Part of a municipal transit fee paid by Ottawa property owners should be reimbursed when the transit strike is over, an Ottawa city councillor has proposed.

Rob Jellett, who represents Cumberland ward, argues that residents have been paying for a service that they are not receiving during the strike, which was in its 45th day Friday.

"And we, I think, have a duty to look at how we can reimburse residents for the money that they've paid out in good faith," he said.

Jellett wasn't sure how much could be reimbursed to residents, as the city is saving money in wages to transit workers and issuing more parking tickets, but is also incurring extra expenses such as:

• Policing at intersections to ensure traffic flow.
• Money for social services to help people cope with the strike.
• Measures to entice people back on transit when the strike is over.

The city will also have to reimburse people for prepaid transit passes, Jellett added.

He estimated that it will be a while before people will learn whether they will get a refund on the transit levy.

"Obviously, our main focus is on resolving the strike at the first place and also helping people who are most in need."

When asked about public criticism that the city may be making money off the strike and therefore has no incentive to end it, Jellett said it's not valid.

"There isn't anyone on council who doesn't want this strike to be over."

About 2,300 transit drivers, dispatchers and maintenance workers walked off the job on Dec. 10. The city's new scheduling proposal is the main issue of disagreement between the City of Ottawa and the workers represented by the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 279. No talks have been scheduled between the two sides since Dec. 23.

Hundreds more tickets issued daily

Susan Jones, general manager of emergency and protective services, confirmed that the city is issuing more parking tickets during the strike, but it's not clear right now whether the city is making extra money.

Jones estimated that when buses are running, the city issues about 800 parking tickets a day. When the strike first started, the city was issuing about 1,200 tickets a day. Lately, it has been issuing 1,000 to 1,100 a day, she said Friday.

An unusually large portion of those are $80 rather than $30 tickets because many people are parking in no-stopping zones, Jones said.

However, many more people than usual are challenging the tickets or asking to have them reviewed, Jones said.

If they are not satisfied with a review by a clerk, the city may have to go to court over the tickets.

The city is not trying to make money off the strike and parking enforcement officers have been told not to deal too harshly with motorists at this time, Jones said.

"They are using discretion wherever they can," she said. "But at the same time, we can't compromise safety and we have to ensure traffic flow."

She encouraged motorists to read signs carefully before parking.