by

Reviewing TTC Surface Delay Data 2025-2026

This article is a followup to a review of subway delay data published here in early June.

Four sets of data are summarized here:

  • Bus data January 2025 through April 2026
  • Streetcar data January 2025 through May 2026
  • Line 6 Finch data December 2025 through May 2026
  • Line 5 Eglinton data February through May 2026

There is no bus data for May 2026 because the TTC’s June 22, 2026 update on the City’s Open Data site did not include it.

The Open Data files include a key translating delay codes to text. However, many codes used in the logs do not appear in the key, and in those cases I have used “?” in the tables. I have asked TTC for an updated code list, but they have not replied.

Among the information shown in these delay logs:

  • “No Operator Available” is a serious problem related to TTC staffing levels.
  • Diversions account for a large number of delays, notably on the bus network, not just streetcars.
  • Collisions involving buses and streetcars are common.
  • Weather related delays including autos blocking tracks peak in winter months for buses and streetcars.
  • Streetcar delays related to switches are reported under various codes, but there is no code for derailment thereby masking the number of the most serious track-related events.
  • The number and length of delays on 6 Finch have fallen by over 50% since the opening months.
  • A common source of delay on 5 Eglinton relates to guideway intrusion.
Continue reading →
by

Rethinking the Waterfront East LRT

Recently, I wrote about a very unsatisfactory online meeting of the Stakeholder Advisory Committee for waterfront east transit. Little came of that meeting beyond a sense that nothing will happen soon to improve transit in the area.

The big news, which was not “news” at all given the media coverage, was that $3-billion had been secured from the City, Province and Federal governments toward the project. Predictably, in the absence of any details, this produced a shower of questions about why such a sum would be spent on a short line and whether that amount would actually be enough to finish the project.

Planning for and development of the eastern waterfront dates from an era when new buildings could be sold as quickly as they were built. This extended all the way from Yonge Street out to the Don River and the massive plans for the East Harbour Station area. Transit demand projections originally assumed a mix of residential and commercial development particularly at East Harbour, but the commercial market collapsed and residential growth is at nowhere near projected rates and time frames.

Toronto always talked of the waterfront as a “transit first” development, but actual delivery falls way short of that goal. Queens Quay East has a mix of infrequent bus services, and access to the city north of the rail corridor is throttled by traffic on limited crossings. The proposed LRT corridor might exist on plans, but bus rapid transit (BRT) as an “interim” solution always lurked in the background. That might be credible if there were a clear transit corridor to the Union Station area, not to mention street capacity to handle buses and riders, but these problems have never been discussed in waterfront plans.

If we cannot get transit “right” in a brand new community, how can Toronto hope to shift existing neighbourhoods away from cars?

Those who have followed this project through many false starts and changes over the years know that this is not a straightforward “streetcar line” extending from Union Station into the planned community on the island now called Ookwemin Minising. Both through delays and added complexity in some components, the price tag keeps rising, but we have yet to see a consolidated budget or a description of just what it will pay for.

There are beautiful drawings of a future city on the water, but no clear transit plan.

This article reviews the major components of the waterfront east proposal, the many outstanding issues, and options such as there may be for getting better transit to an underserved area.

For those who just want the conclusion, here is my take on the current situation.

  • Previous public consultation sessions gave the sense that plans were heading to a point where in early 2026 there would be construction staging options and a better handle on the project budget. Instead we seem to be going backwards with more uncertainty on the timing and scope of work, and exactly when there will be streetcar service to the eastern waterfront.
  • Development proposals have consistently run ahead of the provision of frequent, reliable transit service.
  • There is an undue focus on getting connectivity to the new developments from the west as a top priority causing the northern link (via Cherry to King) to be placed on the back burner.
  • It is clear that the overall project is constrained by available funding and by the cost of rebuilding Union Station Loop. It is also possible that Union Loop will not reopen in time for first occupancy in the new Ookwemin Minising neighbourhood thereby providing less than ideal transit service to a new “transit first” neighbourhood.
  • Transit ridership projections for the eastern waterfront date from the era when substantial commercial development was planned, and this boosted the expected peak demand.
  • Development plans, and hence future demand, will be affected by proposals for a much-expanded Island Airport, but we do not know the scale of the effect.
  • The continued lack of a staging plan makes discussion of interim service configurations over coming years almost impossible.

The project planners appear to have made up their mind on at least part of the staging plan without fully explaining how it will work, or the “why” behind options chosen. The momentum of 2025, the sense that real work was imminent, has been lost. We now have $3-billion “in the bank”, but with no clear idea of what it will buy, what elements will be missing on opening day and what future completion of the project will cost.

