Staff Report #7
November 17, 2025
To All Commissioners
Re: Rider Advisory Committee
Recommendation
That the report be RECEIVED for information purposes.
Background
At the June 23, 2025 meeting, the Commission directed administration to draw up a terms of reference for a conventional ridership advisory committee. Administration has prepared an inventory of mechanisms currently in place for transit riders to provide feedback as well as undertaken a scan of other transit providers in an effort to identify best practices.
Public transit services are shared by many users with different schedules and destinations, which result in differing priorities for each rider. Transit providers must work to provide a service that meets the needs of the collective ridership, while balancing the priorities of individual riders. Any change made to the service will have positive impacts for some riders and negative impacts for others. While administration works to mitigate negative impacts to riders associated with any change, it is recognized that they do occur. A run-time improvement on a route intended to improve schedule adherence appears on the surface to be a positive for all, but may result in a more difficult transfer connection for a specific rider(s). In some cases, commentary received through stakeholder consultation relating to a specific rider impact can be addressed prior to schedules being finalized, which emphasises the need for broad stakeholder consultation.
As the next section of the report details, London Transit currently has numerous mechanisms in place that provide the opportunity for riders to provide feedback. There were approximately 7,500 interactions gathered in 2024 through the various mechanisms which informed the 2025 Annual Work Program as well as the 2025 Service Plans for both the conventional and specialized services.
Current Options for Rider Feedback
As the starting point for this process, administration created an inventory of the mechanism currently in place for transit riders to provide feedback, a summary of which is set out below.
Accessible Public Transit Service Advisory Committee (APTSAC) – this Advisory Committee is required under Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) legislation. Members of APTSAC include riders of both the conventional and specialized services as well as a member of Council, the committee meets between six and eight times per year. The terms of reference for this Committee include providing input on the accessibility of the services provided. This includes but is not limited to input on the Commission’s Accessibility Plan, identification of barriers and recommendations to eliminate same, and reviewing service programs, policies and performance. Feedback from APTSAC is shared directly with the Commission through communications on meeting agendas.
Voice of the Customer – Each year Voice of the Customer surveys are conducted with riders of both the conventional and specialized services. Surveys on the conventional service take place on board buses and are scheduled to ensure that the respondents represent the broader ridership group (surveys are random, but occur on every route, on various service days and times and attempt to ensure participation from a variety of demographics). An average of approximately 600 surveys are completed over the period of a week. Surveys on the specialized service are conducted via telephone and are targeted at customers who have used the service over the past year (noting that approximately 50% of registrants have not utilized the service over the past twelve months). This targeting is done to ensure that the feedback being received is based on the current rider experience.
The feedback from these surveys is captured in the Annual Customer Service reports for both conventional and specialized, where trends and unsatisfactory ratings are analysed and identified as priority items to be addressed. This information is a critical input into the Annual Work Program, which will include specific initiatives to address the priority issues.
As referenced in the 2024 Customer Service reports, on-time performance and improved frequency of service were the two service-related priority items for the conventional service. As set out in the draft 2026 Service Plan (see Staff Report #12 dated October 27, 2025) the majority of the proposed improvements are frequency improvements and improvements to running time which will address schedule adherence issues and improve on-time performance. The 2024 Customer Service report for the specialized service identified booking ease, availability of trips and travel time as the three service-related priorities. The implementation of the new scheduling software has provided for an online trip request feature, and the increased service hours have provided for greater access to trips and more efficient schedules. The 2025 surveys are being undertaken through the month of November, and results in each of these areas will be measured against 2024 results to determine whether the programs implemented had a positive impact on overall satisfaction ratings.
