Staff Report #1
June 26, 2024
To All Commissioners
Re: Draft 2024-2027 Draft Business Plan and Supporting Service Plans
Recommendation
That the Commission APPROVE the draft 2024-2027 Business Plan and supporting draft 2025-2029 Conventional and Specialized Service Plans.
Background
At the November 29, 2023 meeting, the Commission approved a contract award to Dillon Consulting for their services in supporting the development of the London Transit Commission 2024-2027 Business Plan and supporting 5 Year Service Plans for the Conventional and Specialized services.
Work on this initiative was initially focussed on the 2024-2027 Business Plan, shifting to the Five-Year Service Plans for Conventional and Specialized services subsequent to finalization of the multi-year operating and capital budgets also covering the period 2024-2027.
This report provides an overview of each of the streams of work and their outcomes, which are the draft plans being presented for Commission approval.
2024-2027 Business Plan
The London Transit Commission (LTC) Business Plan sets the direction respecting the development of LTC as an organization and the services it delivers. The Business Plan process, as depicted below serves as the basis for accountability and transparency.
London Transit Business Planning Process
Since first developed in the mid-1990’s, the Business Plan (Plan) and related planning process have provided the crucial direction in the rebuilding of London Transit as an organization and a transportation service. The Plan, which is updated every four years, serves:
- as a reflection of today, and as a starting point for the future;
- to focus resources on prioritized challenges and expectations;
- as a communication tool, supporting the development of informed relationships; and
- to promote accountability, transparency and continuous improvement
In May 2023, the Commission approved the extension of the 2019-2022 Business Plan to include the year 2023. The move to a 2024-2027 Business Plan provided the opportunity to ensure alignment with the City of London Strategic Plan as well as the approved multi-year operating and capital budget programs, covering the same period.
Subsequent to the contract award to Dillon Consulting in November 2023, administration has worked with Dillon representatives on the 2024-2027 Business Plan, noting the following documents were assessed and considered as key inputs into the process.
- City of London Strategic Plan;
- Approved 2024-2027 operating and capital budget programs;
- LTC’s 2020-2025 Accessibility Plan;
- Directions stemming from the City of London Mobility Master Plan Update;
- Outstanding initiatives from LTC’s 2019-2023 Business Plan;
- Rapid Transit Implementation Plans; and
- 2023 Voice of the Customer Survey results.
Since the inception of the Business Planning Process in 1995, each Plan has had a key theme for the period, setting out the primary focus for the period of the plan. The themes of the previous plans are set out below.
1995-1997 Bring focus and direction to the organization – stopping the decline
1998-2000 Commence the rebuilding process – developing a customer first attitude
2001-2003 Sustain ridership gains – set the groundwork for future growth
2004-2006 Defining the future – translating long term growth goals into action plans
2007-2010 Delivering on the Plans – building the future
2011-2014 Maintaining the Gains – continuing the building process
2015-2018 Driving Change
2019-2023 Maintaining the Momentum – Moving and Improving
As demonstrated in the themes above, the Business Planning process has served London Transit well, initially stopping the decline in ridership during the 1990’s and growing the services and supporting infrastructure consistently over the following two decades. The global pandemic in 2020 resulted in the first business planning period to experience declines in service and ridership since the inception of the program. While service levels and ridership had, for the most part, returned to pre-pandemic levels by the end of the 2019-2023 Business Plan period, the anticipated growth associated with the “Moving and Improving” theme were not achieved.
Fortunately, the methodologies and practices associated with the Business Planning Process, coupled with the success of previous plans, provided for a solid foundation to develop the 2024-2027 Business Plan (full Business Plan document in Enclosure I). In consideration of the issues faced during the previous business plan period, coupled with the desired outcomes for public transit services in London going forward, a theme for the 2024-2027 Business Plan was created.
2024-2027 Rebuild and Revive – Our Road Ahead
Subsequent to the determination of an overall theme for the 2024-2027 Business Plan, a review of the Vision and Mission statements as well as the strategic directions was undertaken with the following outcomes.
Vision Statement:
Striving to be a trusted and valued mobility choice for Londoners.
