Staff Report #7
January 26, 2026
To All Commissioners
Re: 2026 Service Plan – Conventional Transit
Recommendation
That the Commission APPROVE the 2026 Conventional Transit Service Plan as set out below noting the recommended changes represent approximately 20,000 additional service hours:
a) Route 4 – Increase weekday frequency during the Early AM period to 60 minutes in the branches
b) Route 6
Extend weekday service to 1 AM
Increase weekday frequency between 9 PM and 12 AM to 25 minutes
c) Route 24- Extend Sunday service to 9 PM
d) Route 31
- Increase weekday frequency in the Early AM to 30 minutes
- Increase weekday peak period frequency to 20 minutes
- Extend weekday service until 1 AM
- Start Saturday Service at 6 AM
- Extend Saturday service to 1 AM
- Start Sunday Service at 7 AM
e) Route 36 – Extend weekday service between 7:30 PM and 10:30 PM
f) Route 90 – Add an additional bus weekdays between 7 AM and 7 PM
g) Route 91 – Extend service to Argyle Mall
h) Route 93
- Increase weekday AM Peak frequency to 20 minutes
- Increase weekday PM Peak frequency to 20 minutes
- Increase weekday Late Evening frequency to 25 minutes
i) Route 102 – Start weekday service at 6 AM
Background
At the June 26, 2024 meeting, the Commission approved the Five-Year Service Plan Framework setting out service changes over the period of 2025-2029. The 2025-2029 Framework is based on a set of key priorities, which took into account the available growth hours as approved in the multi-year budget as well as the possibility of additional growth hours that may be accessible through assessment growth funding. The priorities are as set out below.
- Improve the Experience of Existing Transit Users: These changes invest in the service already in place to make sure the Conventional Transit Service is running on time, and that buses are not too crowded. This means adding capacity where there are already challenges in the network. This also means prioritizing service hours for Specialized Transit by making more resources available during the busiest times of the day and week.
- Prepare the Conventional Network for Rapid Transit: By the end of this plan horizon (2029), Rapid Transit will be in operation, providing an enhanced quality of service for Londoners. Some routing changes outlined in this plan intend to feed into the Rapid Transit network.
- Expanding the Network: The City of London is growing rapidly, and the need for transit service continues to increase. Several changes to the network are proposed which would see new service in areas which are currently unserved by London Transit.
2026 represents the second year of the current five-year service plan. A key factor in the Service Planning Process is the annual review of the system as a whole to identify any issues that have occurred since the completion of the Five-Year Service Plan Framework. This step may result in adjustments to the service changes that were included for a given year in the Framework document. When assessing the potential to shift the changes planned in a given year, it is important to recognize that many changes are connected and must be undertaken in tandem in order to ensure the entire network continues to function appropriately. The draft plan proposals as well as the final recommendations took direction from the approved five-year service plan framework, while also taking into account current operational issues considered the highest priority for improvements in 2026. Table I sets out the recommended service changes for 2026.
