2025 Annual Symposium REPORT

Connecting the
Dots on Transit.

Executive Summary

EnviroCentre’s 2025 annual symposium, Connecting the Dots on Transit, brought together more than 100 community members, municipal leaders, transportation professionals, researchers, and advocates to explore how better transit can support a more sustainable, equitable, and connected Ottawa. 

With ridership still recovering from steep declines in 2020 related to COVID-19 and public confidence in flux, the symposium aimed to shift the conversation away from constraints and toward what’s possible. Through keynote talks, expert panels, and facilitated discussion tables, participants surfaced practical solutions to strengthen transit in Ottawa and advance climate goals. 

Purpose of the symposium

To identify practical, people-first solutions that support a more equitable, accessible, and sustainable transit system for Ottawa. 

Format

• Keynotes & panels: Thought leaders, including Anna Zivarts and Renée Amilcar, framed transit as a public good and challenged assumptions about who our systems serve. 
• Discussion tables: Participants co-led 11 themed tables exploring topics from rural transit and youth fare programs to bus-only shortcuts, Transit-Oriented Development (TOD), and the redesign of transit stops. 
• Networking & collaboration: With over 25 city councillors and staff in attendance and dozens of community organizations represented, the event created meaningful cross-sector relationships.  

Key themes

• Possibility: Despite complex challenges, the tone was solutions oriented. Discussions ranged from bike share integration and fare reform to youth engagement, rural transit, and low-cost service improvements. 
• Reframing: Speakers emphasized transit as a vital public good—not just a mobility solution, but an equity, health, climate, and city-building tool. 
• Support: The event attracted participants from various sectors and geographies, making clear the widespread appetite for collaboration and change. 
• Momentum: The energy in the room has already translated into public dialogue, media coverage, and follow-up initiatives.

What’s next 

The symposium served as a launchpad for continued work. EnviroCentre has committed to advancing two key focus areas over the coming year: 

• Youth transit – Supporting young people in developing transit literacy and expanding access through fare-free pilots and education. 
• Rural transit – Exploring innovative, community-led solutions to improve mobility for non-drivers and car-light households in rural Ottawa. 

Participants and partners are invited to build on the event’s momentum by advancing and supporting ideas, forging new collaborations, and staying connected to support a more inclusive and resilient transit future for Ottawa. 

For follow-up or collaboration, please contact us!