Staff Report #5
January 29, 2025
To All Commissioners
Re: Secondary School Student Transit Pass Pilot Program
Recommendation
The Commission CONFIRM participation in the Secondary School Student Transit Pass Pilot Program scheduled to launch in September 2025.
Background
At the April 23, 2024 meeting, Municipal Council passed the following motion relating to the creation of a Secondary School Student Transit Pass Pilot Program.
That the following actions be taken with respect to establishing a secondary school student transit pass pilot project:
- The Civic Administration in collaboration with the London Transit Commission BE DIRECTED to initiate the development of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Thames Valley District School Board (TVDSB), for the purpose of partnering to deliver a pilot project to provide annual transit passes to secondary school students at Clarke Road Secondary School, including the following:
- The pilot project BE LIMITED to school years beginning in September 2024 for all Grade 9 students and September 2025 for all Grade 9 and 10 students attending Clarke Road Secondary School;
- The current post-secondary student annual pass agreements between the City of London, Western University and Fanshawe College and the current Children Under 12 Ride Free Program BE CONSIDERED as templates to establish the framework for the pilot program;
- That Civic Administration BE DIRECTED to report back to Council with the MOU, and appropriate source of financing, and metrics reporting for the pilot program.
It being noted that the TVDSB has written the Minister of Education to ask for consideration for provincial funding support for a bussing pilot. Additionally, continuing the program beyond the pilot project would require a permanent source of ongoing operating funding from a variety of sources, including reallocation of funding or funding from senior levels of government that would need to be investigated.
At the May 29, 2024 meeting, the Commission received a report (Staff Report #6 dated May 29, 2024) which outlined a number of outstanding questions and potential issues relating to direction from Municipal Council including but not limited to:
- the lack of clear objective for the program;
- the lack of funding source beyond the period of the pilot;
- the incorrect assumptions about potential positive impacts of the program on annual Provincial Gas Tax for Transit allocations;
- the negative impacts on existing riders that could result from increased pressure on already crowded routes; and
- the proposed start date of the program
Subsequent to the Commission meeting, London Transit administration met with civic administration and TVDSB administration to discuss the identified issues and determine a path forward. The consensus reached by the parties at this meeting was that a start date of September 2024 was not achievable given the number of outstanding questions relating to the pilot program.
At the August 27, 2024 meeting, Municipal Council passed the following motion with respect to the program:
That, on the recommendation of the Deputy City Manager, Neighbourhood and Community Wide Services,
- the report dated August 15, 2024 with respect to the Secondary School Student Transit Pass Pilot Program BE RECEIVED; and
- that the secondary school pilot project BE DEFERRED to school years beginning September 2025 and September 2026 to provide for Civic Administration, together with London Transit Commission (LTC) to develop a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Thames Valley District School Board (TVDSB), for the purpose of partnering to deliver a pilot project to provide annual transit passes to secondary school students at Clarke Road Secondary School for Grade 9 students in year one and Grade 9 and Grade 10 students in year two, with a report back to Council on the MOU, appropriate source of financing, and metrics as previously directed.
The report provided additional information with respect to the anticipated roles and responsibilities of each of the partners participating in the pilot project. A high level summary of the overarching responsibilities for which each party is likely to assume responsibility is set out below.
- City of London – two-year pilot program funding, and support in identification of sustainable sources of funding
- London Transit Commission – pilot program execution including operationalizing, administration, monitoring and reporting on data elements such as ridership
- Thames Valley District School Board – identification of participants, distribution of passes, participant education and training, collection of pre- and post-program data through surveys and observations, identification of sustainable sources of funding
Over the subsequent months, the parties (City of London, Thames Valley District School Board (TVDSB) and London Transit) met numerous times to develop a memorandum of understanding setting out the roles and responsibilities for each of the parties in this pilot program. The following provides a high level summary of the responsibilities of each party, with greater discussion following specific to the roles and responsibilities of London Transit.
Responsibilities of the City of London:
- Funding the two-year pilot project and executing the Funding agreement;
- Reporting to City Council on the progress of the Pilot Project;
- Cooperating with the TVDSB in identifying sustainable funding sources for the program if necessary.
Responsibilities of the TVDSB:
- Identifying program participants;
- Distributing transit passes to program participants;
- Designing and implementing evaluation activities;
- Managing communications with secondary school students, caregivers, and/or guardians on how to use the passes and the public transit system in London;
- Managing transit pass distribution and protocols for dealing with lost or damaged passes;
- Identifying sustainable funding sources for the program, if necessary.
Responsibilities of the London Transit Commission:
- Establishing a new fare category through the Smart Card system for the purpose of the pilot;
- Managing the administration and operation of the Smart Card system;
- Providing regular reporting to the City of London and TVDSB on ridership and usage of passes in this program;
- Cooperating with and supporting the TVDSB with its training and education for students, caregivers, and/or guardians on how to use the public transit system in London.
Over the past several months, administration has worked with the smart card vendor and card suppliers to identify the costs associated with the establishment of a new fare category in the system as well as various options available that will integrate with on-board smart card readers. A quote for $27,487 has been received from the smart card vendor to make the necessary adjustments to the fare tables in the software which will allow for distinct tracking and reporting on the ridership associated with this pilot program. They have confirmed their ability to perform this work in time for a September 2025 launch, however administration will not proceed with this initiative until Municipal Council has received and approved the final report on this initiative including the costs involved.
Given this program is limited to a specific group, administration recommended (and the other parties concurred) that the “pass” being provided to the pilot group include a photo of the pass holder. This provides LTC Operators with the ability to ensure that the passes are only being utilized by the intended recipient. In discussions with the TVDSB, it was confirmed that all students are issued a student card which includes photo id. Rather than issue a second piece of identification with a picture, the product being recommended is a sticker which includes a chip that can be read by the smart card readers. This sticker can be adhered to the back of the student card, and students will simply tap that card when they board the bus. The stickers are tamper-proof in that the chip will be damaged should the sticker be peeled off. Pricing for this product ranges between $3 and $5 per sticker, but minimum quantity for purchase is one thousand. The required chip identification numbers will be uploaded via a positive list to the smart card system and tested prior to being sent to TVDSB for application to the requisite student cards.
The costs for both the smart card reprogramming and smart card stickers will be forwarded to the City of London for inclusion in the costs associated with the pilot program, and London Transit will be reimbursed for the full cost.
Once the new fare category has been established in the smart card software, administration will be able to run reports specific to this group of riders as required in the responsibilities for London Transit in the memorandum of understanding. Once the program is in place, London Transit will provide monthly usage summaries to both the City of London and the TVDSB. Payments to London Transit from the City of London for the passes will be made on an agreed-upon basis, noting the revenue associated with the program will be reported in the month it occurred.
London Transit administration has reached out to a number of transit providers who have prepared training programs for participants in programs of this nature. This information will be compiled and shared with TVDSB administration to assist in the creation of training materials setting out the expectations for behavior while accessing LTC services as well as the terms of use of the pass noting its intent is for the student only and cannot be shared with others.
The next steps in this process require both the TVDSB and London Transit to ensure their respective boards approve the responsibilities of their respective organizations as described earlier in this report. Subsequent to these approvals, a report will be tabled with the Strategic Priorities and Policy Committee for final approval. This report is anticipated to go forward in March 2025, subsequent to which the requisite next steps will be taken by each of the parties to move this initiative forward.
Recommended by:
Kelly S. Paleczny, General Manager