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Central finding · Verified fact

The letter keeps the documented CAD $1,157,794 total, names the missing contract information and treats the STO record as different in scope. It is advocacy prepared by Otranspo, not a message already sent on your behalf.

Originally published: Not recorded in the recovered publication evidence
Latest substantive update: September 10, 2026 · letter-v2
Author: Otranspo civic research
Editorial owner: Otranspo civic research
Evidence scope: Editable resident letter based on the City of Ottawa disclosure rows for contract 33523-92002-G01 and the separately scoped 2019 STO context records.

This is an editable resident template based on the cited disclosure rows. Read it, replace every placeholder and decide whether its two recommendations express your own view before sending it in your own name.

Read the September 10 correction in the central register

How to use it

Replace [Candidate name], [ward], [Your name], and [Your ward] with your own details.
Send it to the candidates running in your ward, and to the mayoral candidates.
Municipal election day is October 26. Advance voting starts October 1.

Find out who is running in your ward

Subject

The CAD $1.16M Transit app contract disclosed under delegated authority. Where do you stand?

Letter

Dear [Candidate name],

I'm a resident of [ward] and I vote. I'm writing about something I only recently learned, and I want to know where you stand before October 26.

City of Ottawa delegated-contract disclosures list four entries under contract 33523-92002-G01, totalling CAD $1,157,794: $282,000 for monitoring the realtime data feed and $180,000 to deploy Transit App Royale in 2023, a $462,000 extension in late 2024 for the app, surveys, data-quality analysis and performance benchmarking, and a $233,794 extension in 2025 for Rate-My-Ride customer-experience monitoring. Each entry carries the City's noncompetitive rationale Section 22 (1) (D). The source rows are here:

https://documents.ottawa.ca/sites/default/files/Document%201%20%E2%80%93%20Transit%20Contracts%20awarded%20under%20delegated%20authority%20for%20the%20per_AODA.pdf

https://documents.ottawa.ca/sites/default/files/Contracts%20Awarded%20Under%20Delegation%20of%20Authority%20for%20July%201%20and%20December%2031%202024-AODA.pdf

https://documents.ottawa.ca/sites/default/files/Contracts%20Under%20Delegation%20of%20Authority%20January%201%20to%20June%2030%202025-AODA.pdf

The disclosure rows do not include the full contract, its start and end date, renewal options, unit pricing, service levels, performance results or a complete statement of deliverables. Without those records, residents cannot tell what period each amount buys, whether the Royale amount is one-time or recurring, or assess value per rider or per year.

Across the river, the STO says it signed a 2019 partnership to share realtime rider information through Transit. A Le Droit report at launch described that partnership as costing the STO nothing (Jan. 31, 2019: https://ledroit.com/actualites/gatineau/sto-les-parcours-en-temps-reel-6ec8c8b15a3398d70012e209c2fcc63e). Those records do not establish that Gatineau received the same term, features, surveys, monitoring, subscription sponsorship or performance work disclosed by Ottawa, so this is regional context rather than a like-for-like price comparison.

I'm not alleging that anyone broke a rule. I'm asking for enough public information and scrutiny to assess this delegated, noncompetitive procurement before it is extended again.

Ottawa has the bones of a world class transit system. What we've lost is trust, and trust doesn't come from being told the system works, it comes from seeing it working. Spending like this, made quietly, doesn't help.

So I'm asking you to commit to two things if you're elected:

1. Publication and review of the full contract at Transit Commission, including its current total value, term, pricing structure and performance, before it is extended again.

2. Open, competitive processes for rider-facing transit technology from now on.

Please reply and tell me where you stand. Your answer will matter when I vote.

[Your name]
[Your ward]