05/08/2026
OC transpo’s humble beginnings
67 years ago this month, the city’s streetcar service was removed from the streets. 🚎
After 68 years of service, on May 1, 1959, all streetcar services stopped running. This mode of transport was first introduced in 1891 by Thomas Ahearn and Warren Soper with the Ottawa Electric Street Railway, which became the Ottawa Electric Railway Company (OER).
In 1900, a Sunday service was instituted as well as an extension of the line from New Edinburgh in the east to Brittania Village in the west. At either end of the line, Ahearn built recreational and amusement parks that attracted thousands of riders and helped develop west end neighbourhoods like Hintonburg and Westboro.
In the first half of the twentieth century, streetcars became many peoples’ preferred mode of transportation. By 1925, there was almost 100km of streetcar rails across the city, and in 1929 they serviced 30 million riders.
Ridership decreased in the 1930s with the Great Depression, as public transit became a luxury many could not afford. The Second World War saw ridership go back up because of gasoline rationing.
Following the War, in 1948 the City of Ottawa purchased the OER for 6.3 million dollars which included 130 streetcars, 61 buses, and various properties. With this purchase, the Ottawa Transport Commission was born, which would go on to become today’s OC Transpo.
The day after the service was removed from the city in 1959, a parade was held through downtown Ottawa. The parade began at Cumberland and Rideau Streets and 17 different public transportation vehicles rode the streets to showcase the city’s evolution of public transit. An estimated 25,000 spectators came to say goodbye to the beloved streetcar.
[Bytown Museum, P410]
