London Transit

London Transit

Slogan	Wherever Life Takes You
Founded	1951 (from London Street Railway)
Headquarters	450 Highbury Avenue N
Service area	London, Ontario
Service type	Public Transit
Routes	39 regular routes[1] 3 community buses
Fleet	195 buses
Annual ridership	24.1 million (2014) [2]
Operator	City of London
Website	http://londontransit.ca

A retired GM Classic bus in the old colour scheme

The London Transit Commission (LTC) is responsible for the operation of the public transit system on behalf of the City of London, Ontario, Canada. It offers the typical conventional bus service, and a para-transit service, for those unable to use the conventional service. In 2014, annual ridership totaled 24.1 million.^[2] The LTC has 39 regular bus routes, 3 express routes, and 3 community bus routes.^[1]

History

London Street Railway Company (LSR) a privately operated transit service, brought public transit to the city with the start of horse-drawn streetcar operations May 24, 1875, with electric power being introduced in 1895.^[3] In later years, the city operated some routes, but in 1951 assumed control over all routes and formed the London Transportation Commission to operate them. ^[3][4] Until 1940, streetcars provided the bulk of the service. Streetcar system was converted to buses in late November 1940 (planned for the end of 1940, but forced by a blizzard that damaged trolley wires). In 1974, the LTC adopted its present name, and greatly expanded its service area to cover the newly annexed area in Middlesex County.^[3] The system has evolved to feature community bus routes, para-transit services and accessible low floor buses with the rapid transit lines as the backbone. In 2003, the LTC opened bus terminals in Argyle Mall and Masonville malls.

Active fleet

As of 2010, the LTC has 191 transit buses in its fleet. Until recently, London Transit had one of the oldest transit fleets in Ontario, with many buses older than 25 years old. However, with new buses being purchased within the last decade, this has changed. All older model high-floor buses were phased out in 2012, making the LTC fully operated with low-floor accessible buses.

During peak service periods on weekdays there are over 154 buses on the road. Sunday service reduces that number to fewer than 50.

Ridership

After the public transit boom of the 1960s and 1970s, ridership began to slip. At that time almost every transit route was passing through London's downtown area. An attempted building of two downtown malls and the economic recession of the 1990s combined to force the downtown area into serious decline. An economic slump echoed in a parallel drop in ridership, made even worse by the traditional responses of service cuts and fare increases. Between 1987 and 1996, LTC ridership declined by almost 40 percent.

In 1994, the LTC began developing a comprehensive business plan to turn these trends around. Innovations included an overhauling of fare structure, re-thinking routes, bringing buses into mall areas (which would later become true terminal areas), and making standard public transit buses increasingly wheelchair-accessible. Post-secondary students attending the University of Western Ontario and Fanshawe College now receive a subsidised bus pass incorporated into their tuition: a program which has become a great success.

Due in large part to these measures, the LTC is currently experiencing a massive increase in ridership, straining current transit resources.

Plans

With the recent announcement of federal^[5] and provincial^[6] gas tax money for municipalities, the LTC has decided to spend funds on improving service, creating bus depots at major shopping centres, and purchasing new low-floor accessible buses.

All LTC buses are equipped with GPS technology which automates stop announcements.^[7] There is also a proposal to allow LTC buses to lengthen the timing of traffic signals at key intersections to improve service.^[8]

In 2009, new digital message signs were placed at strategic transit stops to tell passengers when the bus is expected to arrive. The LTC website also allows customers to check when a particular bus will arrive in real-time.

Also in 2009, London Transit began equipping some buses with bicycle racks. This allows for cyclists to ride the bus while transporting their bike as well. The program was initially being tested on four routes, and was later expanded in 2011 to include the entire fleet.

In 2011, a second transit garage opened in the west end of the city to improve efficiency and create room for a larger transit fleet. Currently, the Wonderland Road Garage houses approximately 40 buses, with expansion room to store 60 more.

In 2013, London Transit introduced their first semi-express route, Route 90. It initially operated between downtown and Masonville Place via Richmond, with limited stops. In 2014, Route 90 was extended south to White Oaks Mall via Wellington Road. In addition, Route 91 was added to run on Oxford Street between Wonderland Road and Fanshawe College. In 2015, Route 92 was introduced, running from Masonville Place to Victoria Hospital, largely via Adelaide Street.

The City and LTC have begun to plan for the future Transportation Master Plan. The research program will be called "Smart Moves: What Moves You?" and will take transportation goals in London to 2030. For LTC, the study will examine rapid transit corridors while considering Bus Rapid Transit and other Rapid Transit options.

AM 980 reported that the city's planning staff had put forward a plan to introduce rapid transit.^{[9] [10] [11] [12]} The plan would cost $1.2 billion, and would include both a bus rapid transit and a light rail components.

2009 transit strike

On November 16, 2009, Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 741 representing bus drivers and support workers went on strike, the first transit strike for London Transit since 1980. The strike affected all public routes, however specialized transit services for the disabled continued to operate.

To lessen the inconvenience on university students, the University of Western Ontario (UWO) increased its shuttle bus service. As well, the University Student's Council (USC) secured rental vans driven by volunteers looping around the city picking up students at key areas and dropping them off at the university. A community-based approach was taken by the USC including a flag-a-ride program and a shuttle service for groceries.^[13] David Empey president of the UWO staff association was against this volunteer service helping students calling it "scab labor" and said it was irresponsible to set up a system which replaced the job of striking workers. Despite this information pickets were set up at the University encouraging students to help their cause. "The strike is really inconveniencing people who are paid even less than the drivers," said a third-year Western student."This shuttle is a good idea. I had hoped they'd put something like this together. We still have to pay for our transit pass" even if there's a strike.^[14]

On December 7, 2009, ATU turned down the LTC's "Final Offer" of 9.3% wage hike over three years. This offer was rejected by 78.5% (322 of 410) of the ATU membership.^[15]

The strike ended on December 14, 2009.^[16]

Routes

London Transit operates the following routes as of September 2017. Buses display a route number, "to" a destination "via" a street or neighborhood. All routes are wheelchair accessible.

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to London Transit Commission.

• London Transit Commission Website
• Drawings and photos of London Transit buses
• ATU Local 741
• List of London Transit Buses. also History of the buses