Waiting for the bus? Half of all London buses were delayed in September

Londoners relying on public transit have waited longer than usual for their bus to arrive this month with the transit commission blaming various factors, including a usual "settling in" period that occurs in the fall.  

The London Transit Commission (LTC) tracks arrival times and found that city buses were on schedule 58 per cent of the time during the first two weeks of September. 

"We're not thrilled about what's happening right now," General Manager Kelly Paleczny said. "We're certainly doing everything that we can to try to mitigate the issues as they arise."

Paleczny said it's not unusual for buses to face delays in the fall as students return to school and work routines go back to normal. She calls the first three weeks of September the "settling in period."

"Typically, congestion in general is higher in the fall than what we experience in the summer," said Paleczny, referencing parents who drop their kids off at school and drivers heading to the office. "We're sitting in the same traffic as everyone else."

She said this is compounded with ongoing construction in the city, and this year, a strike by CUPE local 2361 at Western University. The school has closed access through the campus leaving many drivers frustrated by long detours.

"That unfortunately affects the entire city because buses that are serving campus, then go on to serve other parts of the city," Paleczny said. "There's no opportunity to fix those delays. It just results in a domino effect."

Ongoing maintenance and bus part supply issues are also leading to challenges keeping buses on the road, she said. 

Riders late to classes, work

Delayed buses are more than a frustration for people who rely on public transit to get to school and work. Some say they're having to arrive at the stop an hour earlier to get to their destination on time. 

"One time, I had to swap my [work] shift because of the bus," said Adhil Saleem, who uses transit to get to work and class at Fanshawe College. "The bus didn't show up."

On Wednesday, Saleem and fellow Fanshawe student Gautam Chand, had been waiting more than 20 minutes for a bus outside White Oaks Mall to go home after school. They also had a hard time finding their bus stop due to stop location changes implemented that morning. 

Both said that they have waited so long for a bus to school that they resorted to ordering an Uber or Lyft to campus. 

"If we show up on time, the bus will go early. If we show up early, it will be late," Chand said.

Chand and Saleem aren't the only ones having trouble getting around London by bus this month. 

"If I'm going to a doctor's appointment, I always allow at least an hour or more before I have to be there," said Beverly Roach, whose main form of transportation is public transit. 

"Right now, the schedules are blown all out of whack so you can't depend on it."

The LTC is currently running 177 buses driven by 305 operators during the weekdays. This is a routine 20 per cent increase of buses on the road in the fall compared to the summer, Paleczny said. 

Paleczny recommends Londoners check the LTC website for information about detours and real-time bus schedule updates.

"It may not be the information that [riders] want to hear in terms of their buses being late, but at least it's going to be the most accurate." 

Some people told CBC News that delayed buses are nothing new to the city, nor are they exclusive to London, citing places like Toronto as also having unreliable public transit.

"You've got to have a lot of patience," said Roach. "You wing it, hang out, talk to people and enjoy the weather while it's nice."