Winter strike cost OC Transpo $5.9M

According to the City of Ottawa's Auditor General Lalonde, the winter 2008-09 transit strike ended up costing the city about $5.9M in direct costs. While the city saved $21.5M in expenses over the course of the 53-day transit strike, they lost $27.4M in revenue, resulting in a net loss to the city.
According to the Ottawa Citizen:

The audit report found that wage and fuel savings were more than offset by lost pass and ticket revenue. City council gave transit riders generous deals to entice them back to transit after the 58-day stoppage of service.

But the city also had increased costs, such as $558,000 for increased snow removal, $362,000 for increased security and $400,000 to compensate colleges and universities to operate shuttle services.

The $5.9M estimate, however, doesn't likely come close to measuring the cost incurred by average citizens and businesses whose income was negatively impacted by the 58 days of no service.

For more reading:

• Ottawa Citizen (further coverage)
• Ottawa Sun
• Metro Ottawa
• Ottawa Business Journal
• 580 CFRA