Staff Report #5 – 2024 Conventional Transit Service Performance Report

Staff Report #5

February 26, 2025

To All Commissioners

Re: 2024 Conventional Transit Service Performance Report

Recommendation

The report be NOTED and FILED.

Background

In the 2024-2027 Business Plan, London Transit’s vision is: “Striving to be a trusted and valued mobility choice for Londoners”. The vision is supported by the 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: Demonstrate fiscal accountability amid competing needs and objectives.
• Transparency: Foster a culture of transparency, openness, and mutual understanding.
• Sustainability: Sustainable and efficient use of infrastructure.

2024 saw steady improvements in labour force and supply chain issues that negatively impacted 2023 performance. While labour force issues relating to the ability to recruit bus operators subsided in 2024, shortages of skilled trades employees (primarily 310T Mechanics), continued to be an issue. Compounding the issues associated with being below required complement for mechanics was the delay in delivery of 2024 replacement buses, which have still not been delivered. Maintaining buses that were scheduled to be retired a year ago increases the workload on a complement that is depleted. While these issues were mitigated to some extent through open overtime and contracting out annual MTO inspections, bus availability continued to be a challenge throughout 2024. When bus availability becomes a challenge, the primary goal is to ensure enough buses are available each day to meet the scheduled service, including some spare buses that can be utilized for change offs should an issue occur with a bus that is in service. Notwithstanding the ongoing complement shortfalls, the Fleet and Facilities department was able to ensure bus availability throughout 2024 for regular scheduled service, but was unable to ensure additional bus availability for trippers on a regular basis. As such, the ability to respond to schedule adherence and crowding issues was limited throughout the year. This issue was exacerbated by the nature and extent of construction projects throughout the city that impacted virtually every route in some manner, whether it be a required detour, navigation through a construction zone, or simply being impacted by increased traffic on corridors that were not impacted by construction.

While the 2024 budget included the addition of 18,000 hours, the extent to which the ongoing issues on the conventional system could be addressed was limited. Requests for new routes or significant frequency improvements on existing routes cannot be undertaken with this limited amount of hours. As such, the 2024 Service Plan focused on addressing the most significant issues with the existing routes, which included frequency improvements on Routes 5 and 10, and modified routing on Route 17B, and extended service on Route 20. The conventional transit network includes 37 routes and 6 community bus routes, all of which have requests for improvements of some nature. Limited improvements on four of those routes, while appreciated by the riders utilizing those services, are not likely going to result in significant shifts in customer satisfaction or opinion of the service overall. This needs to be considered when comparing year over year customer satisfaction results, noting minor incremental changes to services are likely to garner only minor incremental changes in satisfaction. Customer satisfaction results are included as part of the annual service planning process, noting areas that are identified as a high priority in this report are given more weight when service planning decisions are made.

Conventional transit service performance is measured in terms of fiscal accountability (efficiency), service (effectiveness and quality), and communication (accuracy and quality of information provided). Each of these areas is discussed in greater detail in the remainder of the report.

Conventional Transit Service – Efficiency

The following table provides a summary of ridership and revenue service hours actual to budget performance for 2024 (unaudited).

2024 Ridership and Service Hours – Actual versus Budget (unaudited)

Ridership levels in 2024 exceeded budget expectations by approximately 0.2 million rides. As the table below indicates, ridership outperformed budget estimates in all categories with the exception of cash.

2024 Ridership by Fare Category – Actual vs Budget (unaudited)

The following table provides comparisons in the various ridership and service hour measures over the past three years.

Ridership and Service Hour Comparisons – 2022 through 2024

As set out in the table, ridership continues to grow; however, the rides per capita growth rate has stalled, indicating that service growth is not keeping pace with population growth in the city. This is problematic when the service is already experiencing crowding on many routes and limited capacity within approved budgets to increase service levels.

