Ontario Public Transit Association - OPTA

Ontario Public Transit Association - OPTA Contact information, map and directions, contact form, opening hours, services, ratings, photos, videos and announcements from Ontario Public Transit Association - OPTA, Transit System, 5063 North Service Road Suite 200, Burlington, ON.

OPTA’s objective is to raise awareness of the importance of public transit to Ontarians and their communities, to social inclusion and environmental sustainability, and to the provincial economy.

🚍 ♿ Upcoming Webinar by RideCo On-Demand TransitUnified Transit: How Niagara Transit Enables Regional Connectivity Usi...
06/01/2026

🚍 ♿ Upcoming Webinar by RideCo On-Demand Transit
Unified Transit: How Niagara Transit Enables Regional Connectivity Using One Solution

📅 Tuesday, June 9, 2026
⏰ 1:00 – 2:00 PM EDT
📍 Webinar
🎤 Session Type: Moderated Panel

Join Niagara Transit Commission and RideCo for an inside look at how 12 municipalities came together to transform regional transit service delivery.

Faced with the challenge of integrating multiple service models - including specialized transit, microtransit, and commingling - Niagara Transit partnered with RideCo to support its vision for unified transit and a better passenger experience.

Presenters:
🎤 Edward Zahra, Director, Customer Experience, Niagara Transit Commission
🎤 Kate McNamara, Project Manager, RideCo

In this webinar, you’ll learn about:

✅ Change management strategies used to support regional transit consolidation
✅ How Niagara Transit selected a dynamic mobility solution to support multiple program types
✅ Ways the agency streamlined scheduling, dispatching, and service delivery
✅ Improvements in operational efficiency, shared rides, and passenger experience
✅ Program results and next steps for the agency

Don’t miss this timely discussion on regional connectivity, service integration, and the future of unified transit delivery.

👉 Register Today: ontariopublictransit.ca/opta-live/

🚍📰 Transit Matters Newsletter – May 2026 Edition is here!We’re excited to share the latest updates - including: ✅ News f...
05/29/2026

🚍📰 Transit Matters Newsletter – May 2026 Edition is here!

We’re excited to share the latest updates - including:

✅ News from
▶️ FleetZero invites OPTA members to join Transit Hub as part of Toronto Climate Week
✅ Canadian Standards Association (CSA) D409 - 27 Now Live for Review - Deadline June 3, 2026
✅ Planning and Scheduling Committee Reviews Transit Supportive Guidelines
✅ OPTA Working with Skilled Trades Ontario / Métiers spécialisés Ontario to Understand 310T Fail Rate
✅ Ontario Ministry of Transportation/ Ministère des Transports de l’Ontario Strategic Investments Office Hosts Outreach Event for Municipal Transit Partners
✅ Webinar by RideCo On-Demand Transit: Unified Transit: How Niagara Transit Enables Regional Connectivity Using One Solution
✅ 2026 AGM and Board Election - Registration and Nominee Details
✅ CX/Marketing/Comms Committee Meeting
✅ Safety and Training Committee Meeting
✅ Reminder: Presentations
✅ Save the Date: Fall Member Meet-Up | October 1 - 2, 2026
✅ OPTA Business Members' Meeting & New Members' Orientation
✅ Help Us Grow the OPTA Documents' Library

Check your inbox for the full newsletter!

Missed it or want to sign up to receive future editions?

👉 Contact us at OntarioPublicTransit.ca

05/05/2026

🚍 OPTA at Queen’s Park | Update

On May 4, 2026, OPTA appeared before the Standing Committee on Heritage, Infrastructure and Cultural Policy to provide remarks on Bill 98 - Building Homes and Improving Transportation Infrastructure Act, 2026, including the proposed Fare Alignment and Seamless Transit Act.

OPTA supports the goal of improving the rider experience through better fare alignment, cross-boundary wayfinding, and more seamless transit connections. At the same time, we emphasized the importance of getting the implementation right through clear scope, careful consideration of specialized transit impacts, and meaningful consultation with the agencies that deliver service every day.

Key points shared with the Committee included:
✅ The need to clearly limit the scope of Bill 98 to cross-boundary fare and service integration provisions in the GTHA - , , , , , and , where One Fare is already in motion.
✅ The importance of protecting resources so high-cost regional trips do not displace essential local trips such as medical appointments, day programs, and regular community travel.
✅ The need for structured consultation with transit agencies before regulations are drafted.
✅ The importance of ensuring any provincial mandate is matched with full, predictable, and sustainable .

