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Bus ridership in London, Ont., decreased by nearly two million riders last year with fewer international students in the province.
A report brought forward to the London Transit Commission, which meets on Monday, details how the city’s transit system performed last year compared with expectations.
Actual bus ridership in London, which is home to Western University and Fanshawe College, was 17.5 million last year, a decrease from 19.2 million the year prior.
“This shortfall is largely attributed to the decline in enrollment of participants in the tuition pass program, which is the direct result of caps on foreign student enrollments at post-secondary institutions,” the report reads.
Furthermore, it highlighted that rides per capita have been steadily decreasing over the past three years, indicating that service growth is not keeping up with population growth in London.
“This is problematic when the service is already experiencing crowding on many routes and there is limited capacity within approved budgets to increase service levels,” it reads.
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London is just the latest municipality to report side effects from Ottawa’s cap on international students at post-secondary institutions.
Brampton, Mississauga and parts of Waterloo Region were among the Ontario suburbs that saw transit ridership rapidly recover from the COVID-19 pandemic; now, all three are reporting drops in those figures.
The cap on international students was brought in by the federal government in January 2024 and then tightened. It’s been blamed by the Ontario government for financial struggles at provincial colleges as even overseas students who can get visas begin to stay away.
Jonathan English, principal at Infrastory Insights, told Global News last month that the policy is a bump in the road for transit agencies, rather than an existential threat.
“Brampton was the transit success story of North America long before the international boom,” English said.
“They experienced a 250 per cent ridership bump before international students arrived. Is it a significant drop? For sure. And will that have financial consequences? Definitely. But I think we need to keep it in perspective.”
English added that cities should look to ensure service improves to attract new riders who aren’t as reliant on transit as students might be.
— with files from Isaac Callan
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