Customer Satisfaction

In an effort to gather first-hand feedback from transit riders, the Voice of the Customer survey process was implemented in 2016. This process involves face to face interviews with riders on-board conventional service buses, providing the opportunity to reach customers who may not be inclined to contact customer service with a complaint or compliment. It is a known fact that a customer is more likely to contact an organization when they have had a poor experience versus a good one, and the traditional reliance on customer contacts only to assess overall customer satisfaction was deemed to be insufficient. The Voice of the Customer allows customers to rate each area of service on their perception of how it meets their needs. After a three year hiatus due to the pandemic, the Voice of Customer survey was reinstated in 2023. Through the remainder of this report, comparisons and contrasts will be drawn between the Voice of the Customer results from 2024 and the previous survey (2023) results where applicable. In addition, areas of focus going forward have been denoted in the tables, with the red dots indicating high priority and orange dots indicating medium priority.

A key aspect of the Voice of the Customer program is the manner in which it allows the customer to identify the most important factors from their perspective that would result in their satisfaction with the service. Respondents were asked to select the service characteristics which are most important to them. Respondents were also asked to indicate their level of satisfaction with each of the identified priorities. The following table provides the top priorities as the percentage of respondents that identified each of the characteristics as well as the level of satisfaction for each.

2024 Voice of the Customer Service Priorities

In addition to the priorities listed in the table, a number of others received less than 4% of responses including hours of operation, bus cleanliness, helpful drivers, safely operated bus, days of operation, safety waiting for bus, bus stop cleanliness, courteous customer service representatives and knowledgeable drivers.

In addition to the Voice of Customer feedback, customer satisfaction levels are also gauged through tracking both the number and nature of customer contacts received via email, social media, and telephone. As indicated earlier in this report, London Transit, like many other transit systems, continued to struggle with resource issues (labour force and equipment) coupled with the impacts of a 2024 construction season that impacted the entire system.

In each of the remaining sections of the report, comparisons and contrasts between the Voice of the Customer survey results and customer contacts received throughout 2024.

Service Performance

In addition to the Voice of the Customer surveys, customer satisfaction levels with service performance are measured through customer contacts received. When considering these numbers, it is important to recognize that not all contacts are investigated and as such, have not been confirmed as an accurate characterization of the event. Contacts that are serious in nature or those in which the customer requests a response are each investigated.

As set out in the following chart, service performance complaints expressed in terms of 100,000 riders has continued to decline over the three year period. Complaints per 100,000 riders is utilized in order to normalize the metric as ridership numbers continue to grow. As important as the overall number of complaints received, is the nature of the complaints, all of which are analyzed to assess the impacts of the previous years’ service plan changes as well as to plan for future service changes. The table below sets out a breakdown of the number of service complaints over the period by category, as well as a percentage change in each category over the period.

Total Service Performance Complaints by Category 2022-2024

As the table sets out, the top categories of complaints with respect to service received have remained consistent over the three year period. Late scheduled complaints relate to service not arriving at a stop at the scheduled time. As indicated earlier in this report, the nature and extent of construction projects spanning much of 2024 impacted a significant number of routes, and given resource limitations, tripper buses were not able to be assigned to routes experiencing schedule adherence difficulties. Missed passenger complaints are broken down between “drove by”, which infers the bus drove by a passenger waiting at a stop, and “not at stop” which indicates the passenger was not at the designated stop (e.g. running for the bus). In the case of the passengers that were waiting at the stop and not picked up, the majority of these cases are the result of a bus being too full to pick up additional passengers. Throughout 2024, “full bus” occurrences were recorded on a daily basis on numerous routes.

Early schedule adherence is constantly monitored by Operations Administration for compliance, including the review of AVL data. Followed up with discussions with Operators driving those routes. Corrective actions and training are utilized to ensure routes operate within expected parameters for on-time performance, ensuring passengers are not missed.

Another factor that can impact service performance is service interruptions stemming from vehicle breakdowns. The table below sets out the mean kilometers between service interruptions, further broken down between those requiring the bus to be changed off and returned to the garage and those that could be fixed on-route by the mobile mechanic. While both categories represent an inconvenience to customers and an interruption to service, those that can be addressed by the mobile mechanic on-route cause less of a disruption.