Mission statement:
Moving Londoners with an accessible, reliable, and affordable service.
The Vision and Mission statements give direction to five congruent and competing strategic directions, namely:
- Customer Focused – Be a customer centred organization providing an integrated, affordable, and accessible transportation system
- Employee Focused – Be an engaged, diverse, and respectful workplace
- Fiscal Accountability – Demonstrated fiscal accountability amid competing needs and objectives
- Transparency – Foster a culture of transparency, openness, and mutual understanding
- Sustainability – Sustainable and efficient use of infrastructure
The 2024-2027 Business Plan includes a number of initiatives and measures under each of the strategic directions that will be incorporated into annual Work Programs and then reported on through monthly/quarterly reporting and then through an Annual Report as depicted in the process graphic earlier in this report.
In addition to the review/update of the key directions of the 2024-2027 Business Plan, Dillon Consulting representatives also undertook reviews of the Commission’s Accessibility Plan, Technology Plan and Organizational structure. Recommendations stemming from these reviews are included in the respective strategic outcome areas of the Business Plan.
Subsequent to Commission approval of the draft 2024-2027 Business Plan, the 2024 Work Program will be revised to reflect the updated areas of strategic direction and associated initiatives, noting the next quarterly updates will be tabled at the August 28, 2024 meeting.
2025-2029 Service Plans
In addition to the development of the 2024-2027 Business Plan, Dillon Consulting also led the process of creating Five Year Service Plans for both the Conventional and Specialized services covering the period of 2025-2029. Key inputs into these plans included the same documents utilized as input into the Business Plan update. In addition, detailed analysis of ridership and stop level activity data was undertaken in an effort to determine how service was performing against defined service standards.
Subsequent to consideration of the aforementioned material and data as well as the outstanding elements of previous Five-Year Plans, a set of priorities were established and utilized in the development of the plans, these priorities were:
- Improve the Experience of Existing Transit Users: These changes invest in the service already on the street to make sure the Conventional Transit Service is running on time, and that buses are not too crowded. This means adding capacity where there are already challenges in the network. This also means prioritizing service hours for the Specialized Transit by making more resources available during the busiest times of the day and week.
- Prepare the Conventional Network for Rapid Transit: By the end of this plan horizon (2029), Rapid Transit will be in operation, providing an enhanced quality of service for Londoners. Some routing changes outlined in this plan intend to feed into the Rapid Transit network.
- Expanding the Network: The City of London is growing rapidly, and the need for transit service continues to increase. Several changes to the network are proposed which would see new service into areas which are currently unserved by London Transit.
Based on these overarching priorities, detailed service plans for both the Conventional and Specialized services have been drafted, each of which is discussed in greater detail below (see Enclosures II and III for full Five-Year Service Plan documents). When reviewing these Plans, it is important to consider them in light of the established service planning process utilized by LTC administration. The Five-Year Plans provide overall direction, and suggested priority changes in each of the years covered in the plan, essentially providing a framework for the period in which they cover. Each year, as part of the annual service planning process, the recommended changes set out in the Five Year Plan for the respective year are assessed and considered in addition to any trends or issues that have arisen over the previous year that were not anticipated when then Five Year Plan was approved. Subsequent to consideration of the aforementioned, administration tables a draft service plan for implementation the following fall. This annual plan is then subject to stakeholder consultation and refinement over a period of several months, subsequent to which a final recommended annual service plan is recommended for approval by the Commission.
Notwithstanding the stakeholder consultation that takes place with each annual service plan, additional consultation was undertaken with respect to the overarching priorities of the Five Year Plans. Commentary with respect to feedback received is included in the discussion on each of the Five Year Service Plans below.