Table I –2026 Conventional Transit Service Plan
| Route | Description of Service Change | Annual Service Hours | Peak Buses | Rationale | Service Area Impacted | Recommendation Source |
| 4 | Weekday – frequency improvements during the Early AM period to 60 minutes from 80 minutes in the branches | 504 | Improve Frequency | Weekday Early AM | 2025-2029 Service Plan | |
| 6 | Weekday – Extend service to 1 AM from midnight on a 25-minute frequency | 504 | Service Span | Weekday Late Evening | 2025-2029 Service Plan- proposed for Implementation in 2027 | |
| Weekday – Increase frequency between 9PM and 12AM to 25 minutes from 35 minutes | 756 | Improve Frequency | Weekday Late Evening | 2025-2029 Service Plan- proposed for Implementation in 2027 | ||
| 24 | Sunday – extend service by 3 hours to 9PM | 372 | Service Span | Sunday Evening | Public Feedback | |
| 31 | Weekday – frequency improvements during the weekday Early AM to 30 minutes from 48 minutes | 378 | Bring route inline with frequency standards | Weekday Early AM | 2025-2029 Service Plan | |
| Weekday – Increase weekday peak period frequency to 20 minutes from 30 minutes | 1,764 | 1 | Crowding | Weekday Peak Periods | Public Feedback | |
| Weekday – extend service until 1 AM from 11 PM | 1,008 | Service Span | Weekday Late Evening | 2025-2029 Service Plan | ||
| Saturday – Start service 1 hour earlier at 7 AM | 104 | Service Span | Saturday Early AM | 2025-2029 Service Plan | ||
| Saturday – extend service until 1 AM from 11 PM | 208 | Service Span | Saturday Late Evening | 2025-2029 Service Plan | ||
| Sunday – start service 1.5 hours earlier at 7 AM | 248 | Service Span | Sunday Early AM | 2025-2029 Service Plan | ||
| 36 | Weekday – extend service between 7:30 PM and 10:30 PM | 1,512 | Service Span | Weekday Early Evening | Public Feedback | |
| 90 | Weekday – add an additional bus between 7 AM and 7 PM to improve reliability | 2,772 | 1 | Reliability | Weekday Early Am to Early Evening | Scheduling and Planning Committee |
| 91 | Extend service from Fanshawe College to Argyle Mall | 6,080 | 1 | Expansion of the Express Route Network | All Service Periods | 2025-2029 Service Plan |
| 93 | Weekday – increase AM Peak frequency to 20 minutes from 30 minutes | 1,250 | Crowding | Weekday AM Peak | Public Feedback | |
| Weekday – increase PM Peak frequency to 20 minutes from 30 minutes | 1,008 | 1 | Crowding | Weekday PM Peak | Public Feedback | |
| Weekday – increase late evening frequency to 25 minutes from 40 minutes | 756 | Crowding | Weekday Late Evening | Public Feedback | ||
| 102 | Weekday – start service 2.5 hours earlier at 6 AM | 780 | Service Span | Weekday Early AM | 2025-2029 Service Plan | |
| Total | 20,004 | 4 |
The 2026 draft plan, as presented to the Commission at its October 27, 2025 meeting, included 24,330 annual service hours for consideration; however, the final approved operating budget, including the addition of 2,000 hours approved by the Commission at the October 27, 2025 meeting, provides for the addition of 20,000 hours in 2026. As such, further refinement of the draft plan was required which resulted in some draft recommendations being deferred for review as part of future service plan assessments. Table II below sets out the draft proposals that are recommended for deferral and consideration in future service plan assessments.
Table II- Recommended Deferrals from the Draft 2026 Service Plan
| Route | Description of Service Change | Annual Service Hours | Peak Buses | Rationale | Service Area Impacted | Recommendation Source |
| 6 | Saturday- extend service until 1 AM from midnight | 104 | Service Span | Sunday Early AM | 2025-2029 Service Plan- proposed for Implementation in 2027 | |
| Sunday- start service 2 hours earlier at 7 AM | 248 | Service Span | Sunday Early AM | 2025-2029 Service Plan- proposed for Implementation in 2027 | ||
| 33 | Weekday- start service 1 hour earlier at 6 AM | 564 | Service Span | Weekday Early AM | 2025-2029 Service Plan- proposed for Implementation in 2026 | |
| Weekday- extend service until 1 AM from 10:30 PM | 1,020 | Service Span | Weekday Late Evening | 2025-2029 Service Plan- proposed for Implementation in 2026 | ||
| 102 | Saturday- start service 4 hours earlier at 6 AM | 170 | Service Span | Weekday Early AM | 2025-2029 Service Plan- proposed for Implementation in 2026 | |
| Saturday- increase frequency from 40 minutes to 20 minutes between 10 AM and 6 PM | 374 | Frequency Improvements | Saturday Peak and Early Evening | 2025-2029 Service Plan- proposed for Implementation in 2026 | ||
| Sunday- start service 4 hours earlier at 7 AM | 136 | Service Span | Sunday Early AM | 2025-2029 Service Plan- proposed for Implementation in 2026 | ||