Five Year Service Planning Process – Every five years, a detailed service review is undertaken with the assistance of a consultant. Voice of the Customer priorities are also a key input into this process as it provides an overall perspective of the ridership’s view of the service, and areas for improvement. This process involves multiple stakeholder engagement opportunities, all of which are summarized and included in the Draft Plan when it is presented to the Commission. The most recent Five Year Service Plan update included a dedicated page on the corporate website with a link to an online survey (1,157 respondents), a virtual meeting (25 attendees), several pop-up events and a drop-in session (64 attendees). Notification of the various feedback opportunities was provided via the Commission website, socials and on-board posters which were also shared with community groups and public libraries for posting.
Annual Service Planning Process – While the Five Year Service Plan provides a framework for service improvements in each of the years it covers, the annual service planning process also considers current ridership trends and issues impacting service. This information is gathered through customer contacts, operator feedback, and ridership analysis. Following the approval of the draft service plan each year, stakeholder consultation is undertaken. Depending on the nature of the changes included in a given plan, consultation can include general drop-in sessions, drop-in sessions in specifically affected areas (in the case of a route change/addition), online surveys, and website posts which include the opportunity to speak directly with the planning department about the plan. The stakeholder consultation for the 2026 Service Plan includes a general drop-in session (55 attendees), specific drop-in sessions at Western University and Kings College as well as Fanshawe College, and an online survey which will be open until December 5, 2025 (last year’s survey garnered 860 responses). Feedback gathered through this consultation process is summarized in the covering report with the final recommended service plan each year. Notification of the various feedback opportunities is provided via the Commission website, socials and on-board posters, as well as direct mail via postal code in the event a service change is being recommended that impacts a specific area of the city.
Topic Specific Surveys – Administration has also utilized surveys on a specific topic to gather rider feedback. By way of example, over the past number of years, comments have been received with respect to the cleanliness of seats on the conventional service. A survey of other transit providers found that many are transitioning to a seat that is free of cloth, which is easier to clean and identify any liquid on the seat prior to sitting. As a pilot, one conventional bus has been retrofitted with a different style of seat, and stickers providing a QR code to a specific survey are provided throughout the bus. To date, 1,105 surveys have been completed, which indicate a positive opinion of the elimination of cloth, but a negative opinion of the comfort. As a next step, consideration is being given to a further retrofit that would include another model of seat without cloth to allow riders to compare comfort levels of each.
Another example of a topic-specific survey is the one utilized to gather input into the Accessibility Plan update. This survey seeks specific feedback on topics related to the accessibility of the services offered by London Transit, and is generally completed by riders impacted by accessibility. Notification of the various feedback opportunities was provided via the Commission website, socials and on-board posters which were also shared with community groups and public libraries for posting.
Customer Contacts – Customers of both the conventional and specialized services can contact LTC directly through telephone or email as well as in person at the 450 Highbury office. All contacts are collected through the customer service department, and forwarded to the appropriate department for follow-up. The annual Customer Service reports for conventional and specialized services also contain a summary of all customer contacts received the previous year, broken down by category. In 2024, a total of 3,212 contacts were recorded (2,658 relating to the conventional service and 554 relating to specialized).
Delegations to Commission – Customers of the service and/or members of the public also have the ability to speak directly to the Commission by seeking delegation status at a Commission meeting. Delegations are typically based on the presenter’s perspective on a specific issue, and often result in a request for a report back on the issue. When preparing the report back, administration attempts to gather additional perspectives in order to ensure that the Commission is provided with the broadest possible perspective when making decisions that impact service. By way of example, often when a new transit route is being considered, administration and the Commission will hear directly from residents who do not want transit on their street, often in the form of a group delegation or presentation of a petition. The opposing viewpoint from residents who have requested transit closer to their homes to provide them with greater access, often goes unheard, but it is a critical piece of information the Commission needs to consider when finalizing a new transit route.
Industry Scan of Feedback Mechanisms
A scan of peer transit systems in Ontario was undertaken in an effort to determine the manner in which other transit providers gather rider feedback, as well as to obtain any terms of reference that may be available for those relying on an advisory committee. With the exception of Grand River Transit in Waterloo region, no other peer systems currently have rider advisory committees in place noting their transition over the past number of years to survey mechanisms like the Voice of the Customer to ensure that feedback being gathered is representative of the broadest ridership group possible.
