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Fares

Per-ride fares Presto, ParaPay, O-Payment* Cash
Adult & Youth $3.80 $3.85
Senior (ages 65 and up) $2.90 $2.95
Child (ages 12 and under) No charge No charge
EquiPass
What is EquiPass?
$1.75 n/a
Community
What is a Community Pass?
$1.75 n/a
Para Transpo Rural $10.25 $10.25

All rides include a 90 minute minimum transfer window from your first tap or the time you purchase your ticket. Check out additional information about transfer times.

Adding funds to your Presto card or purchasing single-ride fares can be done at a ticket machine using debit, credit, or cash. Riders can also pay exact fare in cash on buses (a paper transfer must be obtained as proof-of-payment).

You may qualify for a reduced fare. Read about reduced fare eligibility.

For children who look older than 12 years of age or regularly travel alone, we recommend getting a Child card.

*O-Payment is now accepted on all buses and O-Train Line 1 fare gates for Adult fare. Simply tap your Interac® Debit card, credit card or Google Pay or Apple Pay mobile wallet on the fare reader on buses and fare gates at O-Train Line 1 stations. Read more about O-Payment and how to register your payment method.

Use the same payment card to transfer between trips on buses and the O-Train. You won’t be charged again if you are within the regular transfer window

Daily fares are capped at the price of a DayPass ($11.75). Monthly fares are capped at the price of an Adult monthly pass ($128.75). The fare is calculated each night and then charged to your method of payment. When paying with a physical credit card, transactions may take several days to appear on the O-Payment website depending on the card issuer.

Check your trip history or download a receipt at o-payment.octranspo.com. Register after your first transaction appears on your credit card.

Your fares at work

We rely on fares to keep our city moving. Your fares help pay for buses, fuel, employee wages, bus shelters, system improvements and much more. You may be asked to show proof of payment by tapping your card on inspection devices, but you will not be charged again. Thank you for supporting the transit system by paying your fare.

Read the 2024 budget at Ottawa.ca

Presto banner

Where to load your Presto card

Where to buy your Presto card

Creating a Prestocard.ca account

As soon as you receive your card, you should register it at prestocard.ca or complete a paper Presto registration form and mail it to the Presto Customer Service Centre. Registration lets you:

  • Transfer funds to a new card if your card is lost or stolen
  • Access your Transit Usage Report for tax credit purposes

Load money into your Presto e-Purse

If you load your card online or by phone, you need to load at least $10.00 at a time. Your e-Purse cannot contain more than $1,000. Card readers on the bus are updated at least three times a day. Be sure to leave enough time for your online purchase to get activated on the buses. Once loaded, you need to tap onto a card reader within 30 days to complete the transaction.

Auto-loading and auto-renewing

Make sure your e-Purse never runs out of money by setting up Autoload:

  1. Register your card.
  2. Set-up an Autoload contract at prestocard.ca:
    • Choose the balance at which you want to reload
    • Choose the amount that will be loaded at each reload
  3. Activate your Autoload contract by tapping onto a reader within 30 days.

Make sure you always have a pass loaded to your account by setting up Autorenew. Your payments will go through six days before the start of the month. Simply cancel Autorenew before the 20th day of the month to stop the following month’s pass from loading. At the start of the month, you need to tap your card as part of a regular trip to activate the load onto your PRESTO card. Until you have done so, your monthly pass is not valid and does not count as paid fare.

Set up your card for an aged-base or special access discount

You can purchase a Presto card set with a Youth or Senior discount at an OC Transpo Customer Service Centre or at a participating Shoppers Drug Mart store. Anyone can buy a Presto card with an age-based discount . You can buy it for yourself or on behalf of an eligible person. You must meet eligibility criteria to use the card with a discounted fare. You also need to prove eligibility if requested.

Before you can take advantage of a Community, EquiPass or Access fare discount for which you qualify, you need to bring your card and proof of eligibility to an OC Transpo Customer Service Centre. Once you have bought and setup your card, you’re ready to load it.

Replace a lost or stolen card

If your card is registered, you can transfer your balance to a new card if it gets lost or stolen:

  1. Report your card lost or stolen (can take up to 24 hours to be blocked on the readers – you are responsible for charges during this period).
  2. Get a replacement card (card costs $4.00)
    • NEW: Transfer your card balance to another card in your account, a new card you bought online, or a new card you bought in-person.
    • You can only transfer your card balance from a cancelled Presto card to another Adult card in your account or a card with the same fare type as the cancelled card, and the card you’re transferring to can’t have a transit pass on it.
    • Some information on the new card will be overwritten to reflect the information on the old card.
    • More on replacing a Presto card from Prestocard.ca.
  3. Transfer your information by phone or online

    • Have your new card number at hand

Please note that until your new card is active and the transfer is complete, full fares must be paid using cash.

