How to ride · Just arrived

New to Ottawa transit? Choose an airport or VIA Rail arrival and whether you are travelling during regular service or near the last departure. The first-trip guide helps you plan, pay, and check current service.

• Open the first-trip guide →

Find the correct stop and direction

Match all three facts before leaving: the public stop code, the route number, and the destination shown for that direction. Two stops across the same street can have different codes and opposite destinations. A route number by itself is not enough. In Otranspo, open the stop result and confirm the operator, stop name or street description, platform when one is published, and destination on the departure row.

For a trip on another day, plan for that exact date. Service can differ on weekdays, weekends, holidays, school days, and after a service change. OC Transpo’s official route-schedule guide also requires the date, route, direction, and stop; STO’s stop numbers appear in Plani-Bus and on stop signs.

• Find a stop in Otranspo →
• Plan this trip in Otranspo →
• OC Transpo route-schedule guide →
• STO information tools →

Live, scheduled, cancelled, or missing

A live time is a prediction based on current operating data. A scheduled time comes from the timetable because a reliable live prediction is unavailable. “Scheduled” does not prove that a vehicle is operating, and a missing live prediction does not prove that it was cancelled. Otranspo labels the evidence state beside each departure; keep that label with the time.

If a bus is overdue, first confirm that you are at the correct stop and direction. Refresh the departure board, open the route or stop notice, and check the operator’s alert or cancellation record. Then compare the next usable trip and replan the full journey, including a transfer or last-service constraint. For OC Transpo, 560560 and 613-560-1000 use the four-digit stop number and can include realtime and cancellation updates. For STO, Infobus uses the stop number at 819778 by text or 819-778-5555 by phone; times shown in minutes are actual and clock times are planned.

A rider report to Otranspo records community evidence; it does not dispatch a vehicle or create an official complaint. Use the operator contact below when an answer or action from the transit agency is required.

• Check Otranspo departures →
• Check current Otranspo service notices →
• OC Transpo realtime information →
• OC Transpo alerts and cancellations →
• STO system status →

Last service and a way home

Check the final departure for the exact service date, stop, and direction before beginning the outbound trip. Do the same for every required connection. A route’s last departure from its first stop can be earlier or later than its final departure from your stop, and a planned timetable can change for holidays or special service.

Before leaving for the stop, check live departures and active notices again. If the planned last trip is cancelled, missing, or no longer makes its connection, replan immediately and compare another stop, route, operator, or safe travel option. Otranspo will not invent a later trip when the connected sources publish none. STO Infobus marks the last bus of the day with an asterisk; OC Transpo asks riders to arrive a few minutes early because schedule times can vary.

• Plan a dated Otranspo journey →
• OC Transpo schedules and maps →
• STO schedules and last-departure tools →

Paying across OC Transpo and STO

For a pay-per-ride trip that uses both networks, the network where that direction starts sets the first fare and the payment methods you can use. A valid pass or transfer can continue across the operator handoff only for its published validity period. A return direction that starts on the other network must be checked again under that network’s rules.

Starting on OC Transpo: Presto funds, an OC Transpo ticket or exact cash can create a transfer. A valid Presto or paper transfer can continue to STO. Debit, credit and mobile-wallet O-Payment can pay an adult OC Transpo fare, but that O-Payment transfer is not accepted on STO.

Starting on STO: a Multi E-Wallet must first be validated on an STO bus and then provides a two-hour transfer to OC Transpo and the O-Train. Presto funds cannot start a pay-per-ride trip on STO. Pass, ticket, passenger and group-use exceptions vary, so use both official operator records when the selected product is not shown by Otranspo.

The displayed OC Transpo and STO adult amounts were checked against the official 2026 fare pages on September 13, 2026. Amounts are in Canadian dollars (CAD). Otranspo shows a price only with passenger category, payment medium, currency, source, effective date and review deadline.

• OC Transpo and STO payment rules →
• OC Transpo current fares →
• STO current regular fares →
• STO travel with OC Transpo →

Airport and Park & Ride

O-Train Line 4 links South Keys, Uplands and Airport Station at the departures level of Ottawa International Airport. The transit itinerary does not include airline check-in, security, baggage, terminal movement or a late-running flight. Add the buffer required by the airline and confirm current Line 4 hours and service before leaving.

Park & Ride conditions belong to the selected lot, not to a generic station label. OC Transpo lots differ in free, limited-free, permit, Gold, accessible and charging spaces; overnight parking is not permitted. STO publishes a separate Parc-o-bus list and its own permit conditions. Otranspo does not claim that a space is currently available.

• OC Transpo Line 4 and Airport Station →
• OC Transpo Park & Ride conditions →
• STO Parc-o-bus locations and conditions →

Regular accessibility and adapted service

An accessibility request in the ordinary Otranspo planner filters regular bus and rail results and reports only the vehicle, stop and path facts the source exposes. It does not prove the complete physical path, reserve a mobility-device space or establish eligibility for an adapted service.