2025-2029 Conventional Service Plan
Stakeholder engagement with respect to the Conventional Service Plan sought to both gain insight from current riders as well as those who choose not to use public transit. Survey respondents who indicated they did not make regular use of public transit services included the following as the reasons (listed in highest to lowest rank):
- Takes too long to complete a trip on transit
- Routes do not go where I need them
- Transit trips have too many delays
- Transit service does not operate during the times I need it
- Transit service is not reliable
- Transit is too expensive
These respondents were also asked what would need to change in order for them to consider taking transit in the future, responses included (listed in highest to lowest rank):
- Improved travel times and bus frequency
- Lower cost
- More direct routes
- Improved safety
- Improved reliability
The final draft plan priorities and recommendations address three of the criteria respondents listed as requirements in order to consider taking transit, noting fare price and service safety are not elements of the Five Year Service Plan, but rather would be addressed through initiatives in the Business Plan and related financial plans.
The Conventional Service Plan includes four types of proposed changes over the five year horizon of the plan, each of which is described below. Survey respondents who indicated they were current users of the service were asked to prioritize each of these based on their experience (rankings are included in descriptions below).
- Increase capacity on the busiest transit routes (ranked 1st) – adding service where there are overload conditions in the transit network to ensure that passengers are able to access transit when they need it.
- Improve schedule adherence (ranked 2nd) – implement modifications to running time to help buses stay on schedule (this could include both routing and schedule changes).
- Introduce On Demand service (ranked 3rd) – revisit the introduction of On Demand service for areas that are currently unserved or as a replacement for a fixed route in areas where ridership is low.
- Prepare for Rapid Transit (ranked 4th) – implement the necessary modifications to bus routes to ensure alignment with future rapid transit services. This includes frequency improvements on routes connecting with the rapid transit corridors as well as route modifications to reduce or eliminate duplication of services.
From these four categories, specific recommendations have been drafted. Detailed maps with respect to proposed routing changes are set out in Enclosure II, and a summary of the routes affected by the proposed changes is set out below.
- Route Changes to Improve Directness or Improve Performance – changes are recommended to improve the operation of the route by making it more direct, or to reduce the likelihood of delays along the way. Impacted Routes are 3, 5, 7, 10, 17, 19 and 24
Weekday Minimum Level of Service in Minutes
| Route Classification | Early morning | Rush Hour | Mid
day |
Early Eve | Late Eve |
| Rapid Transit | 10 | 5/10 | 10 | 10 | 10 |
| Core (5,10,16,17,19,24,26,27,102,106) | 30 | 20 | 30 | 30 | 30 |
| Local (15,20,22,23,31,32,33,34,35,39,40) | 30 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 30 |
Weekend Minimum Level of Service in Minutes
| Saturday | Sunday | ||||
| Route Classification | Base | Early
Eve |
Late
Eve |
Base | Eve |
| Rapid Transit | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 |
| Core (5,10,16,17,19,24,26,27,102,106) | 30 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 30 |
| Local (15,20,22,23,31,32,33,34,35,39,40) | 30 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 30 |
- Service Replaced with On Demand – demand for service in some areas is low. In order to provide service more tailored to ridership, Routes 28 and 38 will be considered for On Demand.
- Service in New Areas – several routes are proposed to be realigned to serve communities which are not currently serviced by London Transit. Impacted Routes include: 22 (new), 23 (new), 25, 39 (new) and 40 (new).
- Routes Realigned to Serve Rapid Transit – routes that are recommended to be realigned in order to support the roll out of the rapid transit corridors include Routes 4, 13, 15, 90, and 104.
- Realign Routes to better serve Industrial Areas – Routes 30 and 37 are recommended to be realigned to improve and expand industrial service coverage.
Stakeholders were also provided the opportunity to comment on specific changes and/or suggestions they may have with all aspects of the service, all of which was reviewed and considered when completing the draft plan.
Subsequent to confirmation of the proposed changes over the five-year period, Dillon Consulting prepared an implementation framework that adhered to priorities while at the same time ensuring that the annual improvements could be implemented within the approved service growth budgets of 18,000 annual service hours. The table below provides an overview of the service changes recommended in each of the five years of the plan. The calculations done to estimate the required hours were done at a high level, and as such it is anticipated they will vary once more detailed calculations are completed based on the actual schedules in place. While the annual estimated hours are slightly higher than the annual approved budget of 18,000, the variance is expected to be addressed during final scheduling. The table also denotes the number of buses required to implement the changes in each of the years. These bus requirements will result in the need to adjust the number of expansion buses purchased in future years from the recently approved 10-year Capital budget. These changes will be included as part of the 2025 budget approval process, with both operating and capital budgets being tabled for Commission approval at the August 28, 2024 meeting.
