My Yelp review of the failed OC Transpo payment system | Opinion

Between January 2025 and June 2026 there were 3,188 “reports” about OC Transpo's red oval readers not functioning. Photo by Tony Caldwell /POSTMEDIA

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★★☆☆☆

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OC Transpo Fare Payment Experience Transit · Fintech · Immersive Theatre $$ (management declines to be more precise)

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Brigitte P. · Ottawa, ON · Elite · 4,204 reviews · 3,188 photos

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This establishment had previously progressed through various phases to the point where exact fare payments were extended to all hours and monthly passes had been introduced. The deal was clear: you brought the correct change, the driver ignored you, and a paper transfer came out of the box with the time your transit window ended printed on it. Elegant? No. But did it work at 11 at night in February on Baseline when you couldn’t just call an Uber because it didn’t exist? Every single time. That transfer never needed a firmware update. It never lost 4G. It rested in my mitten and did its job.

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What followed was a dark period featuring paper tickets and photo ID cards you had to acquire in a mall, and paper monthly passes that you added to an outsized plastic holder after scribbling the number written on your photo ID in little boxes. Call it OC Transpo’s Disco Era and agree to treat it like a bad hangover.

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Then came the improvements. Presto arrived after delays measured in seasons, a $6 card, a marketing push, and assurances from the provincial agency and its contractor that this time it was ready. In 2013, OC Transpo’s own boss reported the cards were working in more than 98 percent of transactions. Those were the days.

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In 2017, we learned the readers had concluded some buses weren’t on a route yet and had therefore stopped collecting fares, roughly $700 a day, on the house.

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Since 2023, we can use credit cards to pay for single fares, which I am personally very grateful for, as I can simply tap my trusty Apple Watch and ride in peace. But golly.

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Between January 2025 and June 2026 there were 3,188 “reports” about the red oval readers not functioning. Availability: about 98 percent except in February and March this year when it fell to 93.5 percent. Thirteen years, one provincial smart card, an entire light rail line and a full generation of riders later, we have not successfully maintained reliability. Somebody get these people a plaque.

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This most recent problem cost somewhere between $690,000 and $960,000 over 18 months. I want to sit with that “somewhere.” This is a payment system. Knowing what was paid is its whole reason d’être. A margin of $270,000 isn’t a rounding error, it’s a confession.

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The explanations are where the venue really shines. New software, rolled out with the contractor and Metrolinx, took an unprecedented number of readers offline. Technicians reviewed and reinstalled software on some 300 machines. And the separate bug that also kept killing readers? Students repeat tapping their U-Passes too fast. Their youthful enthusiasm killed the product. Chef’s kiss.

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The recovery plan is to send the bill to Queen’s Park. Special mention to Alta Vista Coun. Marty Carr, who had to formally request these figures, because they were not otherwise on the menu. Classic secrecy for this establishment.

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Two stars. One for the drivers, who wave you on without comment because they understand the machine is lying to everyone. The other for the ever patient Ottawa transit user rolling with each failure like they were still as nimble as in in the Disco Era. At least the fare boxes keep printing transfers when you pay cash. Low-tech solutions for the win.

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Would I recommend? I don’t have a choice. That’s not a review, it’s a hostage situation. Blinking twice.

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