 and 4 also besting their single-day ridership benchmarks. The hit parade continued during Bluesfest, as Ottawans rocked, racked and rolled their way to the grooving performances using our buses and trains, to the tune of about 737,000 customer trips over the course of the festival.
Tuning in to your favourite stations
For many customers, taking the train provided connections in more ways than one. With help from our Telus partner, free W-Fi was introduced at Cyrville Station, marking the last Line 1 station to receive free access to this service. Not too far down the tracks, Hurdman Station debuted a new Happy Goat Coffee Co., offering coffee, tea and treats on-the-go. Hurdman Station also joined Bayview and South Keys stations in hosting Tunes & Tracks, a music-themed transit celebration organized by EnviroCentre.
Art that moves
Music wasn’t the only art form featured on the system this year. Some of our buses became visual art in motion. We unveiled all-new wraps for our Pride Bus and our new ZEB fleet, and a brand-new double decker bus mural for Black History Month. In November, three more buses from our fleet were outfitted with a special mural for Veteran’s Week, commemorating those who have fallen in military service and to honour all Veterans who have served Canada, whether in war or times of peace.
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While some of our buses had wonderful wraps, others rocked a completely new look from the ground-up. This year saw new Para Transpo minibuses hit the road – six six-metre buses and 33 seven-metre buses joined our fleet in 2025.
Digital streamlining
The avid interest shown in our new seven-metre Para Transpo minibuses was a highlight of May’s Para Transpo Talk event, held during AccessAbility Day at City Hall. Customers, families, caregivers, and community members alike stopped by, and we were thrilled to help many attendees navigate and set up My Para Transpo. This service allows customers to book, cancel and track their trips, and can be accessed by any device connected to the internet. The addition of trip notifications in My Para Transpo means customers can choose between email, SMS text or automated voice call notifications.
This year, we also enriched the customer experience onboard our newest buses. If you have taken a ride on one of our new Zero-Emission Buses (ZEBs), you likely noticed the enhanced interior info screens inside. These screens provide helpful information like upcoming stops, the route’s last stop and expected arrival time, as well as OC Transpo-related news. While many of you appreciated the humour featured in our April Fools gag, featuring Eddy Grant’s timeless classic ‘Electric Avenue,’ the rider experience and fuel-saving benefits offered by our ZEB fleet are no joke.
A route’s roots
Rewinding to April, New Ways to Bus saw the largest bus service shuffle in Ottawa’s history, with more than 100 routes seeing changes in response to post-pandemic ridership. The launch of New Ways to Bus created new connections, with a special focus placed on frequency, local service in your neighbourhood, and connections to key destinations and O-Train Lines 2 and 4. A special bus route was also added to OC Transpo’s network in the Fall: Route 105 “The Arrow”. Route 105 links the Ottawa International Airport with O-Train Line 1 and intercity buses and trains at St-Laurent Station. The name pays homage to the Avro Canada CF-105 Arrow, a landmark in Canadian aviation history. For those looking to ‘Fly by Night,’ in the spirit of the band Rush, the route operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, approximately every 30 minutes.
With everything from digital developments to artistic accomplishments, 2025 was an electrifying year. Whether you’re enjoying a Happy Goat coffee fresh from Hurdman Station, just travelled on a new seven-metre Para Transpo bus, or are reading this blog post using free Wi-Fi at one of our 13 Line 1 stations, we’re eager to know what moved you in 2025.
