Higher bus fares coming in the new year as London Transit aims to balance its budget

The London Transit Commission (LTC) is hiking transit fares up by 17 per cent next year — with a plea to city council for more funding to help balance its budget.

The main reason is inflation, which has ballooned the costs of nearly every aspect of operating the transit system, said general manager Kelly Paleczny.

"We've managed to make it through the past four years without putting in a fare increase, but going into the next multi-year budget, we need to reassess," Paleczny said. Fares last went up by 17 per cent in 2020.

The LTC is also asking for an extra $6.07 million from city council — a 23 per cent increase from 2023 levels, she said. 

The extra money is also meant to help pay for new services, like expanding the number of available paratransit trips, increasing the coverage of express routes and adding more buses to their fleet, she said. 

"We're looking to do that on our busiest routes in order to address some of the crowding conditions that we're seeing."

LTC is also eliminating bus passes for post-secondary students who don't have them provided through their schools and summer passes in July and August for students aged 7 to 12 years old.

While waiting for a bus, Londoner Richard Lutes expressed frustration with the upcoming hike.

"I'm not a huge fan of it to be quite honest. The buses here have always been kind of unreliable," Lutes said, adding that the routes are often take too long to reach their destination.

Daily LTC commuter Manoj Balakrishnan said he's fine with the current fares and has concerns about an increase. 

"It is not fair to hike the fare to such an extent," Balakrishnan said. "It is not in proportion to the earnings of Canadians, especially not Londoners."

Some paratransit users, who will also be affected by the hike, have been vocal about the LTC's shortcomings.

Paleczny hopes the services they're looking to implement will help smooth out some frustrations.

"We were pleased that we were able to hold fares for four years, but it just wasn't possible any longer," she said. "So we're hoping there's limited impact on ridership."

The hike will take effect on January 1, 2024. Here are the new prices:

• Cash fare for adults is rising from $3.00 to $3.50

• Tickets are jumping from $2.25 to $2.65 each; a strip of five will cost $13.25

• The monthly unlimited Citipass will go up from $95 to $112

• Low-income earners and youths (13 to 17) will pay $72 for a pass, up from $61

Bus tickets purchased before January 1 will only be accepted until January 15. London Transit locations will start exchanging intact strips of five bus tickets starting December 10 at the cost of the hike difference.

Commuters who use old bus tickets will need to pay the cash difference — 40 cents for an adult — starting January 1.

Council will be tabling its budget, which will include the LTC's ask, in December.