Mayor Ed Holder has vowed London will become the first major city in Canada to have a fully electric fleet of city buses.
The surprise announcement was made during his second State of the City address on Wednesday morning. Speaking to a sold-out crowd of 1,400 at RBC Place London, Holder noted the city currently spends $7.5 million to fuel London Transit's 215 buses. It is money Holder said would be better spent to address social housing issues and to ease the financial burden on taxpayers.
The move from diesel fuel to an electrified fleet of buses would save the city millions of dollars, while helping to reduce London's carbon footprint, Holder noted.
"Greenhouse gas emissions from LTC buses represent as much as 40 per cent of total emissions either controlled by, or directly influenced by, the City of London. This is one of the single most impactful things we can do as a city if we’re to achieve our goal of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, or sooner," said Holder.
The mayor has also been in talks with VIA Rail officials about the need for more trains and higher rail speeds between London and Toronto. "Serious conversations" about the improved service are ongoing, Holder noted.
Transportation was just one of three priorities Holder covered during his 35-minute speech. Social challenges for London's most vulnerable and jobs were his other two areas of focus. The trio is the same three top priorities Holder outlined during last year's annual breakfast.
"One year later, my focus has not changed. In fact, it has only intensified. While we have made progress in all three areas, our work is far from complete," Holder said.
Over the 12 months since his first State of the City address, in which Holder challenged community leaders to get 13,000 more Londoners working, 7,770 people have found jobs and 2,000 stopped collecting Ontario Works benefits. It is the first time since 2013 Ontario Works caseloads in London have fallen below 11,000.
Holder credits those successes to the creation of his London Jobs Now task force and the online jobs board LondonJobsNow.ca.
"While there is certainly cause for optimism, the recent trend is not yet cause for celebration. In just the last few weeks, we’ve learned dozens will be out of work due to the closures of Summit Foods and Ikea’s pick-up point location," Holder stressed. "In addition, although we no longer have the dubious distinction of owning the worst participation and employment rates in Canada, we still have not yet reached the provincial average in either category. Average must never be our goal. London is capable of far better."
The city plans to submit a funding proposal to the provincial government for a study to help better understand and engage those who are not looking for work in the city. Holder said he anticipates the study will be completed by the summer.
Holder went on to speak about the city's homelessness and housing instability problem. More than 5,000 families are currently on the waiting list for geared-to-income rental housing. Of those, more than 1,000 are currently living on the streets or in danger of becoming homeless.
"The fierce urgency of now. That is what we’re faced with in London when it comes to caring for, and supporting our most vulnerable," said Holder. "Make no mistake: this is the most pressing challenge in our city today. If we don’t get this right, nothing else matters."
Through the city's 'housing first' program, more than 350 people have been able to find affordable housing in London over a 12 month period, 100 of whom were helped through the first-ever housing stability week last October.
Holder again voiced his support for London's safe drug consumption site - Carepoint. He shared the story of a local woman who began using the site at 186 King St. shortly after it opened nearly two years ago. Through services received at the site, the woman has found permanent housing and has begun addiction treatment. Since opening its doors in February of 2018, there have been more than 30,000 visits and more than 209 overdose reversals at Carepoint.
Despite any division the site has created within the community, Holder is hopeful a larger, permanent location at 446 York St. will be approved by the province in the coming weeks. The York Street address was backed by council following a year of consultations, but has upset some local business owners in the vicinity.
"The common link among all of these initiatives is action. We will make progress through action, and we will learn through action," said Holder. "We cannot afford inaction because the cost of that, both financially and morally, far outweighs the cost of what’s being proposed."
The annual State of the City event is hosted by the London Chamber of Commerce and is widely attended by local business and community leaders.