Presto on Apple Wallet and Google Wallet (not available)

  • Presto on Apple Wallet or Google Wallet is not accepted as payment on OC Transpo buses, fare gates or Para Transpo. OC Transpo customers should not add their Presto card to Apple Wallet or Google Wallet on mobile devices.
  • The Presto app has blocks in place to prevent OC Transpo customers from converting their card.

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DayPasses

1 day $11.75
3 days $28.50
5 days $45.75
7 days $54.25
2-for-1 DayPass (weekends and holidays only) $11.75

DayPasses are available for purchase at a ticket machine, or from your bus driver (one-day DayPasses only). Validation period begins from the moment of purchase. Get more information on DayPasses.


Monthly passes (includes Presto and ParaPay*)

Adult (ages 20 and up) $128.75
Youth (ages 13-19) $99.25
Senior (ages 65 and up) $49.00
EquiPass $58.25
Community $43.25
Access $43.25

Monthly passes go on sale 14 days before the start of the month. A monthly pass is only valid during the calendar month for which it is purchased. Discounted monthly passes must be set at a Customer Service Centre or by calling OC Transpo Customer Service. Age-based monthly passes can be set at a participating Shoppers Drug Mart.

*ParaPay cannot be used for trips on OC Transpo buses or the O-Train. Read more information on ParaPay.

Access pass holders are required to pay a $2.55 top-up charge per ride to use Para Transpo services.

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ParaPay logo

How to get ParaPay

  1. To open your account, call Customer Service and give your Para Transpo ID number.

If you want be able to load your account online, you also need to:

  • Provide your email address
  • You will then receive an email with instructions on how to activate your account and load money or a pass
  1. Load a monthly pass (ParaPass) or money to pay-per-trip (ParaPurse) online, in-person, by phone or by mail.

  2. Book your trips and ride — Your fare is automatically paid when you book, and if you cancel, your account will be reimbursed.

Loading your ParaPay account

You can load your ParaPay account with money to pay-per-ride (ParaPurse), a monthly pass (ParaPass) or both.

There are four convenient ways to load your account:

Ways to pay Additional info Accepted payment methods

*Approved banks: RBC and Scotiabank

Online

Log in to ParaPay

  • Credit card
  • Visa Debit
  • Interac® Online*

By phone

Hours of operation for Customer Service Centres

  • Credit card
  • Visa Debit

In person

Visit a Customer Service Centre

  • Cash
  • Debit
  • Credit card

By mail

City of Ottawa
Attention: Para Transpo
925 Belfast Road, Ottawa, ON K1G 0Z4

Please include your name and Para Transpo ID.

  • Cheque

Pay-per-trip with ParaPurse

ParaPurse lets you deposit money to your account and pay for your Para Transpo trips as you go. A minimum $10.00-load is required when adding funds to ParaPurse.

You can use the funds in your ParaPurse to:

  • Pay-per-trip
  • Put towards the cost of a monthly ParaPass

Ride all month with ParaPass

ParaPass is a paperless monthly pass that lets you take unlimited trips on Para Transpo during the month. ParaPasses cost the same as Presto passes.

ParaPass or ParaPay, a card and ticket-free system, cannot be used for trips on OC Transpo buses or the O-Train. Read more information on ParaPay.

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Additional services

Park & Ride

OC Transpo offers a mix of free and reserved parking spaces at Park & Ride lots across Ottawa and nearby rural areas, with some lots exclusively for monthly permit holders.

Parking permit $28.75
Gold parking permit $65.00

Here’s what you need to know about using the Park & Ride service, plus a map of Park & Ride locations.


Bikesecure

Sheltered bike parking is available at four Bikesecure locations.

Security key fob $6.00
Monthly fee $10.00

Para Transpo Rural Zone

One-way trip between a rural zone and the urban area
Rural zone map
$10.25
Children aged 12 and under ride free

Charters

OC Transpo has the largest fleet of buses at your disposal to transport groups of any size for conventions, conferences, sightseeing or entertainment. Read the details on charter rates, features and availability.

Bulk fares

You can buy prepaid transit fares in large quantities by using Presto Loads.

Presto Loads are prepaid dollar amounts that can be added to a Presto card. They are a great option for community organizations or employers who wish to bulk purchase transit fares for use in Ottawa.

Find more information at Prestocard.ca.

Looking for other ways to get bulk fares for your business or organization? Get in touch with us to discuss your options: PTO-BVLPB@octranspo.com.

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