While the table provides suggested improvements for 2028 and 2029, the ability to implement same will be subject to approval of the next multi-year operating and capital budgets. As the implementation of the Five-Year Service Plan progresses, the requirements for service changes/improvements in 2028 and 2029 may be subject to change; however, this plan will provide a starting point for the preparation of the next multi-year budget submission as it relates to the need for growth in the conventional service.
Conventional Transit Annual Service Change Framework
| Routes Impacted | Alignment Changes/New Route | Minimum Service Level Adjustment | Demand Based Frequency Improvement | Annual Service Hour Requirements | Expansion Bus Requirements |
| 2025 | |||||
| 10 | X | X | 10,628 | 4 | |
| 27 | X | X | 7,885 | 5 | |
| Total | 18,513 | 9 | |||
| 2026 | |||||
| 4 | X | 463 | |||
| 25 | X | 1,501 | 2 | ||
| 30 | X | 0 | |||
| 31 | X | 1,873 | |||
| 33 | X | 1,465 | |||
| 37 | X | 2,321 | 3 | ||
| 38 | X | (3,464) | (2) | ||
| 91 | X | 5,699 | 3 | ||
| 102 | X | X | 2,792 | ||
| 106 | X | X | 2,396 | 2 | |
| 201 | X | 3,464 | 2 | ||
| Total | 18.508 | 10 | |||
| 2027 | |||||
| 1 | X | 713 | |||
| 6 | X | 1,457 | |||
| 15 | X | 13,157 | 6 | ||
| 27 | X | 3,442 | – | ||
| 28 | X | (3,138) | (2) | ||
| 202 | X | 3,138 | 2 | ||
| Total | 18,769 | 6 | |||
| 2028 | |||||
| 3 | X | X | 2,081 | ||
| 4 | X | X | (7,712) | (1) | |
| 5 | X | (2,101) | (1) | ||
| 7 | X | X | 3,741 | 1 | |
| 17 | X | X | X | 526 | 3 |
| 22 | X | 11,781 | 4 | ||
| 24 | X | 3,773 | 2 | ||
| 39 | X | 10,784 | 3 | ||
| 104 | X | (4,432) | (4) | ||
| Total | 18,442 | 7 | |||
| 2029 | |||||
| 5 | X | 6,330 | 4 | ||
| 9 | X | 47 | |||
| 13 | X | X | 109 | ||
| 16 | X | 62 | |||
| 19 | X | X | (2,243) | 1 | |
| 20 | X | 104 | |||
| 22 | X | 1,023 | |||
| 23 | X | 7,939 | 3 | ||
| 26 | X | X | 4,620 | 3 | |
| 32 | X | X | 12,872 | 4 | |
| 34 | X | (3,810) | (1) | ||
| 39 | X | 224 | |||
| 90 | X | (8,855) | (3) | ||
| Total | 18,421 | 11 |
In addition to the service improvements relating to existing service areas, Dillon Consulting was asked to provide separate recommendations for improvements that would result in new areas being served. This approach was undertaken in an effort to identify service changes that would meet the current criteria for assessment growth funding, which could, should the Commission approve, be included in assessment growth business cases in each of the remaining three years of the multi-year budget. The identified service improvements impacting new areas are set out in the table below.
| Route | Annual Service Hour Requirements | Expansion Bus Requirements |
| 22 | 1,796 | 1 |
| 25A | 3,321 | 1 |
| 32 | 5,618 | 2 |
| 37 | 1,143 | 2 |
| 39 | 2,561 | 1 |
| 40 | 14,574 | 5 |
| Total | 29,013 | 12 |
Administration will assess the proposed service improvements to new areas in greater detail and recommendations with respect to including any in an assessment growth business case will be included on the August 28, 2024 agenda as part of the 2025 operating and capital budget reports, noting in some cases the changes proposed need to be aligned with planned changes to existing routes.
