A significant number of London residents chose not to use the city bus system in 2015, according to an annual report from the local transit commission.
The London Transit Commission's annual report details that combined ridership declined about 5.8% in 2015 compared to the previous year. In 2014, LTC recorded 24.1-million rides which dropped to 22.7-million rides last year.
LTC General Manager Kelly Paleczny says the decline was caused by a program change with Ontario Works. The program sees residents issued funds directly for transportation, rather than the traditional approach of issuing a monthly transit pass.
Paleczny says this decline in public transit is partially linked to the state of the economy, is also being seen throughout Canada.
"It's not necessarily that people are migrating away from public transit, they're just travelling less in general," she says.
The report shows that while the decline in ridership was isolated to the general transportation service, there was actually an increase in specialized service. Specialized transit reached a total ridership of 273,000, the highest in the service's history.
As well, Paleczny says around 17,500 service hours were introduced in 2015, with just as many additional service hours now being added for 2016.
"The difference in 2016 is not only did we add those hours of service, we also also affected another 40,000 hours," she says. "What we're trying to do is realign things to match the levels of service that are being provided to demand of the ridership."
She says the changes are part of LTC's five-year plan that will take place between 2015-2019. The plan is expected to address issues relating to service design and quality.
"[They're] extensive changes, they're the most significant changes we've made in a very, very long time, in terms of impact on the overall service," says Paleczny. "There's a very good chance that something has changed with respect to their regular trip, whether it be the frequency of the service which may change the time points... or it could be a rerouting."
Londoners who use public transit are encouraged to visit the LTC website to check for any service changes that will be coming into effect on Sunday.
The 2015 annual report is expected to be presented to the Civic Works Committee on Wednesday.