The rebranding of the “Waterfront East LRT” into the “Waterfront East Rapid Transit Line” speaks of desperation and a desire to avoid the “LRT” moniker now poisoned by botched implementations on Finch and Eglinton (Lines 6 and 5). This is most definitely not a “rapid transit line”, it is a streetcar on its own right-of-way. What Toronto needs is honesty about waterfront transit, leadership and real progress on construction.

Continue reading →
by

505 Dundas Transit Priority: Data to May 2026

Much attention regarding transit priority in recent months focused on the RapidTO red lanes for 29/929 Dufferin and 510 Bathurst, and on traffic signal timings for 6 Finch West, 5 Eglinton and a few intersections on 510 Spadina. Another change with less fanfare was the modification of parking and stopping restrictions on Dundas Street West between Dovercourt and University.

Council approved these changes in two groups. The first was for the area between Spadina and McCaul, and the second extended this east to University and west to Dovercourt.

In a previous articles, I reviewed the effect of changes on 7 Bathurst between Bathurst Station and Eglinton, and on 511 Bathurst and 29 Dufferin south from Bloor.

This article continues the series with a review of changes on Dundas Street West.

A few noteworthy points:

  • Over the 29 month period of this review there has been little change in travel times, although there are some specific seasonal and weather-related spikes and dips.
  • Peak period, peak direction shows more variation than off-peak, especially westbound in the PM peak.
  • Extended travel times do not occur only in the “downtown” part of the route, nor only in the peak periods. Attempts at transit priority that focus only on the core and the peak periods will not address issues at other times and locations.
  • There are quite striking “heartbeat” patterns in the data where the highest values usually fall on the same day of the week:
    • AM peak eastbound: The spikes tend to be on Tuesday or Wednesday. This corresponds to a known pattern that developed during the pandemic that midweek traffic was higher than the ends of the week.
    • Early and late evening eastbound: The spikes tend to fall late in the week on Thursdays and Fridays. A similar pattern shows up in the late evening westbound.
  • Although travel times are fairly consistent, they only measure the service that actually shows up. At the end of the article are charts showing headways (the interval between streetcars) both ways at Dufferin, Bathurst and University in May 2026. Travel times might be consistent and even slightly improved, but the overall service quality remains uneven.
Continue reading →
by

TTC Service Changes Effective June 21, 2026

Service changes for the streetcar system were effective on June 7 in anticipation of the World Cup games starting on June 12. See:

The main set of bus and rapid transit changes will occur on June 21.

The seasonal changes are described as coming both from reduced summer demand and limits on operators to drive the service. It is not clear if this is due to a budgetary decision about staffing levels, a difficulty in recruiting new operators, or a mix of both.

The spreadsheet detailing old and new service plans has been added after the “more” break.

Continue reading →
by

TTC Service Changes Effective June 7, 2026

As I began to write this on June 6 at 5:00pm, the TTC had not yet published the detailed memo of service changes for June 7. There is a web page listing World Cup related service changes, but no details about service frequencies. On an interim basis, I have used the electronic version of the June 7 schedules (GTFS data) as a source for info on scheduled service. On game days, there will be additional service as needed.

Updated: The TTC issued the detailed service memo in the early hours of June 7. Thanks to those burning the midnight oil to get this out. This article has been updated to consolidate info from the memo. Note that June service changes for subway, LRT and bus routes will not occur until June 21, and these will be covered in a separate post.

  • 307 and 311 Bathurst night services: Stopping arrangements at Bathurst and St. Clair West Stations clarified.
  • Streetcar route maps added at the end of the article.
  • 301L route clarified to include extension to Dufferin Loop.
  • Streetcar vehicle allocation tables added.
  • Spreadsheet of detailed changes added. Revised to include 929 Dufferin Express.
  • List of destination sign changes added.

Bathurst Corridor

  • Night service on 307 Bathurst bus will be shortened to end at Bathurst Station. Service south to Exhibition will be provided by a 311 Bathurst night car running from St. Clair to Exhibition Loop.
  • Service on 511 Bathurst will be improved (see table later in this article).
  • Updates:
  • 307 buses will loop through Bathurst Station, but will lay over and serve a new stop northbound on Bathurst at London (opposite the station).
  • 311 streetcars will run out of service through St. Clair West Station.

Spadina Corridor

  • Service on the 510 Spadina streetcar will be shortened to turn at Queens Quay Loop. Service to Union Station will be provided by 509/309 Harbourfront and by 310 Spadina. (Corrected)

Waterfront

  • Service on 509 Harbourfront will be improved (see table later in this article), and a new 309 Harbourfront night car will operate.

Dufferin Corridor

  • Service on 929 Dufferin express will be added on Sunday evenings on Game Days running every 8 minutes.

King Corridor

  • Service will be improved on 504 King. On Game Days, the 504B from Broadview Station will turn back via a loop of King, Queen and Shaw without serving Dufferin Loop. See detailed map and schedule in the schedule section later in this article.

