Staff Report #5
August 28, 2024
To All Commissioners
Re: Secondary School Student Transit Pass Pilot Program
Recommendation
The report be NOTED and FILED.
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 15, 2024 meeting, the Strategic Priorities and Policy Committee received a report on the Secondary School Student Transit Pass Pilot Program and voted in support of the following motion.
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
The report also included reference to the consideration of expanding the pilot to a number of schools with smaller cohorts at each, which would allow for a comparison of social risk factors, and neighbourhood characteristics with controls, however the Strategic Policy and Priorities Committee took no action with respect to this consideration.
Finally, the report provided updated cost estimates for the pilot project, which were approximately $900,000 for the two-year pilot assuming 225 students in year one and 450 in year two.
Over the coming months, the parties will reconvene to further identify the responsibilities of each and create a draft MOU for consideration by the London Transit Commission, the Thames Valley District School Board and Municipal Council. It is anticipated that reports will be tabled with the respective parties in the spring of 2025.
It should be noted that Municipal Council had not yet received and voted on this report from SPPC at time of report writing (scheduled for August 27, 2024), should anything change with respect to the proposed path forward, it will be shared verbally at the August 28, 2024 meeting.
Recommended by:
Kelly S. Paleczny, General Manager