OC Transpo fares to increase 2.5 per cent in 2012

According to Ottawa Metro, the City of Ottawa's 2012 budget includes extra funding for OC Transpo (fuelled by a property tax increase of 2.39 per cent), which will be directed towards increasing service on major routes such as the 87, 94, 95, and 96.

More to the point for most transit riders, the budget also calls for a 2.5-per cent increase in OC Transpo fares.

The fare increase falls in line with recent estimates, but is much lower than the 7.5-per cent increase in March of 2010. Still, after a massive optimization project intended to make service more efficient, one wonders where those savings have gone.