London-Area, Intercity Public Transit Routes Have Seen A Near Five-Figure Boost in Ridership During the Past Two Years, New Figures Show.
London-Area Intercity Public Transit Routes Have Seen A Major Boost in Ridership During the Past Two Years, New Figures Show. LFP’s Jack Moulton Takes A Look at the System, What It’s Doing Well, and How It Needs A Plan Going Forward.
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What is this system?
Middlesex County Connect, First Launched in 2020 And Funded by the Province, is a series of Regional bus routes run by the County that offered peak-hour, round-trip service between lucan, London, St. Thomas, Woodstock, and Many places in Between.
The Roads Being Offered Include:
- Route 1: Lucan to Fanshawe College Through Ilonton, Arva, and North London
- Route 2: Woodstock to Masonville Mall Through Ingersoll, Putnam, Dorchester, and East London
- Route 3: Dorchester to St. Thomas Through South London and Southwold
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How’s the Ridership?
According to present to the County/City Liason CommitteeWhose Thursday Meeting was cancelled due to winter WeatherRidership has gone from 48 Riders when the Service First Launched During the Pandemic, to 11,238 Riders Last Year.
Ridership on the Network Between 2022 and 2024 Alone Grew by 678 per cent from 3,853 Riders, with the St. Thomas Route also Being Launched Last Year and Servicing Workers at Several of London’s Industrial Parks and White Oaks Mall.
Middlesex County Warden Brian Ropp Said the Ridership “Gives Me Hope” After a Slow Pandemic Launch and Years of Road Tweaks to Build A Reliable System, Saying: “It’s made a huge Difference, and People Have Come to Trust it.”
Why is it Doing Well?
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The presentation also highlights that a sizable Share of Riders on Routes 1 and 2 Are Students Sanding Fanshawe College, with a peak of 27 and 42 per cent of boardings on the Routes respectly During the Fall Term in 2023, but Declineing 23 and 33 respectively in The Winter 2024 Term and 21 and 23 per cent in the Summer Term Last Year.
Testimonials for the Service, Which Costs $ 5 One Way and Seats 18 Passengers A Bus, Have Ranged from New Immigrants and Seniors Praising Its Liabibility, To Residents Saying It has given Greater Access to Work and Community Activities.
ROPP Points to the Region’s Growth and the Affordability of the Service As Another Driving Factor, Along with its Many Connections to Work, School, and Play. He Believes the Dorchester to St. Thomas Route will be Particularly Well use by Employees of the Many Regional Industrial Sites.
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“It Just Makes Sense for More and More of Us,” He Said. “Work, Education and Social Services Are the Three Main Components That Build Into it.”
What’s the Future of the Service?
The Routes, Which Are Being Review, Are Funded by the Provincial Community Transportation Grant Program, Which is set to end by March 31.
ROPP, who is also Mayor of North Middlesex, Said the County has Enough Money Left Over to Stretch the Service through August, when the province will need to make the Funding Permanent Or the Service Will Cease or Shrink.
“If we lose this rural transit system, it’ll be very hard to get it back, and will people trust it again?” He Said. “My Thoughts are, what is the cost to the province and to everyone if we do not have this system? I don it know those numbers, but that my concern. ”
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