| Sunday- increase frequency from 40 minutes to 20 minutes between 9 AM and 6 PM | 306 | Frequency Improvements | Sunday AM and Peak | 2025-2029 Service Plan- proposed for Implementation in 2026 | ||
| 106 | Weekday- start service 1 hour earlier at 6 AM | 156 | Service Span | Weekday Early AM | 2025-2029 Service Plan- proposed for Implementation in 2026 | |
| Saturday- stat service 4 hours earlier at 6 AM | 170 | Service Span | Saturday Early AM | 2025-2029 Service Plan- proposed for Implementation in 2026 | ||
| Saturday- increase frequency from 40 minutes to 20 minutes between 10 AM and 9 PM | 374 | Frequency Improvements | Saturday Peak and Early Evening | 2025-2029 Service Plan- proposed for Implementation in 2026 | ||
| Sunday- start service 4 hours earlier at 7 AM | 136 | Service Span | Sunday Early AM | 2025-2029 Service Plan- proposed for Implementation in 2026 | ||
| Sunday- increase frequency to 20 minutes from 40 minutes between 9 AM and 6 PM | 306 | Frequency Improvements | Sunday Base and Peak | 2025-2029 Service Plan- proposed for Implementation in 2026 | ||
| Total | 4,064 |
While the improvements identified in the table above are all considered warranted, they could not be accommodated within the available service hours, and were considered a lower priority than those recommended for implementation in 2026. Proposed changes included in Table II will be re-assessed through future annual service plan reviews.
Other Service Plan Considerations
Through the service planning process recommendations for other service plan changes not originally proposed as part of the draft plan were raised by members of the public, details of which are set out below.
Modifications to Route 10
As part of the 2025 Service Plan, Route 10 was modified to operate on Wonderland Road north of Sarnia to Fanshawe Park Road providing service to Masonville Place during all operating periods. This change was proposed as part of the Five-Year Service Plan to address long-standing requests from residents to have more routes operating the entire length of primary corridors in London. This extension provides a single route operating the majority of the Wonderland corridor between Southdale and Fanshawe Park Road. The change did result in Route 10 no longer providing service along Sarnia Road to Western University. To ensure capacity was maintained on the busy Sarnia Road corridor, Route 127 was introduced.
The modifications to Route 10 have been well received by many Londoners with average daily boardings of 785 and alightings of 709 in the new section on Route 10 north of Sarnia Road. Generally full ridership potential is not realized until 18 months after a new service is implemented, as passengers adjust to new travel options. As such it is anticipated that ridership in this area will continue to grow over the next 12 months.
Since the implementation of the routing changes on August 31, 2025, concerns have been raised from the University Student Council with regards to the loss of direct service for students in the Westmount area as well as loss of frequency and capacity between Masonville Place and Western.
Cited concerns around transfer wait times, especially when travelling from Western to the Westmount area indicated that passengers are waiting up to an hour for transfer connections. While longer wait times may occur during transitions between frequency levels, the longest wait time is approximately 35 minutes in the weekday late evening period, if the bus leaving Western arrived at the transfer point just after Route 10 departed. Every effort is made to ensure connections minimize wait times as much as possible, however when routes departing Western operate more frequently than Route 10, there will be some trips that do not line up well for connections. Transfers are considered an inherent part of public transit as not all trips are going to be able to be completed with a single bus ride. Systemwide, there is an average of 10,500 transfers per day.
The University Student Council proposed a new routing modification to Route 10 to address the above noted concerns. The proposed routing would operate along the current new alignment of Route 10 and then continue south along Richmond, Windermere, Perth and Middlesex drive to make the connection between Masonville Place and Western University.
The proposed routing option was assessed and would require approximately 9,000 annual service hours and two peak period vehicles to operate during all service periods. Rationale provided from the University Student Council for the proposed change was that the new routing would provide a direct service to students in the Westmount area to campus as well as address ongoing crowding conditions from Masonville to Western with the loss of Route 10.