As Carla Stout, Vice Chair of OPTA and General Manager of Niagara Region Transit, shared:

“...(W)e want to ensure there are no unintended consequences in legislation or unforeseen costs to the ridership and or their local municipalities. As we’ve done in the past, we want to help provide expertise and draft the regulatory framework with this government."

OPTA and its members are ready to continue working as active, constructive partners to help shape regulations that deliver better outcomes for riders, municipalities, and transit systems across .

⏯️ Full Video available at: https://ontariopublictransit.ca/2026/05/bill-98-building-homes-and-improving-transportation-infrastructure-act-2026/

🚍📰 Transit Matters Newsletter – April 2026 Edition is here!We’re excited to share the latest updates - including: ✅ OPTA...
04/30/2026

🚍📰 Transit Matters Newsletter – April 2026 Edition is here!

We’re excited to share the latest updates - including:

✅ OPTA Requests Consultation on and the Act
✅ Recap | Save the Date for
✅ Presentations Posted to OPTA Library
✅ Post Event Survey | Deadline: May 1, 2026
✅ Ontario Ministry of Transportation/ Ministère des Transports de l’Ontario Updates for
✅ 2025-26 Funding by Municipality
✅ Save the Date: Fall Member Meet-Up | October 1 - 2, 2026
✅ Save the Date: | June 10, 2026
✅ OPTA Business Members' Meeting & New Members' Orientation
✅ Help Us Grow the OPTA Documents' Library

Check your inbox for the full newsletter!

Missed it or want to sign up to receive future editions?
👉 Contact us at OntarioPublicTransit.ca

The final day/Wednesday at wrapped up with the "Session 4: Vehicle and Infrastructure Design & Updates".The final se...
04/17/2026

The final day/Wednesday at wrapped up with the "Session 4: Vehicle and Infrastructure Design & Updates".

The final session brought us to the core technologies behind zero emission bus operations, the engineering, and system design choices that shape everything discussed throughout the day. Our OEM propulsion and charging partners, along with infrastructure and energy management specialists, shared how their solutions are evolving in response to agency feedback and lessons learned from deployments across North America and internationally.

Thanks to our sponsor, New Flyer, and also to our moderator and speakers.

🎤 Moderator: Mike Macas, P.Eng, Toronto Transit Commission (TTC)

Opening Speaker:
🎤 Tyler Seed, PowerON Energy Solutions

OEM Propulsion Partners' Speakers
🎤 Michael Coote and Benoit St. Cyr, Nova Bus
🎤 Julio Mayorga, Solaris (CAF (Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles))
🎤 Brydon Owen, New Flyer
🎤 Nicolas Letendre, Letenda
🎤 Joseph D'Urso, City View Specialty Vehicles
🎤 Deniz Cetin/Chris Pulford, Karsan Automotive/Damera Corporation

Charging Partners' Speakers
🎤 Ray Little, CMA, CMC, MBA, PMP, Siemens
🎤 Moneeb Durrani, P.Eng, ABB

Presentations from this session will be available for in the OPTA Digital Library within a week: https://ontariopublictransit.ca/document-library/

✉️ Watch your inbox for more details!
👉 Contact us at OntarioPublicTransit.ca

The joined OPTA, OMCA, and SBO session "Cameras and Road Safety" at was well attended as given recent recommendations ...
04/16/2026

The joined OPTA, OMCA, and SBO session "Cameras and Road Safety" at was well attended as given recent recommendations by the Ontario Coroner for operator facing cameras in public transit vehicles, the panel explored the issues and was relevant to safety professionals with an HR/OPs focus. The content covered the labour law, employment law, privacy law, and technological considerations for the implementation of these devices on public transit.

🎤 Sabrina Pasian, Chief Safety Officer, OC Transpo, City of Ottawa / Ville d’Ottawa
🎤 Russell Groves, Employment and Labour Partner, Dentons
🎤 Emily Kroboth, Senior Associate, Employment & Labour, Dentons

Presentations from this session will be available for in the OPTA Digital Library within a week: https://ontariopublictransit.ca/document-library/

✉️ Watch your inbox for more details!
👉 Contact us at OntarioPublicTransit.ca

The "Supporting Mobility: Travel Training, Family Services, and Wayfinding" session at wrapped up with tons of great i...
04/15/2026

The "Supporting Mobility: Travel Training, Family Services, and Wayfinding" session at wrapped up with tons of great information all aspects of travel training, including route specific, eligibility specific, and general orientation for conventional, on-demand, and paratransit systems.

