London Transit struggling to accommodate student ridership increase

People in London, Ont., noticed less and less space aboard London Transit Commission (LTC) buses as September came to a close.

Principal among groups that see inconveniences related to overcrowding on buses are post-secondary students, whose return to London for the start of the academic year has inflated weekday ridership numbers to 90 per cent of pre-pandemic levels, as weekend ridership levels were already even higher than pre-pandemic levels.

"If you go when there's any sort of rush of traffic, it gets really crowded, to the point where it can be kind of uncomfortable," said Lucia Santilly, a fourth-year Western University student.

Santilly takes public transit almost every day both within and outside of Western campus. As a student, she recounted stories her friends have told her about their experiences with the LTC this so far this year.

"I've heard friends talk about buses not stopping to pick them up. Then they're left stranded for another 20 or 15 minutes, until the next bus comes. So, if you're close to (start of) class, that's like one quarter of your class gone."

CBC News observed a similar situation while on Western campus Wednesday morning, when the Route 2 bus blew past a crowded stop on Western Road. Santilly has personally observed difficulties in getting off the bus for some students due to overcrowding.

"It'll be so crowded and people will be trying to get off, but the bus driver has to make sure he's on time for his next route," she said. "He'll close the doors early before everyone gets off at their stop."

This is especially frustrating for students, who tend to lack vehicles and pay part of their tuition specifically for bus fare.

"I've heard a saying, that Western students fund the LTC. On almost every single bus, you'll find a Western student," she said.

Staffing issues

"We're thrilled to see that ridership is rebounding, but unfortunately we're not able to respond to this in the manner that we normally would, given resource shortages primarily in the driver pool right now," said Kelly Paleczny, general manager of London Transit.

The LTC is making progress on that front, she said. It is still searching for new drivers and mechanics, and is in the process of training more drivers. Part of that process is a five-week training program that candidates for driver positions have to go through. These programs train drivers in groups of six.

In terms of support staff such as mechanics, progress is a bit slower. London Transit has five positions open with little interest from applicants. When CBC News spoke with Paleczny, Tuesday, she said no applications had come in yet.

The issue of students being left behind at bus stops is not going unnoticed, Paleczny said, and is currently being aided through the use of 60-foot articulated buses that hold more students. One solution on the horizon is the use of what's known as "tripper" buses. These are buses that are used to bolster coverage on certain routes by going where they're needed most. 

"As we get drivers through the training program, we can start assigning them to those to those special services," said Paleczny.

Santilly, meantime, said she believes it's still important to show appreciation for the work drivers do, despite difficulties and delays.

"They're all really nice. Very sweet. I just think it's the system that really is so crowded and there's so many students that rely on it. It's not the drivers' fault. I think we just need more buses and more working cogs in the system."