The draft service plan for 2025 will be tabled with the Commission in the fall of 2024 and subsequent to stakeholder consultation, will be tabled for approval in early 2025 for implementation in September 2025.
Specialized Service Five Year Plan 2025-2029
Stakeholder engagement relating to the Specialized service also asked respondents to rank service characteristics in order of priority, results are listed below.
- Area of service coverage
- Availability of service
- Fares
- On-time service (reliability)
- Time on vehicle
- Vehicle cleanliness
The area of service coverage being ranked as the highest priority is somewhat confusing as the Specialized service covers the entire City of London. Availability of service, on-time reliability and time on vehicle will all be addressed through the planned addition of service hours over the plan horizon.
The Specialized Service Five Year Plan includes five high level recommendations for implementation over the plan horizon, each of which is discussed below including stakeholder feedback with respect to support for the initiatives where applicable.
- Add Additional Service – consistent with the approved multi-year budget, the plan calls for the addition of 10,000 hours in each of years 2025 and 2026 followed by 8,000 hours in 2027. The additional hours will be directed to the times of day/days of week where demand is highest. Service hour improvements for 2028 and 2029 were not included as they will be subject to budget approvals included in the next multi-year budget.
- Off Peak Pass – currently specialized transit registrants are provided with an Off-Peak pass which provides them free rides on the Conventional Service during off peak periods. The Specialized Service plan recommends monitoring the effectiveness of this program in light of the continued crowding conditions on the Conventional Service, even during off peak periods. This program was implemented to relieve pressure from the Specialized Service at a time when there was capacity on the Conventional Service.
- Evaluate the Trip Booking Window – the recommendation is to consider increasing the booking window from the current three days to seven days, and to identify a minimum advance window of one hour. The plan recognizes that further customer consultation with respect to this change needs to be undertaken, and any changes to the booking window should be undertaken later in the plan horizon once the new booking system is in place and additional hours have been implemented. 65% of survey respondents indicated support for this change, while 27% indicated they were indifferent, leaving 8% indicating they were not supportive.
- Move Toward an Integrated Service – this recommendation involves both the Specialized and Conventional Services as it essentially calls for the introduction of a service that would see specialized registrants utilizing both of the services to complete their trip. The plan recognizes that this is a complicated process, and while planning and policy work can be undertaken during the early part of the plan horizon, moving forward with trip integration can only be successful when the schedule adherence and crowding conditions on the Conventional Service have been addressed. 75% of survey respondents indicated support for this initiative and many provided commentary/suggestions that will be further assessed as this program begins to roll out.
- Improve the Application Process – this recommendation includes multiple parts, which will be phased in over the plan horizon. The first step is to increase the use of the “conditional eligibility” category in the application process by identifying other conditions that may prevent a passenger from using the accessible conventional service (e.g., weather, time of day, proximity to a transit stop, cognitive unfamiliarity). The second step in the process will be to modify the application form to expand on this eligibility category and revise the form to allow for online completion. Finally, this process also recommends a recertification process every three to five years, which would provide the opportunity to re-confirm the type of transit service required by each customer and keep the registrant database more current.
Given the growth hours for each of the years 2025 through 2027 have been approved as part of the multi-year budget, growth hours on the Specialized service will be implemented in January of each year allowing for the full annual hours to be utilized (historically additional vehicles could not be requested until the annual assessment growth requests were approved which resulted in implementation of approved hours not occurring until the fall).
The remainder of the items included in the service plan will be assessed and included in future annual Work Programs as resources permit.
Enclosures
II – 2025-2029 Conventional Service Plan
III – 2025-2029 Specialized Service Plan
Recommended by:
Shawn Wilson, Director of Operations
Katie Burns, Director of Planning
Mike Gregor, Director of Finance
Craig Morneau, Director of Fleet and Facilities
Joanne Galloway, Director of Human Resources
David Butler, Manager of Operations Administration
Concurred in by:
Kelly S. Paleczny, General Manager