Para Transpo is a pre-booked service for eligible registered customers. STO paratransit has its own eligibility, reservation deadlines and confirmed pickup window. Otranspo does not decide eligibility, book, change, cancel or dispatch either service, and an ordinary Otranspo itinerary is not an adapted-service reservation.

• OC Transpo accessibility and Para Transpo steps →
• Para Transpo official service →
• STO regular-transit accessibility →
• STO paratransit eligibility →
• STO paratransit booking →
• STO paratransit information →

Bicycles, strollers and animals

Selecting transit with a bicycle asks the router for a bicycle-compatible transit itinerary. It does not reserve rack or onboard space. OC Transpo publishes bicycle rack size and weight limits, equips buses with finite-capacity racks and permits bicycles on O-Train Lines 1, 2 and 4 year-round. Check the actual operator and vehicle rules before boarding.

An open stroller can use available space under the operator’s safety and priority-seating rules and may need to be moved or folded. Pet and service-animal rules differ by operator and by animal type. Otranspo does not convert a route result into a capacity or boarding guarantee.

• OC Transpo bicycle rules →
• OC Transpo stroller guidance →
• OC Transpo animal rules →
• STO animal rules →

Lost an item

Use the operator that carried you. For an item lost on an OC Transpo bus, train, station, or Para Transpo minibus, submit the official Lost & Found form first and keep its ticket so you can check status or add details. Include the route, direction, stop or station, approximate time, vehicle number when known, and a specific description. An item left in a contracted Para Transpo taxi or van follows the service provider’s process shown by OC Transpo.

For STO, valuable items, medical equipment, or medication should be reported to Customer Relations as soon as possible. Other items follow STO’s category-specific instructions. Otranspo cannot search a vehicle, call a driver, confirm a match, or hold an item.

• OC Transpo Lost & Found →
• STO lost items →

Travel during snow or freezing rain

Allow more time, check the trip again before leaving, and read active stop and route notices. During severe weather, travel time and predictions can change quickly. A stop on a slope may be temporarily closed with an alternate stop, and OC Transpo may announce a Severe Storm Schedule at least a day before it takes effect. Otranspo shows only the closure or alternate-stop evidence the connected source supplies.

At the stop, use the posted relocation notice when one exists and choose a safe cleared waiting place. Do not step into the road to look for a bus. If the accessible path or alternate stop is unsafe, contact the operator for current assistance and replan rather than assuming the regular stop is usable.

• Otranspo current service notices →
• OC Transpo winter operations →
• OC Transpo active alerts →
• STO system status →

Saved data and notification help

Ordinary saved stops, routes, places, trips, alert follows, and inbox items stay in this browser. They can disappear if site data is cleared, private browsing ends, storage is evicted, or you use another browser or device. Review or export device-only saves before clearing data. Signing in does not silently upload them.

A saved route, stop, station, category, or network follow updates the in-app inbox only while Otranspo is open. Browser permission alone does not create closed-app delivery. Only an explicitly activated exact journey watch shows its own accepted delivery registration and monitoring consent. On Notifications, check the saved subscription, browser permission, server-registration result, quiet hours, severity threshold, and test notification. If permission is blocked, change this site’s permission in the browser settings and reload; Otranspo cannot override it.

• Review saved data →
• Check notification delivery →
• Review privacy controls →

Current operator help

Call 911 for immediate danger. Eligibility decisions, bookings, dispatch, emergency procedures, lost-property handling, fares, refunds, complaints, and changing contact numbers remain with the operator. Opening an operator page is only a handoff; complete the operator’s form, call, or other stated process and keep the confirmation it provides.

For an Otranspo website problem, factual correction, privacy question, security report, or accessibility accommodation for this site, use Otranspo Help or Contact. That private case is separate from transit service and provides its own receipt and status. Otranspo does not promise a response time until a staffed support roster is published.

• OC Transpo contact and rider help →
• STO contact and rider help →
• Contact Otranspo about this site →
• Otranspo help directory →
• Contact STO paratransit →

Source review

The operator instructions and links on this page were rechecked against current OC Transpo and STO pages on September 14, 2026. Operator notices, schedules, contacts, fares, and procedures can change after review. The linked operator record controls when it differs from this guide; request an Otranspo correction when a link or explanation is stale.

• Request a factual correction →

Human assistance availability

No verified staffed-support schedule is published. Otranspo does not claim that a person is watching your journey and promises no response time. Self-service guidance and official links remain available.

Transport-provider handoff

Official links open only when you choose them. Otranspo sends no journey details, books no travel, purchases no fare, and promises no operator response. An Otranspo acknowledgement does not prove boarding, arrival, or safety.