City staff are flagging the rising cost of transit subsidies, but disability advocate says they're crucial

As the city's cost to subsidize transit fares and monthly passes edges upward, a disability advocate says the subsidy amounts should increase to keep pace with rising cost of living.

The city currently funds five different subsidies to London Transit Commission (LTC) riders.

They include: 

• Transit passes for visually impaired riders (100 per cent covered)
• Transit tickets for children 12 years old and younger (100 per cent covered)
• Subsidized transit passes for youth aged 13-17 (36 per cent subsidized)
• Subsidized transit tickets for people 65 years and older (25 per cent subsidized)
• An income-related subsidy on transit passes for those 18 years and older. It amounts to a 36 per cent subsidy for those whose income is below the low income cutoff after tax. For a single person in London, that's $20,600.

The full cost of a monthly transit pass is $112, while a single cash fare is $3.50 per trip. 

The city has an annual budget of just over $1.5 million to cover the five subsidized transit programs. However a staff report coming to council on Tuesday warns that the 2024 LTC fare increase — combined with rising uptake in the various subsidy programs since the COVID-19 pandemic — is pushing the cost past the budgeted amount. 

Between the first quarter of 2023 and 2024, there was a 29 per cent increase in usage of the income-related subsidy and a 37 per cent increase in use of the fully subsidized children's tickets. City staff warn the subsidies, which the city is obliged to honour, could reach up to $1.7 million this year.

"Should participation trends continue to increase, a budget amendment may be required," reads the staff report.

And while city staff and council will have to figure out how to address the shortfall, a disability advocate said the current subsidy isn't enough to make the monthly passes affordable to most low-income riders. 

Jeffrey Salisbury, 39, spoke to the city council committee that first received the staff report. He has developmental disabilities and receives income from the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP). He qualifies for the low-income subsidy on monthly LTC passes. However even with the subsidy, the $72 cost of the monthly transit pass doesn't fit into his budget. Before the recent fare increase, a subsidized transit pass cost $61.

His ODSP monthly stipend is $1,308, well below the market-value rent for a one-bedroom apartment in London.

"By the time you pay your rent you really don't have that kind of money to buy a bus pass," he said. "I haven't had [a transit pass] for a couple of years." 

To save money, he walks or gets lifts from friends or family members to errands such as medical appointments and trips to buy groceries.

Salisbury would like to see a subsidy that would trim the monthly cost to $10 or less. 

The staff report outlining the funding challenges of the program are on the agenda of Tuesday's council meeting.