in london ontario canada . for public transportation in london england see transport for london . london transit slogan wherever life takes you founded 1951 from london street railway headquarters 450 highbury avenue n service area london ontario service type public transit routes 39 regular routes 1 3 community buses fleet 195 buses annual ridership 24.1 million 2014 2 operator city of london website www.ltconline.ca a retired gm classic bus in the old colour scheme the london transit commission ltc is responsible for the operation of the public transit system on behalf of the city of london ontario canada . it offers the typical conventional bus service and a para transit service for those unable to use the conventional service . in 2014 annual ridership totaled 24.1 million . 2 the ltc has 39 regular bus routes 3 express routes and 3 community bus routes . 1 contents 1 history 2 active fleet 3 ridership 4 plans 5 2009 transit strike 6 fares 7 routes 7.1 regular routes 7.2 express routes 7.3 community routes 7.4 additional service to university and to fanshawe college 8 references 9 external links history edit london street railway company lsr a privately operated transit service brought public transit to the city with the start of horse drawn streetcar operations may 24 1875 with electric power being introduced in 1895 . 3 in later years the city operated some routes but in 1951 assumed control over all routes and formed the london transportation commission to operate them . 3 4 until 1940 streetcars provided the bulk of the service . streetcar system was converted to buses in late november 1940 planned for the end of 1940 but forced by a blizzard that damaged trolley wires . in 1974 the ltc adopted its present name and greatly expanded its service area to cover the newly annexed area in middlesex county . 3 the system has evolved to feature community bus routes para transit services and accessible low floor buses with the rapid transit lines as the backbone . in 2003 the ltc opened bus terminals in argyle mall and masonville malls . active fleet edit as of 2010 the ltc has 191 transit buses in its fleet . until recently london transit had one of the oldest transit fleets in ontario with many buses older than 25 years old . however with new buses being purchased within the last decade this has changed . all older model high floor buses were phased out in 2012 making the ltc fully operated with low floor accessible buses . during peak service periods on weekdays there are over 154 buses on the road . sunday service reduces that number to fewer than 50 . model & year fleet length in feet engine transmission 2014 new flyer articulated low floor model xd60 30 31 60 cummins isl9 diesel engine allison b500r 2013 new flyer articulated low floor model xd60 28 29 60 cummins isl9 diesel engine allison b500r 2012 new flyer articulated low floor model d60lfr 24 27 60 cummins isl9 diesel engine allison b500r 2014 new flyer xcelsior low floor model xd40 333 345 40 cummins isl9 diesel engine allison b400r 2013 new flyer xcelsior low floor model xd40 321 332 40 cummins isl9 diesel engine allison b400r 2012 new flyer xcelsior low floor model xd40 312 320 40 cummins isl9 diesel engine allison b400r 2012 new flyer xcelsior low floor hybrid model xde40 177 178 40 cummins isl9 diesel engine allison ep40 hybrid system 2011 new flyer xcelsior low floor model xd40 301 311 40 cummins isl9 diesel engine allison b400r 2011 new flyer xcelsior low floor hybrid model xde40 175 176 40 cummins isl9 diesel engine allison ep40 hybrid system 2010 new flyer low floor hybrid model de40lf 171 174 40 cummins isl diesel engine allison ep40 hybrid system 2010 new flyer low floor model d40lf 161 170 40 cummins isl diesel engine allison b400r 2009 new flyer low floor model d40lf 146 160 40 cummins isl diesel engine allison b400r 2009 eldorado national ez rider ii max 15 18 29 cummins isl diesel engine allison b400r 2008 new flyer articulated low floor model d60lf 21 23 60 cummins isl diesel engine allison b500r 2008 new flyer low floor model d40lf 133 145 40 cummins isl diesel engine allison b400r 2007 new flyer low floor model d40lf 119 132 40 cummins isl diesel engine allison b400r 2006 new flyer low floor model d40lf 101 114 40 cummins isl diesel engine allison b400r 2005 06 new flyer low floor model d40lf 465 487 40 cummins isl diesel engine allison world b400r 2004 new flyer low floor model d40lf 450 464 40 cummins isl diesel engine allison world b400r 2003 new flyer articulated low floor model d60lf 601 603 60 cummins isl diesel engine allison world b500r 2002 03 new flyer invero low floor model d40i 401 449 40 cummins isl allison b400r originally equipped with detroit diesel series 50 re powered in 2008 ridership edit after the public transit boom of the 1960s and 1970s ridership began to slip . at that time almost every transit route was passing through london s downtown area . an attempted building of two downtown malls and the economic recession of the 1990s combined to force the downtown area into serious decline . an economic slump echoed in a parallel drop in ridership made even worse by the traditional responses of service cuts and fare increases . between 1987 and 1996 ltc ridership declined by almost 40 percent . in 1994 the ltc began developing a comprehensive business plan to turn these trends around . innovations included an overhauling of fare structure re thinking routes bringing buses into mall areas which would later become true terminal areas and making standard public transit buses increasingly wheelchair accessible . post secondary students attending the university of western ontario and fanshawe college now receive a subsidised bus pass incorporated into their tuition a program which has become a great success . due in large part to these measures the ltc is currently experiencing a massive increase in ridership straining current transit resources . plans edit with the recent announcement of federal 5 and provincial 6 gas tax money for municipalities the ltc has decided to spend funds on improving service creating bus depots at major shopping centres and purchasing new low floor accessible buses . all ltc buses are equipped with gps technology which automates stop announcements . 