The Cost

The costs of our Practical Alternative Plan were developed by career rail transit experts and used benchmark cost comparisons from relevant LRT projects. The total cost of our base plan for practical LRT in Ottawa is $438 million. Assuming the City's proposed plan comes in at its lowest published estimate of $778 million, our plan represents a savings of $340 million compared to the City's plan.

Our plan leaves $162 million leftover in the $600 million funding memorandum of understanding signed by the City, Federal and Provincial governments. This savings is money that can be invested in other critical transit needs and opportunities in Ottawa. In contrast, the City's proposed plan costs at least $178 million more than the funding formula requires. This means the City must either extract an extra $178 million in taxes Ottawa from residents and businesses or reduce City services that cost as much.