Mean KMs Between Service Interruptions – 2022-2024

Service pull-ins, measured in terms of mean revenue kilometers between incidents increase slightly in 2024 over 2023 levels, which is not unexpected given the aforementioned issues in the Fleet and Facilities department. The increased rate of breakdowns in 2024 is not unexpected given the delays in delivery of the 2024 replacement buses resulting in the need to keep older buses, scheduled for retirement, on the road longer than planned. Given the labour-force shortage in the mechanic complement, coupled with the need to maintain buses longer than planned, the Fleet and Facilities department should be commended for meeting service requirements on a daily basis and mitigating, to the extent possible, service interruptions relating to breakdowns. This category is the most disruptive of the two, as it requires customers to vacate the bus and transfer to a replacement bus. As such, efforts are made to identify the issues resulting in these instances, and ensure the mobile mechanics are equipped, where possible, to rectify these issues on road. Approximately 17% of these events in 2024 were the result of engine issues (engine lights, excessive regen, injectors), 8% were related to a biohazard on board, 7% due to collisions and 6% due to heat/air issues.

In-service repairs (road service calls) and service pull-ins have a negative impact on the quality of customer service (e.g. schedule adherence). These events are inherent in public transit operations given such factors as weather and road conditions, the constant start/stop nature of the operation and the increased complexity and sensitivity associated with bus systems and related ancillary equipment (e.g. Automatic Vehicle Location (AVL), electronic fare boxes, smart card equipment, etc.).

A review of the Voice of the Customer survey results relating to overall service performance echo the trends discussed above, with a general dissatisfaction with on-time performance. Of particular note, customers who participated in the Voice of the Customer survey indicated that on-time performance is their highest priority when assessing the conventional transit service.

2023 & 2024 Voice of the Customer Results

As indicated earlier in this report, significant shifts in customer satisfaction should not be anticipated given the limited investments being made to improve the service. Specific to the table above, when considering the margin of error for the Voice of the Customer survey accuracy, a swing of up to 5% is considered status quo, and as such, there has been no discernable improvement in satisfaction levels for these metrics in 2024.

Operator Performance

Consistent with service related contacts, customer contacts (complaints and compliments) regarding Operator performance are also tracked and trended. Performance results for 2022 through 2024 with respect to Operator complaints are set out in the following table. When comparing the number of complaints from previous years, either in total or by category, it is important to remember that ridership and service levels also fluctuated significantly. The total complaints per 100,000 kilometers provides a normalized indication of the trends in complaints year over year.

Total Operator Complaints by Category 2022-2024

As indicated in the table, total complaints have climbed slightly in each year, both in terms of total complaints as well as in total per 100,000 kilometres. As set out in the table, a number of areas are identified as potential trends that need to be addressed.

Over the three year period, driving related complaints in 2024 increased by 20% (140 complaints), with decline in most categories tracked. Increased awareness of bus speed, especially with an increase in the number of photo radar placements throughout the city, shows a positive trend which also improves the customer perception of the quality of ride. Motorist and non-passenger observations of bus operations for stop sign and yield to bus complaints are reviewed for compliance with expectations.

Total complaints with respect to ‘service received from the Operator’ has also increased by 19% (290 complaints) over the three year period. Cell phone complaints fall into two categories, operator use of their device while on scheduled relief time, and from use of cell phone while bus is in motion. All instances of a complaint related to the use of cell phones while bus is in motion are investigated and addressed. Matters related to poor attitude or treatment are addressed through corrective actions including refresher training.

While not all complaints are investigated, they are tracked for Operators who are trending and/or have numerous complaints, and in those cases follow up with the Operator takes place.

In the case of complaints alleging a significant Operator performance issue, an investigation is completed, which can include any or all of the following; interview with the Operator and complainant, assessment of AVLC data, review of the bus’s audio/video system (noting there is a strict protocol for accessing the system recordings). It should be noted that contacts received from customers are based on the customer’s perception of the incident, and are not always consistent with what actually occurred. In all situations, when requested, a response regarding the assessment is provided to the customer who filed the contact.

Operator performance compliments are also tracked and trended. The chart below sets out the trend in Operator compliments over the period of 2022 through 2024. The significant variance in total complaints versus total compliments reinforces the earlier commentary that customers are far more likely to call and complain when they receive poor service versus offer a compliment for good service.

Total Operator Compliments by Category 2022-2024

Compliments and expressions of gratitude are shared directly with employees where possible, as well as through postings on internal screens and quoted in the employee newsletter.

Voice of the Customer survey results in the case of the Operator performance categories, provide a somewhat differing perspective.