Through the assessment a number of concerns about the proposed routing modification were identified.
- Students coming from the Westmount area would have significant travel time added if they were to continue on Route 10 to Masonville Place and then continue to Western Road. Currently, passengers can transfer at Wonderland and Sarnia to Routes 27, 31 or 127 to complete travel to Western. Including the transfer time, travel between Westmount and Western is approximately 36 minutes. The proposed routing would increase the travel time to approximately 46 minutes.
- The area in front of Natural Science is already quite congested with the number of buses that are serving the stop. Adding Route 10 back to Natural Science will add to the congestion in the area, potentially resulting in safety concerns with buses blocking crosswalks etc. due to limited space available.
- Since the return of full fall service on November 23, 2025 ridership data does not indicate significant overcrowding on the routes that continue to travel to campus during the periods that Route 10 previously provided this service. Previously Route 10 was only extended to Masonville during limited-service hours. Weekday service operated between Western and Masonville from 1:30 pm to 10:18 pm on a frequency of 20/30 minutes. Service on Saturday operated from 6:43 am to 9:30 pm and Sundays was between 7:36 am and 5:45 pm. While the change to Route 10 does result in approximately three less buses per hour travelling between Western and Masonville during the weekday PM Peak, there are still other options for travel including Routes 13, 34, 90 and 93, noting that Route 90 only provides service to the Richmond Gates and does not access campus. Increased frequency is being recommended on Route 93 as part of the 2026 Service Plan adding an additional PM Peak Period bus operating between Masonville and Western. The London Transit Planning Department has been monitoring ridership and loads on all routes between Masonville and Western since the return of full service. While many buses may have full seated loads, there is still capacity for passengers to be able to board on most trips and Operators are not reporting full loads. Tabel I below sets out the average load during the weekday PM Peak period for routes travelling between Masonville and Western.
Table III
| Route | 14:00 | 15:00 | 16:00 | 17:00 | 18:00 | Grand Total |
| 13 | 22 | 22 | 24 | 23 | 20 | 22 |
| 34 | 9 | 11 | 13 | 13 | 10 | 11 |
| 90 | 12 | 11 | 13 | 11 | 11 | 12 |
| 93 | 27 | 27 | 32 | 32 | 29 | 29 |
| Grand Total | 16 | 17 | 19 | 18 | 16 | 17 |
When the load is averaged across all weekday service, no specific block is consistently seeing loads to the point of having to leave passengers at the stop. When you look at specific days, notably Mondays and Wednesdays, there can be blocks that are noticeably more full, but this changes by day of the week along with class changes. It should be noted that, there are other areas of the City experiencing more crowding conditions during the PM Peak period including along the Oxford Corridor (Routes 17 and 91), Route 31 through Aldersbrook and Sarnia and Route 25 along Highbury to Fanshawe College. A number of these areas will be addressed with the proposed 2026 service changes, however other areas will continue to see crowding as there are not enough resources to address all concerns in a given year.
Based on the information currently available with regards to crowding and transfers, it is not recommended to make a change to the alignment of Route 10 or add any other routes operating between Masonville and Western at this time. Should the Commission determine that modifications are required as part of the 2026 Service Plan, alternative routing options have been set out in Table IV below, noting the pros and cons of each.
