Apple Pay is apparently only 15 basis points (15 cents per 100 dollars) for credit cards, and 4 basis points (4 cents per 100 dollars) for debit cards in Canada. I'd put transit cards more towards the debit card pricing, if there is a fee at all...

Apple has a pretty strong integration with transit, with their best example being JR East's Suica card. If you set it as your Express Transit card on your iPhone or Apple Watch, you don't need to unlock to use it. Also, you are able to reload your card when it gets low using your other Apple Pay...

I agree that the closed access to iPhone NFC is annoying, but it definitely goes along with Apple's "It just works" mantra. You can read about why in Japan JR didn't move towards open payments. Contactless transactions in Japan for transit clear instantaneously, rather than the short pause...