A light rail rapid transit — with few drivers, no tires and no roads — could mean big savings for London taxpayers, supporters say.

Putting transit on rails would save Londoners $1.1 million a year in operating costs alone, as the electric, automated system would require less maintenance, says a business case for Shift, the city’s rapid transit plan.

“It’s a million dollars cheaper, it does not need (as many) drivers, it does not need vehicles,” said Coun. Jesse Helmer, an advocate of the light rail model.

“It is huge savings. After all the road work is done, the operating costs are all paid by municipalities and we are on the hook.”

The report says bus rapid transit will cost $12.2 million a year to run, versus $11.1 million a year for light rail.

At a city council meeting Tuesday, politicians will debate holding a public meeting on whether to pitch bus rapid transit or a “hybrid” fast bus-light rail system to senior levels of government.

City staff are recommending a bus-only model.

“I think it is up in the air as to what direction council will go, but we have to hear from the public,” said Helmer.

A recent London Transit Commission meeting heard that a rapid transit bus has a roughly 12-year lifespan, while a light rail car can be on the track for more than 30 years with less maintenance.

LTC also would consider using electric buses on a rapid bus line.

But there may also be greater savings in light rail, which will take more traffic off city streets. Light rail means fewer street expansions; in Waterloo Region, which is now building light rail, they’re projecting savings of $350 million over 30 years, said one politician.

“It means we will not have to build a lot of roads,” said Tom Galloway, who chairs Waterloo Region’s planning committee.

“That was an important element in the decision. It means that four-lane roads may not have to become six lanes and two won’t grow to four,” over 30 years, he added.

A Waterloo transit advocacy group called TriTag also has posted long-term cost projections on light rail versus bus rapid transit, saying the region will save $18 million a year by 2031 with light rail.

London’s hybrid light rail model would cost an estimated $880 million, compared to $500 million for the all-bus model. The cost would be shared by Ottawa, Queen’s Park and London, with the city’s share capped at $129 million.

The city also has reported it will cost $700 million to replace the rail infrastructure when needed, as opposed to $350 million for an all-bus system.

In Hamilton, which is now planning a light rail system, a recent city report said it would cost $14.5 million a year to operate the system. While it does not detail what a bus rapid transit model would cost, it looked at other cities’ systems and found big savings in light rail.