Table IV
| Route | Proposed Routing | Pros | Cons | Estimated Impacts | Impacts to Recommended 2026 changes |
| 127 | Extend Route 127 to Westmount Mall with reduced frequency
Weekday 25 minutes AM Peak 17 minutes PM Peak 35 minutes in the Early Evening 60 minutes in the Late Evening Weekend 30-60 minutes |
– Provides for a single seat route between Westmount and Western
– Can be accommodated within the existing budget |
– Reduces frequency on an already busy corridor (Sarnia), increasing crowding
– Reduces access for residents in the Beaverbrook and Capulet area – Does not address additional capacity between Western and Masonville |
Would be accommodated within existing budget at reduced frequency | |
| 127 | Extend Route 127 to Masonville Mall to increase capacity with reduced frequency
Weekday 20 minutes AM Peak 15 minutes PM Peak 30 minutes Early Evening 60 minutes Late Evening Weekend 30-60 minutes |
– Adds additional frequency to Western from the north end
– Can be accommodated within the existing budget |
– Reduces transfer opportunities for passengers between Route 10 and Western
– Reduces frequency on an already busy corridor (Sarnia), increasing crowding – Reduces frequency for residents in the Beaverbrook and Capulet area |
Would be accommodated within existing budget at reduced frequency | |
| 10 | Return Route 10 to previous routing alignment and remove Route 127 | – Addresses the concerns about a single route ride between South London and Western
– Adds additional capacity between Masonville and Western in the PM Peak period |
– Eliminates corridor service north of Sarnia
– Reduces capacity on Fanshawe between Wonderland and Richmond – Potential negative impacts to on time performance (noting improvements were seen with the change) – Reduced capacity on Sarnia – Erodes Rider confidence in service changes |
(16,189) annualized hours
(5) peak period buses |
A service plan review and public consultation would need to be completed to assess where the additional hours and buses would be implemented. With workload requirements this would not be able to be completed for September |
| 10/127 | Return Route 10 to Western and modify Route 127 to operate north on Wonderland to Masonville | – Addresses concerns about a single bus service between South London and Western
– Can be accommodated within the existing budget – Adds capacity between Western and Masonville |
– Removes the single route corridor service along Wonderland as set out in the Five-Year Plan objectives
– Negative impacts to passengers north of Sarnia – Impacts to passengers in the Beaverbrook area by reducing frequency of service to Western (High student area) – Reduces frequency on an already busy corridor (Sarnia), increasing crowding – Erodes rider confidence in service changes |
11,265 annualized service hours
Noting Route 127 would have to be added during the Spring/Summer periods as well as all stat holidays to continue to provide service north of Sarnia Road 1 peak period bus |
Recommended changes to extend Route 91 to Argyle, Route 36 service hour expansion, Route 24 Sunday service hour expansion, Route 6 weekday frequency and service hour expansion, Route 31 weekend and Weekday Early AM frequency improvements, Route 102 earlier weekday service, and Route 4 Early AM frequency improvements Would have to be deferred to accommodate the required hours and vehicles |
| 113 | Introduce a new Route 113 operating between Western and Masonville | – Adds capacity between Masonville and Western
– New Route, not tied to operating hours/frequency of existing routes |
– Service hours and bus requirements would have to come from the 2026 service plan resulting in some recommended changes having to be deferred
– Does not address single bus service between South London and Western – Adds an additional route at Natural Science which is already experiencing capacity issues |
2,170 annualized hours operating headways greater than 20 minutes between 7am and 9 pm weekdays only during the University school year
1 peak period bus |
Recommended improvements to reliability on Route 90 would have to be deferred to accommodate the required hours and vehicles |
| 127 | Extend Route 127 to Westmount Mall- Maintain existing frequency on Route 127 | – Provides for a single seat route between Westmount and Western | – Does not address additional capacity between Western and Masonville
– Recommended service changes would have to be deferred to accommodate the required service hours and vehicles |
8,811 annualized hours
3 peak period buses |
Recommended changes to Routes 31 weekdays, 91 extension to Argyle Mall and 93 Weekday PM Peak frequency improvements would have to be deferred to accommodate the required hours and vehicles |
| 127 | Extend Route 127 to Masonville Mall to increase capacity, maintaining existing frequency | – Adds additional frequency to Western from the north end | – Does not address single bus ride from Westmount to Western
– Recommended 2026 service changes would have to be deferred |
6,221 annualized hours
2 peak period buses |
Recommended changes to extend Route 91 to Argyle and weekday PM Peak frequency changes would have to be deferred to accommodate the required hours and vehicles |
Should the current routing alignment be maintained, assessments on the routing change will continue over the next 12 months to determine if any additional changes are required based on the changes made as part of the 2025 service plan. Additional service requests will also be assessed as part of the annual service planning process and prioritized for implementation as warranted. As part of the communication strategy for the 2026 Service Plan, Administration will continue to work with the USC on a campaign to educate students on the numerous available options to travel between Masonville and Western as well as the suggested travel and transfer locations for students residing in the Westmount area.