In early 2025, Grand River Transit (GRT) established a Transit Customer Panel, with a call for any interested riders to sign up to participate in surveys from GRT on various topics throughout the year. Members of the panel must reside in Waterloo region, and were asked to specify which services they utilize when they applied (conventional, mobilityPLUS, etc.), and which routes they most frequently utilize. GRT administration has grouped the selected members of the Panel by service and frequently utilized routes, and can then target surveys to members specific to the service they utilize. Panellists are paid a stipend ($20 GRT gift card) for each survey they complete. Once approved as a member of the panel, there is no onus on the individual to complete any survey that is sent to them, participation is completely voluntary. To date, the Panel has only been surveyed once, with 118 panellists completing the survey. Results of the survey as posted on the GRT website indicate that survey respondents were in favour of sturdier bike racks to hold e-bikes, fabric bus seats, priority seating with a different colour, and on-board digital information screens. As indicated earlier in this report, initiatives of this nature would be included in LTC’s topic-specific surveys, noting in some cases feedback on new initiatives is also collected through the annual Voice of the Customer survey.
LTC Rider Advisory Panel
Given the various mechanisms currently in place for riders of LTC, and the levels of response associated with each, Administration questions the value of creating a panel that would essentially emulate what is currently being done, albeit requiring additional administrative resources to manage the panel and administer surveys to select groups within it. The panel would need to be of a significant size in order to ensure that survey results are statistically representative of the larger ridership.
The creation of a panel that would meet regularly similar to the APTSAC is not recommended by Administration as the size of the panel that would be required to ensure feedback provided is based on the broadest ridership group possible would be unwieldy to manage in a meeting setting.
Notwithstanding Administration’s perspectives as set out above, should the Commission wish to proceed with a Rider Advisory Panel, the following terms of reference is provided for consideration.
Membership
- Panel members should be residents of the City of London and regular riders of either the conventional or specialized service (or both). It should be noted that while the direction to administration dealt specifically with a conventional service rider advisory panel, consideration should also be given to including riders of the specialized service.
- Interested riders would apply through an established process and be selected based on the ridership category they represent and the need for same.
- Members can opt out at any time by notifying London Transit.
Member Expectations
- Ad-hoc surveys will be sent directly to selected panel members from time to time.
- Participation in surveys is completely voluntary, however missing more than two surveys in a calendar year will result in the removal from the active panel member list.
Process
- Surveys seeking feedback from riders on specific issues would be prepared and links to same would be provided directly to select Panel members via email.
- Survey results would be shared in relevant staff reports relating to the issue at hand, including the number of survey respondents and the estimated proportion of the ridership they represent.
- Survey results would be shared on the corporate website.
Remuneration is not recommended for members of this panel as it may negatively impact the high response rates LTC currently garners on surveys.
It is anticipated that this initiative will require administrative resources beyond which are currently available. This can be accomplished by increased resources or the elimination of other duties currently being performed. In addition, some form of mailing list management software would need to be acquired in order to manage the group and create group email messages when required. Should the Commission provide direction to proceed in this manner, this initiative would be added to the 2026 Work Program
An alternative approach would be to provide the opportunity for riders to register their interest in being notified of all surveys LTC undertakes. This approach would see emails being issued to every rider in the mailing list which would include a link to the survey, noting that compliance with privacy legislation would be required which would include the ability for members on the mailing list to unsubscribe at any time. While this approach would still require mailing list management software, it would eliminate the administrative resources required to group and sort members into categories that coincide with the survey being undertaken.
Recommended by:
David Butler, Manager of Operations Administration
Shawn Wilson, Director of Operations
Katie Burns, Director of Planning
Caroline Roy, Manager of Corporate Communications
Craig Morneau, Director of Fleet & Facilities
Concurred in by:
Kelly S. Paleczny, General Manager