London Transit Commission board members quit, urge city to take over running bus system

Several members of the board that oversees the city's bus system have quit, and some city councillors are calling for the London Transit Commission (LTC) to be dissolved and taken over by someone who can fix problems with accessibility, route extensions and better service. 

Councillors Corrine Rahman, Shawn Lewis, David Ferreira and Elizabeth Peloza want 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 a letter. 

"Through these interactions, council as a governing body has attempted to strike a collaborative tone to partner in addressing the challenges. However, it has become clear that there is a breakdown in the working relationship." 

Three members of the board, called commissioners, also resigned: Ferreira, David Little, and Jaqueline Madden. 

Four members of the commission remain: chair Stephanie Marenttette, vice-chair Scott Collyer, commissioner Sheryl Rooth, and commissioner and Coun. Jerry Pribil. 

LTC General Manager Kelly Paleczny did not respond to a request for comment on Monday.

Accountability and change

According to Rahman, the letter signed by herself and other councillors is a signal that change is needed. 

"What I was feeling was, in times we were providing direction and sometimes we were providing our thoughts as a council on matters that were important to residents here in our community, and I don't think there was alignment with how we move forward on those items.

Rahman said the letter's claim that the LTC didn't comply with directives from council stems from issues like accessibility and rider experience not being adequately handled by the LTC in its current form.

"There was less movement on those items than than I had expected to see," she said. "I felt it imperative to look at another structure that puts more accountability on members of council."

Rahman said she wants to see the interim commission, made up of councillors, work to improve the LTC. That would be followed by a review, that would include governance recommendations. 

She also wants to see more community voices involved in LTC governance, she said.

Leadership questioned

Commission members who resigned also expressed concerns over leadership at the commission in their resignation letters.

Paleczny has headed up the LTC since 2014, having working as a financial administrator with the commission since 2001. 

Little wrote in his resignation letter, "it has become increasingly apparent that the LTC is not well positioned to move forward on the significant change necessary to meet rider expectations in a rapidly evolving and growing city."

The commission in its current form isn't able to hold the transit leadership to account or implement changes needed for an effective transit system, Little added. 

Madden, who has advocated for better paratransit and making buses accessible, said she resigned because "I no longer believe it is possible to make meaningful progress towards an accessible transit system under the LTC's current structure." 

Ferreira said he has pushed for more effective transit, but the current structure of the LTC stalls any kind of "substantive progress" that the public transit requires to meet the needs of Londoners. 

The board is unable to make decisions and progress has been "incremental at best,"  he said.

LTC chair disagrees 

According to LTC Chair Stephanie Marentette, both the resignations and the call for the commission's dissolution came as a surprise.

"Yes, there's been some difficulty with communication in the past year and a half, but it doesn't have to be that way," Marentette said.

Marentette said she's had multiple constructive and positive conversations with a number of councillors, including Lewis and Mayor Josh Morgan over the past several days.

Marentette also expressed doubt about the feasibility and responsibility of council taking over the LTC's governance, even on an interim basis.

"It's not possible for the city to operate LTC internally. You're going to still rely on some sort of board here. Rather than throwing the baby out with the bathwater, there's a real opportunity here for repair," she said.

City councillors will discuss the proposal for council to take control of the transit system at Tuesday's strategic priorities and policy committee meeting.