Thanks to CSA Group for sponsoring the session and also to our moderator and speakers for contributing to the success of this session.

1️⃣ TTC Wheel-Trans: Travel Training Program Review
🎤 Speaker: Arlen Orellana, Toronto Transit Commission (TTC)

2️⃣ York Region Transit's My Ride Program: A Transit Orientation to York Region Residents
🎤 Speaker: Elizabeth Sinclair, York Region Transit

3️⃣ Addressing Wayfinding Challenges Faced by the Canadian Transit Sector
Speakers:
🎤 Yuval Grinspun, Left Turn Right Turn
🎤 Adriana Shu-Yin, CSA Group

Presentations from this session will be available for in the OPTA Digital Library within a week: https://ontariopublictransit.ca/document-library/

✉️ Watch your inbox for more details!
👉 Contact us at OntarioPublicTransit.ca

"Session 3: Operationalization - From Procurement to Pull-Out" has wrapped up at .In this session, we moved into the ...
04/15/2026

"Session 3: Operationalization - From Procurement to Pull-Out" has wrapped up at .

In this session, we moved into the phase where all earlier elements, safety, training, workforce competency must function together under real operating conditions. This is where many agencies have experienced their steepest learning curve. Our panelists brought lessons from change management, operational readiness, infrastructure rollout, charge management software, and charging system integration.

Thanks to our sponsor, CIMA+ and also to our moderator and speakers.

🎤 Moderator: Helen Wright, CIMA+

Speakers:

1️⃣ EBus Operational Lessons Learned
🎤 Mike Macas, P.Eng, Toronto Transit Commission (TTC)

2️⃣ ZEB Change Management Framework: The Case of MiWay
🎤 Stephen B., City of Mississauga Transit
🎤 Anaïssia Franca, CIMA+

3️⃣ Operational Readiness for Zero?Emission Bus Fleets: Lessons Transit Can Borrow from Aviation ORAT
🎤 Ahmed Mumeni, P.Eng., MBA, Jacobs

4️⃣ Infrastructure and Commissioning Lessons Learned
🎤 Andrew Cowles, Toronto Transit Commission (TTC)

5️⃣ Charge Management the Hard Way – Lessons Learned From the Front Line
🎤 Sasha Pejcic, BetterFleet

Presentations from this session will be available for in the OPTA Digital Library within a week: https://ontariopublictransit.ca/document-library/

✉️ Watch your inbox for more details!
👉 Contact us at OntarioPublicTransit.ca

Thank you PowerON Energy Solutions sponsoring lunch for delegates at on Day 3 of . Drop a 👍 if you enjoyed the lunch ...
04/15/2026

Thank you PowerON Energy Solutions sponsoring lunch for delegates at on Day 3 of .

Drop a 👍 if you enjoyed the lunch at the !

"Session 2: New Technology and Technical Training" just wrapped up at . Thank you to our sponsor, Zenobē, and also ...
04/15/2026

"Session 2: New Technology and Technical Training" just wrapped up at . Thank you to our sponsor, Zenobē, and also to our moderator and speakers.

Zero Emission Buses ( ) operate within a tightly connected ecosystem vehicle, charger, facility, grid, software, and communication systems all influence one another. That means workforce preparation must span both role-specific expectations and system-wide understanding. Our panelists will shared lessons learned about OEM training, the need for supplemental in-house programs, collaborations with colleges, technician and apprenticeship evolution, and how early training gaps showed up in real operations.

This session was about building capability, clarity, and confidence so every role supports both the vehicle and the system surrounding it.

🎤 Moderator: John Kardos, Zenobē

Speakers:

1️⃣ Charging Infrastructure Training and Supporting Systems Training
🎤 John Kardos, Zenobē

2️⃣ Enabling Transit Agencies to Act on Diagnostics (Diagnostics Training – Roles, Responsibilities and Impacts on the Organization)
🎤 Omar Rasheed, Metrolinx

3️⃣ CMB Customized Training to Augment OEM Training
🎤 Randy Helmer, Coast Mountain Bus Company

4️⃣ Experience from a Fire Fighting Perspective
🎤 Randy Narine, Clean Core Research

Presentations from this session will be available for in the OPTA Digital Library within a week: https://ontariopublictransit.ca/document-library/

✉️ Watch your inbox for more details!
👉 Contact us at OntarioPublicTransit.ca

Address

5063 North Service Road Suite 200
Burlington, ON
L7L5H6

Telephone

+14162296222

Website

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