7 there is also a proposal to allow ltc buses to lengthen the timing of traffic signals at key intersections to improve service . 8 in 2009 new digital message signs were placed at strategic transit stops to tell passengers when the bus is expected to arrive . the ltc website also allows customers to check when a particular bus will arrive in real time . also in 2009 london transit began equipping some buses with bicycle racks . this allows for cyclists to ride the bus while transporting their bike as well . the program was initially being tested on four routes and was later expanded in 2011 to include the entire fleet . in 2011 a second transit garage opened in the west end of the city to improve efficiency and create room for a larger transit fleet . currently the wonderland road garage houses approximately 40 buses with expansion room to store 60 more . within the next decade london transit may have express bus routes on high volume corridors . there has been talk from ltc that the express routes would run along wellington richmond commissioners road highbury oxford wonderland and dundas to aid current bus routes along these roads . this would implement the express local system in london for bus routes . this system uses express buses to take people from one place to another of a greater distance by skipping stations at less popular areas example a bus that starts at white oaks mall and stops at wellington commissioners . the local buses would run on the same route however they would stop at each and every station . the city and ltc have begun to plan for the future transportation master plan . the research program will be called smart moves what moves you and will take transportation goals in london to 2030 . for ltc the study will examine rapid transit corridors while considering bus rapid transit and other rapid transit options . am 980 reported that the city s planning staff had put forward a plan to introduce rapid transit . 9 10 11 12 the plan would cost 1.2 billion and would include both a bus rapid transit and a light rail components . 2009 transit strike edit on november 16 2009 amalgamated transit union atu local 741 representing bus drivers and support workers went on strike the first transit strike for london transit since 1980 . the strike affected all public routes however specialized transit services for the disabled continued to operate . to lessen the inconvenience on university students the university of western ontario uwo increased its shuttle bus service . as well the university student s council usc secured rental vans driven by volunteers looping around the city picking up students at key areas and dropping them off at the university . a community based approach was taken by the usc including a flag a ride program and a shuttle service for groceries . 13 david empey president of the uwo staff association was against this volunteer service helping students calling it scab labor and said it was irresponsible to set up a system which replaced the job of striking workers . despite this information pickets were set up at the university encouraging students to help their cause . the strike is really inconveniencing people who are paid even less than the drivers said a third year western student . this shuttle is a good idea . i had hoped they d put something like this together . we still have to pay for our transit pass even if there s a strike . 14 on december 7 2009 atu turned down the ltc s final offer of 9.3 % wage hike over three years . this offer was rejected by 78.5 % 322 of 410 of the atu membership . 15 the strike ended on december 14 2009 . 16 fares edit effective december 1 2008 the new fare is as follows 17 age group individual fare 5 tickets children 5 yrs to grade 6 1.35 5.50 students grade 7 to grade 12 2.75 7.70 adults 2.75 9.50 seniors 65 years of age and older 2.75 7.15 there are also a number of passes available citipass 81.00 monthly . weekday pass 69.00 monthly . seniors pass 57.50 monthly . post secondary 70.00 monthly . summer student 81.00 for july and august for grade 7 to 12 . tuition passes added to student fees . sight impaired cnib pass 10.00 yearly . routes edit london transit announced that the following service will be available starting september 4 2016 . with this service comes a change to the buses destination signs . routes are still numbered but will no longer be named ; the destination sign will now display route number destination and routing . regular routes edit buses serving these routes stop at blue bus stop signs . route terminus terminus service other major destinations former name notes 1a n kipps lane s pond mills road daily glen cairn plaza downtown st. joseph s hospital 1a kipps lane thompson road buses end southbound trips at commissioners road and deveron crescent and return northbound via king edward street as route 1b . 1b n kipps lane s king edward street daily glen cairn plaza downtown st. joseph s hospital 1b kipps lane thompson road buses end southbound trips at commissioners road and deveron crescent and return northbound via pond mills road as route 1a .