2023 & 2024 Voice of the Customer Results

Results in the table above clearly indicate a relatively high level of satisfaction with Operator performance in 2024, albeit slightly lower than 2023 results. When considering the margin of error on the survey of 4.5%, the results in this case also become much closer. These results further the assertion that customers are much less likely to contact a service provider with reports of a positive experience. These results do not in any way negate the complaints received throughout the year, rather they highlight the fact that while negative interactions and experiences do occur on the service, the majority of customers are satisfied with the service provided by Operators.

Service Safety

The tables below set out the total number of motor vehicle accident (MVA) reports for each year for the period of 2022 through 2024. The numbers in this table represent all motor vehicle accidents that were reported in the given year, it is important to note that not all accidents result in a collision/injuries, nor do they all result in damage to a vehicle or an interruption in service.

Summary of Motor Vehicle Accidents – On Road 2022-2024

The table above provides a breakdown between preventable and non-preventable motor vehicle accidents in each year. Non-preventable accidents are those in which there is nothing the Operator could have done to avoid it. This category is monitored to identify if there are types of accidents that may be able to be mitigated going forward. In 2024, 42% of non-preventable accidents involved a bus being sideswiped or hit from behind, which are generally the result of the driver of the other vehicle being inattentive and/or unaware of required clearances. All bus Operators complete defensive driving training every three years; however, avoiding accidents of this nature is virtually impossible.

Accidents deemed as preventable are those where the Operator could or should have taken measures to avoid the accident. The causes of preventable accidents are closely monitored for trends, and in the event any are identified, the New Operator Onboarding Program and related training modules are reviewed in order to assess whether changes or additions need to be made. In the cases where a specific Operator is trending, additional training and/or a ride around with a training supervisor is arranged in order to mitigate further accidents going forward. In 2023, 67% of the preventable accidents were classified as “clearance” issues where objects or other vehicles were struck by the bus. As this trend emerged in 2019, the New Operator Onboarding Program was amended in 2020 to include additional time driving in a training course focusing on clearance issues.

Additional analysis of the preventable accidents identified that the majority are occurring with Operators having less than two years driving experience. The increase in preventable accidents is believed to be directly related to the current Operator complement makeup, of which approximately 33% have less than two years’ experience given the rapid rate of hiring over the past 24 months. The increased rates of preventable accidents within this group could also be related to the elimination of the 2,000 hours of driving experience with requisite license from the Operator posting in 2019. This change was made given difficulties with filling Operator positions, and the New Operator Onboarding Program was altered to include additional driving time. Further, due to the increase in MVAs a one-day New Operator Refresher Program was rolled out for new Operators to complete at the nine-month employment mark. The program covers key issues, with the primary focus on enhanced defensive driving focusing on mirror usage and clearance issues. This new program will continue to be monitored for effectiveness.

MVAs are closely monitored and trended throughout the year, and communication programs are undertaken to provide Operators with quick tips for mitigating the most common causes. Additionally, Operators who have experienced multiple incidents are provided with refresher training targeting areas of concern.

Passenger falls are an example of motor vehicle accidents that do not necessarily involve a collision. These accidents are closely monitored and trended as they are the most likely to result in an injury to the passenger. The following table provides a summary of the passenger fall incidents recorded in each of the past four years, broken down between those that occurred while the bus was in motion, and those that occurred when the bus was stationary (e.g. during boarding or alighting).

Summary of Passenger Falls – 2022-2024

The majority (90%) of passenger falls in 2024 were deemed non-preventable meaning there was nothing the Operator could have done to prevent it. In most cases, these types of falls are the result of a passenger not holding on to the hand-hold or stanchion while standing on the bus. Should the Operator need to quickly apply the brakes, or undertake a maneuver to avoid another vehicle, a passenger that is not holding on is likely to fall.

The nature and extent of accidents/incidents are reflective of a number of factors including:

• changing and severity of weather conditions;
• increased road congestion and issues of road conditions; and
• heightened service and customer service expectations.

All passenger fall reports are reviewed, including, as warranted, accessing audio/visual system recordings to investigate the event, all of which is shared with the Commission’s adjuster and legal counsel. The management of accidents/incidents is critical to providing passengers with a safe trip as well as mitigating risk and liability. In terms of cost and risk, the vast majority of the reported accidents/incidents are minor in nature reflecting in part the broad definition of what constitutes an accident/incident.