Service to King’s College
As set out in Staff Report #12, dated October 27, 2025, there has been a number of requests for service to be extended to Kings College. In the report it was noted that there are currently some operational concerns with extending service in this area that would require further review and assessment; as such the requests were not recommended as part of the 2026 Service Plan. Further comments have been received through the service plan survey with other suggestions on routing options to be extended to serve the College. All suggestions for service to Kings will be assessed through the 2027 Service Plan review process to determine if the changes are operationally feasible and warranted for service implementation in 2027.
Public Consultation
To gather public feedback on the draft service improvements and plan, information was posted on the corporate website, socials as well as on board all buses. Customers were encouraged to complete the online service plan survey or call/email with any questions or feedback on the proposed changes. Additionally, anyone wishing to discuss the proposed changes in more detail were invited to schedule a phone meeting with a member of the Planning Department.
In addition, in-person public participation meetings were held at the London Public Library- Central Branch, Kings College, Western University and Fanshawe College to gather feedback on all the proposed changes.
Approximately 105 people attended the in-person meetings (52 at Central Library, 10 at King’s College, 32 at Western,11 at Fanshawe College) and 513 survey responses were received.
Overall feedback for the proposed service changes was positive with the top-ranking changes being Route 93 (weekday peak period and late evening frequency improvements), Route 90 (weekday reliability improvements), Route 91 (extension to Argyle Mall), Route 31 (Weekday frequency improvements and extension of service day) and Route 4 (Early AM frequency improvements).
The proposed routing modification to Route 91 was very well received with 61% of survey respondents either agreeing or strongly agreeing with the proposed change. Of those that were not supportive of the change (2% strongly disagree and 1.46% disagree) most comments centered around wanting the extension of the route into a different area (London Airport, Oxford and Hyde Park) or wanting the route to remain as is. The recommended changes to the route will not change the routing or frequency for existing passengers as all existing stops will be maintained with the recommended changes.
The Western University Student Council also set up an online/email petition for students to be able to send direct emails to LTC staff and Councilors requesting modifications to Route 10. Specifically, the form emails discussed concerns for students from South London no longer having a single bus ride to school and the loss of frequency between Masonville and Western. As previously noted, the commentary in the petition is not consistent with the data seen through our service monitoring regarding crowding conditions and passengers being left at the stops as well as the time required to travel between Westmount and Western. It should be noted that while there were many comments in the Service Plan survey requesting Route 10 to be returned to the previous route alignment, however there weas almost no support for the specific alignment requested by the USC.
As heard annually through the Voice of the Customer Survey and echoed in the 2026 Service Plan public engagement, customers are most concerned with frequency improvements, reliability of the service and extension of the service day.
The recommended changes for 2026 focus on making modifications to the areas that are consistently shown to be most important to passengers.
The survey also indicated a lot of support for service to be extended into new areas of the city, many of which have been included in the Assessment Growth Business Case submitted to Council for review through the budget process.
Enclosure II sets out further details with regards to what was heard through the public engagement process for the 2026 Service Plan review.
Next Steps
Subject to Commission approval of the 2026 Conventional Transit Service Plan, the next steps associated with the implementation of the service changes include:
- preparation/production of new schedules, layovers/time points, public timetables and Operator sign-up;
- updating the AVL system;
- updating schedule information for Google Maps; and
- undertaking a communication program including printed Ride Guide maps, on-board and stop level notices, website updates and social media, as well as internal information screen postings and Operator information sessions at signup.
Enclosures
I – 2026 Recommended Conventional Transit Service Plan Changes
II – Public Engagement Feedback
Recommended by:
Katie Burns, Director of Planning
Concurred in by:
Kelly S. Paleczny, General Manager