Queen / Lake Shore Boulevard West

  • 507/501/301 Long Branch service will be replaced by buses due to construction at Long Branch Loop.
    • Two branches of the replacement bus service will operate:
      • 507 from Humber Loop to Long Branch Loop via Park Lawn.
      • 507M from Humber Loop to the Humber Bay Shores area looping via Marine Parade Drive.
    • This configuration will run until Labour Day weekend. In September, 507 streetcars will return as far as Kipling Loop, and the 110 Islington South will be extended west to Long Branch Loop.
  • 508 Lake Shore streetcar service will be suspended for the summer season returning after Labour Day.
  • Updated: 301L night buses will operate from Long Branch Loop to Dufferin Loop via Queen and Dufferin providing an overlap with the 301 Queen night car.
  • See map in the schedule details later in this post.
Continue reading →
by

Red Lane Effects on 29/929 Dufferin and 511 Bathurst

This article updates previously published on the Dufferin bus and Bathurst streetcar routes to show how the travel times in affected areas changed with the gradual implementation of red lanes over past months.

In summary, there is a reduction in travel time during some periods, but not others, typically because congestion is not an issue all of the time. An important factor, one we saw some years back on King Street, is not just to lower travel times, but to reduce the variations that contribute to irregular headways.

With a reserved lane, periods that might not be badly congested all the time have extra protection against surges like special events or construction projects that remove some network capacity. This depends on enforcement, of course, and paint alone will not keep motorists out of transit lanes.

The balance of the article shows how travel times have evolved from 2024 to May 2026 as a reference point before the World Cup events stress the transit and road system.

Also shown here are the headways on the three services from terminals and along the route. This is a very serious problem, and, indeed, the Achilles’ Heel of the RapidTO scheme. It is not enough to reduce travel times by a few minutes if the service reliability is poor.

Riders are more sensitive to wait times than travel times, especially over shorter distances because the unreliability of a wait contributes substantially to total travel time. On a route like Dufferin with local and express service, the short travel time can be completely outweighed by the longer wait for a bus which is also likely to be crowded when it eventually arrives.

Continue reading →
by

Reviewing Subway Delay Data 2025-2026

The TTC recently updated its delay records for subway, bus, streetcar and LRT on the City’s Open Data Site. These files are raw data, and some slicing and dicing are required to put them in an approachable format.

I have consolidated the data from January 2025 to April 2026 with the full set linked and explained at the end of this post. Extracts of interest are in the main article.

Caveats:

  • The accuracy of this information depends on what the TTC chose to log. I have no reason to believe that they omitted any incidents.
  • When a delay period is cited, this is the length of the event, but there is no indication of the pervasiveness on general operations and riders through multi-train delays or service suspensions. This information is not included in the logs.
  • There are many separate codes for events that are reported publicly as “operational” or “mechanical” problems. Getting a handle on these requires a second level of analysis to group related items. I have not done this here in the interest of getting the basic data into an article for discussion.

Much debate about subway delays and safety has focused on two areas:

  • Track level incursions and the benefits of Platform Edge Doors (PEDs)
  • Security of riders

Unauthorized access to track level is far more common than cases where a train strikes a passenger (733 incidents vs 26 over 16 months). Prevention of track level access requires a physical barrier that will dissuade all but the most determined from getting off of the platform. Other related delays involve debris which could be a source of fires. This requires a true barrier.

Security incidents take many forms, but they are quite numerous. Not all of them represent a threat to riders. There has been much hype thanks to Provincial regulations regarding open use of drugs, but other types of security and safety events are far more numerous. New arrest powers will only make a small dent. This is security theatre, not a real response to the broader range of public disturbances, aggressive behaviour, mental and other health problems. The TTC and City recognize this in the recently announced increase in various types of services to be provided on the system.

That said, I do recognize that there are problem areas on surface routes, but security in that part of the network is much less present, and current attention focuses on the subway.

What is very striking about the list is the prevalence of events related to equipment and infrastructure. These are “internal” to the TTC in that any reduction will require improvements in TTC practices. The TTC needs to address areas they can fix on their own rather than, as happens too often, they focus on issues external and beyond their control. This will not eliminate all delays, but should produce real benefits in reliability and quality of service.

Detailed breakdowns follow the “more” break.

Continue reading →
by

TTC Plans Major Maintenance Work on Line 1

Regular users of the Spadina branch of Line 1 YUS will know that speed restrictions have been common in the open cut section of the line between Eglinton West and the north end of Wilson Yard. They appear on the map of reduced speed zones, vanish, and reappear a few weeks later.