Access to London Transit Information

Customers and the public at large have a number of options to interact with London Transit. Those looking for dialogue, or some form of response, can use the customer service phone line or email. Given emails can be directed at any member of London Transit administration, the total emails received and responded to are not tracked. Calls into the customer service department are tracked and trended against previous years’ experience. The table below sets out the total incoming calls to the customer service line in each of the years 2022 through 2024.

Summary of Customer Access – LTC Customer Service Line

1. Information Line statistics are for the hours of 6a.m. – 10p.m. Monday through Friday and 8:30a.m. – 4:30p.m. on weekends and statutory holidays. Service information provided by staff is based upon real-time information. Staff also assists with trip planning and answers other common questions.
2. Interactive Voice Response (IVR) – IVR is a phone system that utilizes voice recognition technology to assist customers with providing real-time information by stop for conventional transit.

As indicated in the table, the total number of calls to the information line has remained steady, while the calls to the interactive voice response declined significantly in 2024.

Other ways in which customers and the public at large can stay connected with London Transit is through the website where information about the service in general as well as information regarding major Detours and Stop Closures can be found. For the most accurate information with respect to the next bus arrival, riders are directed to stay informed through the Infoweb real-time site; detour and stop closure alerts can also be found on this site. Additionally, onboard posters for major campaigns and a corporate Facebook page is also maintained that provides general news and updates relating to our services.

In addition to the more-static information discussed above, an interactive corporate X (formerly Twitter) account is utilized to provide updates with respect to service as well as to draw attention to specific information contained on the corporate website.

The table below sets out a summary of the visits to the London Transit website, Infoweb real-time, corporate Facebook page and the total X impressions from the corporate accounts for the years 2022 through 2024.

Summary of Customer Access – London Transit Website & Socials

1. The numbers included in these items are based on Google Analytics sessions. A session is defined as the amount of time a user is actively engaged with the site, and all usage within that engagement is measured as one session.
2. X impressions represent a total of all the times posts originating from the corporate account have been seen.

Access to website and socials has increased over the period in all categories other than X (formerly Twitter). This decline it attributable to a general decline in use of the platform by users as well as a revised approach to use of the platform for communicating detour and service information. Beginning in January 2024, only one message regarding detours or service interruptions is sent, directing users to check the corporate website for updated information versus the past practice of sending updates and “resolved” messaging on the platform.

The following table provides an overview of the makeup of the various methods that customers and the public can utilize to find information with respect to public transit services. It should be noted that some information is limited to only one source (e.g. Commission agendas limited to corporate website), and as such, the addition of alternative methods of interaction may not directly impact others. The table below sets out the percent make-up of the various methods of interaction between LTC and the public at large.

Percent Make Up of Interaction Methods

The use of the Customer Service line, the website and X continue to represent the majority of customer interactions with London Transit in 2023. In addition to the above access points, the London Transit currently provides approximately 50,000 ride guides and Route Schedules remain available on the London Transit website in a printable format for those wishing a hard copy.

The Voice of the Customer survey in 2024 also included a number of questions relating to customer interactions with Customer Service Representatives as well as where they find information about the service. The following table provides a comparison of the responses to the 2024 survey and a comparison to the 2023 survey.

2023 & 2024 Voice of the Customer Results

As the table sets out, there has been a decline in all three of the statements relating to customer service and access to information when compared to the previous survey, two of which have been identified as areas of focus. There has been a continued noticeable decline in civility of customers when speaking with Customer Service Representatives. Unfortunately in many cases, customers are calling to complain about service-related issues (full bus, late bus, etc.) for which there is no explanation that is deemed satisfactory to the customer. It is anticipated that the discrepancy between service levels and demand, and the organization’s limited ability to address same has led to this decline in satisfaction with Customer Service Representative’s helpfulness.

Going Forward

Feedback received in 2024 through the various methods discussed in this report will be utilized as input into the future Conventional Transit Service Plans.

Recommended by:

David Butler, Manager of Operations Administration

Caroline Roy, Manager of Corporate Communications

Craig Morneau, Director of Fleet & Facilities

Katie Burns, Director of Planning

Concurred in by:

Kelly S. Paleczny, General Manager