After 26 year, city politicians take over running London transit
The LTC has seen low ridership, complaints about service at a time when Bus Rapid Transit ramps up
Caption: Some members of London's strategic priorities and policy committee (SPPC) from left to right: Coun. Jerry Pribil, Coun. Sam Trosow, Coun. Corrine Rahman and Mayor Josh Morgan. Rahman was among councillors asking for the dissolution of the LTC while Pribil still remains on its board. (Isha Bhargava/CBC)
London city councillors are saying goodbye to a longstanding commission that has overseen London's public transit system for decades, citing leadership concerns.
In a vote at city hall Tuesday, the Strategic Priorities and Policy committee (SPPC), which includes all members of council, voted 9-6 in favour of eliminating the London Transit Commission (LTC).
Instead, they agreed to temporarily put five of their own in charge of the board that oversees the city's bus system until a long-term plan is finalized.
The decision comes after three board members suddenly quit yesterday, taking the chair of the board by surprise.
Media Video | Is London's transit so bad it's worth dissolving the governing body? Chair pushes back and says no
Caption: Some London Transit Commissioners resigned and called for new leadership this week. They say the service isn't meeting the needs of Londoners. The chair of the commission disagrees. Stephanie Marentette points to the work being done with paratransit that she says shows service improvements.
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Councillors Corrine Rahman, Shawn Lewis, David Ferreira and Elizabeth Peloza wrote an open letter Monday asking for the transit commission to be replaced by three city politicians who would oversee the transit authority while a governance review is underway.
"Concerns have been raised by council and the public: around accessibility issues, ridership experiences, route extensions into new developments, growth hours, rapid transit implementation and council directions," the four wrote in the letter.
After a lengthy debate, the councillor's proposal was accepted. The committee appointed five, not three councillors as initially suggested, to replace the commission.
Councillors will be able to volunteer for the position at next week's full council meeting.
The London Transportation Commission, as it was first known, was formed in 1951 when the City of London bought the public transit service. The current CEO, Kelly Paleczny, has led the LTC since 2014. She declined to comment Tuesday.
The LTC has seen decreasing ridership numbers, and complaints from people with disabilities who can't rely on the accessible service. It's also in need of major repairs and new buses to keep up the fleet.
LTC Chair Stephanie Marentette spoke to council on Tuesday, urging them not to get rid of the commission as she believes the organization's relationship with the city can be repaired.
Marentette proposed councillors fill the three vacant seats and let the remaining four commissioners stay on the board instead of dissolving the entire LTC because having three new members with no LTC experience manage the organization alone is setting it up for failure, she told councillors.
Some councillors tried to delay the vote to a future meeting next month because they said they didn't have all the information at hand and wanted more time before making a decision. But others, including Mayor Josh Morgan, urged the situation needs to be dealt with immediately.
Marenttette told CBC News after the meeting that the close vote makes her believe councillors could change their minds by next week when they have to make the final decision and she will continue having conversations with them.
"I don't feel confident that every single member of council who voted tonight is confident in their decision and I think there's still an opportunity here and I'm going to keep pushing," she said.
Accessibility advocate Jacqueline Madden was among the three board members who resigned, saying the LTC board wasn't able to work well with city council. After the meeting, she expressed relieved at SPPC's decision.
"I found that I wasn't able to contribute on a level playing field with everybody else and something needed to happen to make a change," she said, adding that communication with the city was lacking on projects like school bus passes and assessment growth.
The commission's remaining four members are:
Chair Stephanie Marenttette
Vice-chair Scott Collyer
Commissioner Sheryl Rooth
Commissioner and Coun. Jerry Pribil
Other members of the board who resigned alongside Madden are Coun. David Ferreira and commissioner David Little.
The LTC's fate lies in the hands of the full council vote on April 1.
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