Part of the problem is the temporary nature of some repairs, and partly due to underlying problems in the track support system. There are similar problems elsewhere on Line 1, and some of these go back years. A major issue in mounting a repair campaign is that closing a subway line for an extended period is a major upheaval especially over an extended distance or on a busy day.

A major project from June 1-8 will address:

  • Southbound Yorkdale to Wilson: Concrete slab repair to ensure long-term structural integrity, requiring two full days for concrete to cure.
  • Northbound Yorkdale to Wilson and Glencairn to Lawrence West: Installation of new rail.
  • Northbound Dupont to St Clair West: Replacement of track hardware

These areas correspond to some of the remaining RSZs on the current map.

In order to achieve this work, the Spadina branch between St. George and Sheppard West Stations will close early, at 11:59pm, Monday, June 1 to Thursday, June 4. On Friday evening, June 5-6, this section will not close until 12:30am to accommodate an event at the Rogers Stadium.

From Sunday, June 7 at 12:30am to Monday, June 8 at 6:00am, there will be no service over this section. A partial closure will continue through Monday until 6:00am on Tuesday, June 9 with single track operation on the northbound rail between Wilson and Lawrence West Stations. This will necessarily not be at the usual subway frequency.

Shuttle buses will run, but riders are encouraged to use the Yonge branch of the subway via bus and LRT services on Sheppard, Wilson, Lawrence and Eglinton.

This type of major repair is long overdue, and the proliferation of RSZs was a testament to the level of TTC maintenance for many years. This has been compounded recently by availability and reliability issues with the subway work car fleet. A proposal to rebuild Line 1 south of Eglinton Station goes back to the Byford era, but it has always been regarded as impossible due to the volume of riders there and the extent of the work involved.

What we do not know is whether there are additional major works yet to be announced, when and where they would occur. TTC owes it to riders to give a sense of what they actually plan, painful though some of this work may be.

The TTC’s move to a larger scale project is welcome, but is this is a temporary surge to remove as many problem areas as possible for the World Cup period, or will we see a continued effort to deal with and permanently repair track infrastructure problems as they occur. Riders next winter who are not football tourists are entitled to the same level of effort as our summer visitors.

by

TTC Board Meeting: June 3, 2026

The TTC Board will meet on June 3 with several items on the agenda.

The morning portion of the meeting will deal with various confidential items, and the meeting will move into public session in the afternoon, time to be announced.

Some items are forwarded from the Audit, Finance and Risk Management Committee meeting of May 26 How much debate they will get in the full Board’s public session remains to be seen.

Items of interest include:

  • CEO’s Report
  • Advancing Safety on the TTC: 2026 Focus Areas
  • Bloor-Yonge Capacity Improvements Project – Platform Edge Doors and Net Zero
  • Financial and Major Projects Update for the Period Ended April 26, 2026
  • Toronto Transit Commission – 2026 Follow-up – Status of Previous Auditor General’s Recommendations
  • Draft Consolidated Financial Statements of Toronto Transit Commission for the Year Ended December 31, 2025

Four items are administrative inquiries, or member motions including one forwarded from the recent Council meeting:

  • An inquiry about the usage and cost of Community Bus Routes from Chair Jamaal Myers
  • [From Council]: Safer Subways: Making Public Safety a Priority and Restoring Confidence to Toronto Transit Commission Riders Across Toronto
  • Review of Subway Capacity Constraints and Infrastructure Readiness for Protected/Major Transit Station Areas Compliance and Provincial Densification Mandates – by Commissioner Liane Kim, seconded by Commissioner Josh Matlow
  • Requesting a 7 Bathurst Express Bus – by Commissioner Josh Matlow, seconded by Commissioner Dianne Saxe

In this article I have grouped related items together.

Continue reading →
by

27/35 Jane: Service Analysis for Feb-Apr 2026

With the opening of Line 5 Eglinton on February 8, the former 35 Jane bus was split in two. This article reviews the headway reliability on the new services, with a look back at November 2025 as a comparison. Service in the Jane corridor was notoriously erratic. It has been proposed as a RapidTO red lane route, but nothing has actually been implemented yet.

The original service operated from Jane Station to Pioneer Village Station. At the north end, the service divides with half of the buses running via Jane to Steeles, and half via Hullmar. This arrangement is preserved in the new 35 Jane whose southern terminus is Mount Dennis Station. (Map on the left below)

The new 27 Jane South route runs from Mount Dennis Station to Jane Station. (Map on the right)

There was no change in the 935 Jane Express which continues to run directly between Jane and Pioneer Village Stations.

By comparison with the service in Fall 2025, operations on the 27/35 route pair are an improvement, but this starts from a very low bar. Headways along the route are scattered over a wide range of values making service for riders quite unpredictable. There is no change in service behaviour over the three month period indicating that there was no effort to improve performance, or there was, it had no effect.

Continue reading →