OC Transpo's park-and-ride lots are full long before many people start work, frustrating commuters who say they sometimes feel they have no choice but to park illegally, risking fines.

"It's crazy," said Natalie Robichaud, who uses the OC Transpo lot at Greenoboro station. "You don't even look at first. You go straight to the back. By eight o'clock, 8:15, if you're not here, you don't get a spot."

With gas prices above $1.20 a litre this spring, OC Transpo said city buses have had more passengers than normal.

Many of the 350,000 people who ride public transit each day compete for 5,100 parking spaces at OC Transpo's 11 suburban lots before transferring to a bus.

The chair of the city's transit committee acknowledged that the jump in gas prices is making the crunch at the park-and-ride lots, which was already a problem, worse.

"We know the challenge is there," he said. "We're trying to accommodate as best we can. We have in our plan to provide more park-and-rides."