LTC Proposed Changes

[manny_santos]

http://londontransit.ca/ProposedChanges.htm

Highlights include an easterly extension of the 16 Adelaide route to service the Summerside area, and the extension of the 19 Oakridge/31 Orchard Park route to run until 10 PM Monday through Saturday. I know the people of Oakridge Acres will be very happy, as they have long complained about poor evening service. Anyone who lives near Riverside Drive between Wonderland and Hyde Park must walk a long distance from either the 17 or 10 routes in the evening right now, or take the 5 Springbank west of Wonderland and walk through Springbank Park and Thames Valley Golf Course in the dark across the footbridge. This will also mean Hyde Park and the Wal-Mart power centre area will have evening service.

Hopefully next year there will be some more tangible changes. Bus frequency on some routes is awful, especially in evenings.

[ldoto]

London Transit cleared the road yesterday for a dramatic expansion by breaking ground on a satellite bus facility on Wonderland Rd. S. The $19-million garage and maintenance building will be able to handle 100 buses, half as many as the current fleet. LTC general manager Larry Ducharme said the building would help expand the volume and efficiency of service, combined with the introduction of new technology.

"We are at capacity and with the rate of growth we see for ourselves we need this new facility," said Ducharme. The building is being paid for by a $10.4-million provincial grant and an $8.6-million federal grant. Both contributions came from increased gasoline taxes dedicated to improving transit services. :cheers: :cheers:

The LTC now has 192 buses, seven more than the official capacity of the existing storage and maintenance facilities. The LTC plans to add 100 buses by 2024 when it has set a goal of increasing annual ridership 30% to 28 million. The building will be located in the opposite corner of the city from LTC headquarters at Highbury Ave. and Brydges St. Ducharme said the new satellite location on Wonderland Rd. near Wharncliffe Rd. is in a fast-growing area.

"As the city grows west and this area requires more service, this makes a more strategic starting point for the buses," he said. Ducharme said the LTC will soon launch a new Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) service he described as "light rail without the rail". He said the BRT buses will be larger and travel express routes between major destinations in the city. He said the BRT service would eventually travel on designated lanes. Now that it can track buses with GPS, Ducharme said, London Transit is introducing more new technology to improve service.

Automatic voice response will allow riders to call the LTC and find out when the next bus will arrive at a specific stop in real time. The same service is becoming available on the LTC website and through mobile applications. Buses en route will be able to send a signal to delay or extend signal traffic lights to speed up service.

[manny_santos]

We keep hearing about BRT. When is it actually going to happen?

I'd like to see CP amalgamate its tracks with CN through the city for starters, allowing at least part of the CP corridor to be used for an Ottawa Transitway type roadway for BRT. It wouldn't be hard - on the west end it would be easy since the tracks run parallel to each other near Lobo and Komoka, and on the east end there would need to be a link from near Nilestown up to the existing CP corridor west of Thamesford.

[GreatTallNorth2]

Don't hold your breath. LTC likes to throw around the idea of BRT and Larry Ducharme says London's BRT will be like LRT without trains. Hello?!! It will not be like LRT in any respect. It will be bus service on regular roads. Sir, that is not remotely like LRT.

[Snark]

Don't hold your breath. LTC likes to throw around the idea of BRT and Larry Ducharme says London's BRT will be like LRT without trains. Hello?!! It will not be like LRT in any respect. It will be bus service on regular roads. Sir, that is not remotely like LRT.

Wow, another completely wrong statement on this site (does it ever end?) - except for one thing: BRT won't cost billions like LRT.

[MolsonExport]

Hark! the Bark! of the Snark!

[ldoto]

LTC: One city proposal would subsidize all living in poverty

By PATRICK MALONEY, THE LONDON FREE PRESS



A staff report going to politicians Monday gives options for replacing the program, which provides $475,000 annually to discount passes for seniors and the blind, with one that would instead be based on financial need.

"You can't just designate one group" for the aid, says Jim Hewett of Community Living London, which supports adults with intellectual disabilities, many of whom live in poverty.

"There's got to be a more equitable process. There's got to be a (financial) means test so (those under) the poverty line have access to transportation."

A single Londoner making less than $15,538 a year is considered below the poverty line, according to Statistics Canada.

The proposed changes would "recognize that subsidized bus passes is about income and not age and ability," said Ross Fair, the city's community services manager.

The report cites several figures for the cost estimate, the highest being $25 million -- which would provide a free bus pass for 25,000 Londoners living below the poverty line. A 50% subsidy for all would cost half that, $12.5 million.

Both numbers are dismissed in the report as "not affordable for the municipality."

But 10% of Londoners use public transit, the report states, and assuming that same amount of Londoners living in poverty rely on buses, it would cost $1.2 million to offer a 50% subsidy to that segment of the poor.

Another option, keeping the funding at the existing $475,000 while opening access to all the city's poor, would fund fewer than 1,000 annual passes and likely create a waiting list.

Michelle Palmer, Community Living London's executive director, says the city has to increase funding if it's opening up the program to London's poor.

"To just take the same amount of money and spread it to that many more people is creating a negative impact for those people who received that subsidy for so many years," she said. "We've never said 'take away from them and give it to us.'

"What we're truly saying is we believe there's a need for a fair and equitable program across the board, rather than targeting a specific group."

Hewett, one of several people set to address the committee about the issue Monday, says he's less concerned with how much is spent than he is with establishing an income-based program.

In comparison, according to the report, Waterloo offers a reduced transit pass to low-income adults. Capped at 1,500 participants and with a 2008 budget of $438,000, there's nearly always a waiting list.

--- --- ---

BY THE NUMBERS

With city hall considering subsidizing bus passes for low-income Londoners, there are several financial estimates linked to different options. They include:


$475,000: The existing amount, which now discounts passes for seniors and the blind, would cover a 50% subsidy on 977 yearly passes. Demand from an expanded program would outstrip supply, likely creating a waiting list.

$1.2 million: That's enough to subsidize nearly 2,600 annual passes and, with an estimated 10% of those eligible using public transit, a waiting list may not be needed.

$25 million: Estimated cost of giving a free bus pass to 25,900 adult Londoners living in poverty. A 50% subsidy for them would cost half that, $12.5 million. Both amounts are "not affordable" for the city, staff say.