Carleton University students offered public transit rebate for December, as city provides free rides

University students will now receive free transit for the month of December along with the rest of Ottawa's residents, following the city's move to offer free transit during the holiday month due to persisting LRT issues. 

In a statement posted to its website Thursday, November 18, Carleton University said the city had passed a motion to provide one month of unlimited no-charge transit on OC Transpo and Para Transpo starting on December 1.

Students will not need to tap their U-Pass at O-Train stations or on OC Transpo buses during the month of December.

Eligible Carleton University U-Pass holders will get a rebate of $54.51 to their student account the week of November 29.

An email will be sent to those students when the rebate has been applied.

Eligible students are students who have not opted out of the Fall 2021 semester.

In the city’s initial call on November 4 to reward transit users for sticking with OC Transpo while LRT had been down, university students felt left out.

“Public transit is the most affordable, and supposed to be the most reliable way to get to campus, but clearly, this year that just hasn't been the case,” Tim Gulliver, the University of Ottawa’s student union president, told CityNews' The Rob Snow Show on Thursday, November 4.

But on November 12, the city added university students to the list of those who would be receiving free transit.