What’s that coming over the hill? Well, beat me senseless with a copy of the London Plan if it isn’t the return of BUS RAPID TRANSIT, London Ontario’s favourite topic. I’m so excited, and also a little depressed, because this has been A Thing for at least 13 years, and never really went away but has been weirdly quiet. So buckle the hecking heck up, people, for bus information!
And breathe. What am I on about? Just this great piece of reporting from the CBC’s Andrew Lupton, that’s all:
That image is a link, y’know. Click and you’ll go to the CBC report. Or stick around.
What, what? Didn’t we do this dance already? Yes, we did, and I’m here with my creepy robotic assistant to equip you all with the background you need as this plays out in municipal politics over the rest of eternity.
History tl;dr: London wanted to do rapid transit with special bus lanes radiating from downtown to the four points of the compass, but there was a ma-hoosive argument and it ended up being just East and South. Confusingly, there are three names for parts of the two spurs: the Wellington Gateway (South), the Downtown Loop, and the East London Link.
Opinion alert: our local transit desperately needs investment and has been unfairly stigmatized as ‘for the poors’ when it could be enhancing our quality of life and supercharging our local economy, especially downtown.
Hot take alert: mistakes have been made and a lot of shouting has taken place. We should unite and get this goddamn money, to make London a nicer place to live. This is supported by the science (town planning research).
Pointed observation alert: this gammon-faced conversation may take up a lot of energy, but it doesn’t change London’s approach. BRT never went away. At Full Council just yesterday, councillors voted 13-2 in favour of elements of BRT. This project is fully under way, and the City’s own (excellent) summary gives its total value as $454 million. It is real and we are paying for it at three levels of taxation.
Enough. Here’s that background, with links to reputable sources of information. It includes historical links, so be sure you know what’s up-to-date info. I’ve edited this list, and I’m always open to feedback and (Substack editing permissions allowing) updates/corrections/additions. Maybe I can do an updated post if enough readers want to add their own milestones, but this shows the main steps that got us here.
Special mention to Global News/AM 980 for staying on this beat for years. Most of these reports are from that great team. And, for this one, I’ve avoided media outlets with paywalls.
A bus, in London. From Wiki Commons, user Gogerr
Bus Rapid transit - the full story
Being a chronological history of the whole shebang up to about now, with high-level summaries and links out to other people’s content.
2013 — City business case initiates BRT planning
London City Council received a formal Bus Rapid Transit Strategy / Business Case, marking the start of the BRT program.
This timeline from AM980 (back in 2017) is really useful for the early steps:
https://globalnews.ca/news/3421323/timeline-london-bus-rapid-transit/
…and, lbh this also covers up to…
2017 — Public debate for sure, yes
Council debated routes, costs, and downtown design options for the proposed BRT system, including the Downtown Loop configuration.
So same link: https://globalnews.ca/news/3421323/timeline-london-bus-rapid-transit/
Nice work that Devon Peacock!
2018 — Senior government funding is big $$$
Ontario announced up to $170 million in funding for London’s bus rapid transit system (January).
https://cknewstoday.ca/london/news/2018/01/15/ontario-kicking-170m-brt
The federal government announced over $204 million in public-transit funding for London under a federal–provincial agreement (March).
https://cknewstoday.ca/london/news/2018/03/16/city-getting-204m-transit-funding
2019 - Decisions, drama, discussions, bloody hell
Want the ins and outs of the voting on various parts of the BRT plans? Well, here’s the CBC to blow your mind.
News story:
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/london/brt-london-transit-1.5070330
How they voted:
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/london/london-ontario-bus-rapid-1.5072163
And, Environmental Assessment approved
Later in 2019, in quieter moments, the Province approved an Environmental Assessment.
https://globalnews.ca/news/5354078/province-signs-off-london-brt-environmental-assessment/
2020 — City releases tentative plans
Another Global News report: the City shared tentative plans for Phase 1 of the Downtown Loop of the rapid transit system, showing proposed routing along Queens Avenue, Ridout Street, King Street, and Wellington Street.
https://globalnews.ca/news/7427467/london-downtown-rapid-transit-plan/
2021 — Downtown Loop construction begins
Construction began on Phase 1 of the Downtown Loop, adding bus-only lanes on King Street between Ridout Street and Wellington Street.
https://globalnews.ca/news/7741163/london-brt-construction-begins-phase-1-downtown-loop/
2021/22 — First phase completed downtown
They completed that Downtown loop first phase in December 2021, according to the link, but it counts for 2022 because of course they weren’t fully finished and anyway the whole thing went on for a bit, see below.
https://globalnews.ca/news/8459227/london-king-street-reopens-phase-1-downtown-brt/
2022/23 — East London Link created in phases
The City site lays this out well. The first phase of the East London Link, between Wellington and Lyle, was finished in 2022 and Phase 2 started in 2023.
https://london.ca/projects/east-london-link
2023 — Wellington Gateway starts in south
Construction on Phase 2 began in March. This work continues, and was discussed (and broadly supported) at Full Council yesterday, January 20.
https://globalnews.ca/news/9563155/london-wellington-road-work/
2024 — Construction milestones
The first bus rapid transit shelter was installed, marking a visible construction milestone.
https://globalnews.ca/news/10449821/london-ont-milestone-bus-rapid-transit-shelter/
East London Link construction progressed to Phase 3, including work on Dundas Street and Highbury Avenue.
https://globalnews.ca/news/10370257/london-ont-top-10-construction-projects-2024/
2025 — And there’s more
This lengthy piece on the City website says the Downtown Loop was fully completed, among other things. This pretty much brings us up to the present day in our current timeline. Doubtless BRT will be a plot point in Avengers: Doomsday.
https://london.ca/newsroom/feature/2025-construction-season-comes-end
2026 — oh my
I have no further comment. Maybe later.
‘I wanted to be a journalist, I thought it was glamorous and that I’d meet beautiful women in the rain.’
Bill Nighy
Note on A.I. use: I do not support use of generative A.I. to replace human creativity. I make use of A.I. support only where it can make me better or faster at a task I would already have undertaken. These reports were produced with help from an assistant created in ChatGPT, speeding the process while retaining editorial control in the hands of a human (me). I’m happy to discuss this.
London secured $374,000,000 from other levels of government (largest ever, even to this day) for a BRT system that would provide lines going East, South, West and North with a couplet located within the downtown, linking the whole system together…Mike, for some reason this news item is ringing a bell for me :) Great summary. Enjoying your new project, very much!
Oh the memories. Community building where everyone has a view.