37 thoughts on “Service Changes for May 2012 (Updated)”

1. Someone at the TTC hasn’t done their homework on the 501 replacement bus loop: it is also impossible because Carroll St is permanently closed between Kintyre Ave and Thompson St and has been for some months. A new park is going in. Buses will have to go south on Broadview, as the other side street alternatives are extremely narrow.

   Broadview and Queen, a clusterjam at the best of times, is going to be mayhem.

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2. Will the STC buses be diverting via Ellesmere Road, Borough Approach East, Borough Drive, Triton Road or will they be diverting via Ellesmere Road, Brimley Rd, Triton? Just curious.

   Steve: Most routes will divert from McCowan via Town Centre Court, Borough Drive, Triton Road in both directions.

   Neilson and Highland Creek buses will divert via Ellesmere, Brimley and Triton Road both ways.

   Progress and Bellamy buses will divert inbound via Corporate Drive, Consilium Place, Bushby Place, Town Centre Court, Borough Drive and Triton Road. Outbound, they will run via Triton, Borough Drive, Progress and Corporate Drive.

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3. So by the looks of it, the 509 will maintain its service, unless impacted by slow orders on especially bad parts of track. Whereas the 510 will be a mess, especially looking at the work planned in Mr. Byford’s report. From about mid-June to November, Spadina will be facing 2 intersection reconstructions (Queen and Adelaide), as well as “platform upgrades” from King to Lakeshore (phase 1) and College to Lakeshore (phase 2).

   What would these improvements entail? Would they bring them to the level of the platforms on St. Clair (waste bins, updated shelter structure), or are they being full replaced (including the concrete)? Is it in preparation for the new legacy cars? If Spadina is fully closed, does the TTC have enough buses to provide shuttle service from Bloor to Queens Quay?

   Steve: This is certainly in preparation for the new LFLRVs, and I am going to chase down the specs for this work. Those stops are crowded enough as they are, but there’s no room to widen them, and more “furniture” in the form of fare machines could just make things worse.

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4. 506 will enter service from Russell via Parliament as the west Queen to north Broadview switch is permently plugged. The 501 shuttle buses will most likely use Parliament/Shuter/River in the end.

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5. Will there be a return to the old “Service Improvements” or “Service Plan” reports. The last one I saw was from 2008.

   Of course, with the Transit City Plan and Transit City Bus Plan, they were planning BIG improvements for the next decade, if not more. However, with Rob Ford & his band of henchmen, the BIG plans have been whittled down and the plans have become iffy at best, with even the current 3 LRT plans still facing hurdles ahead. The Transit City Bus Plans look like they’re in limbo, especially with the cuts in service instead of service improvements.

   The “Service Improvements” reports presented comprehensive evaluations of proposals for new and improved transit service which have been received from customers, City councillors, and TTC staff. Just wondering, if the TTC will now have to go back to such reports, even to justify simple small improvements along the way.

   Steve: That’s a challenge for the “new” Commission. Will they just sit on their hands content to have wounded, if not slain, the two-headed dragon Ford, or will they actively work on proposals for transit improvements leading into the 2013 (and beyond) budget cycle?

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6. Hi Steve,

   I feel silly asking this as I think I asked for this a couple of years ago, but can you provide me the link to the pdf that contains the TTC operating stats for each route (specifically how many buses per route/branch per “period” and the average/standard/crush load figures)?

   I would like the most recent version there is for my references as to know how to validly complain about abusive overcrowding of vehicles and having the statistics/figures would help in backing up my arguments quite effectively.

   Steve: This information is scattered through several reports, some of which are not published online, notably the crowding figures. This is something I hope to see our new “customer oriented” TTC work on — some transparency about what they claim the ridership looks like on their routes so that either (a) we can complain that they don’t know what they are talking about, or (b) bang the drum loudly for service to be improved. With the change in political composition of the Commission, there may no longer be a preference for denying what is actually going on out on the street.

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7. The one change that surprised me was the seasonal service increase on the Airport Rocket. I don’t remember seeing that before. Does TTC ridership to the airport really increase that much during the summer?

   Steve: Yes, there have been seasonal changes to the Airport Rocket service before.

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8. As a follow-up to Sjors’s comment, an important change in ridership reporting would be to report on point ridership — at a minimum, peak point, peak hour, peak direction — in addition to just total boardings. Presumably total boardings is an important statistic to somebody (accountants?), but it’s not a meaningful statistic from the perspective of riders, planners or advocates, and can cause harm in the hands of people that don’t know any better (or do know better, for that matter).

   The Transit City consultations were guilty of this, lazily pulling out total boarding stats for the routes along the proposed LRT corridors and using those statistics (not pphpd!) to justify transit improvements. It took a lot of effort, and perhaps some well-timed shock from Royson James, to convince the public that the important statistic was pphpd.

   Steve: Even peak point counts can be misleading if they are stated as average loads. Given that TTC surface vehicles show up in pairs (if not triplets), with wildly varying loads on each vehicle, the “average” load may give the impression of underutilized service. It’s also possible that a lightly loaded car is being short-turned not far from the location of the count, and has few passengers because it’s not serving most of the route. Unless this sort of thing is taken into account, the bean counters (and the politicians who are not happy until at least ten people are riding on the roof) don’t see the relationship between line management, service quality and vehicle utilization. Total riding can be misleading in many ways not least of which is the question of whether a route’s demand is concentrated in the peak period or spread out all day long. The same total figure can produce wildly different riding experiences and service demands depending on riding patterns.

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9. I don’t understand the Old/New numbers for the 509. Was there a scheduled 509 short-turn to Spadina before this change? I bicycle along Queen’s Quay quite often, and the morning peak means that a 509 car may be jampacked by the time it departs from the Queen’s Quay/Bathurst stop. The 510 cars running to Union meant that riders waiting at Spadina and points east could at least get on a streetcar. Will the 509 short-turn explicitly replace the 510 service?

   Steve: The new schedules for the 509 simply don’t make sense if you assume they will try to run “on time”. I suspect that the Spadina short turns will effectively run as extras. Whether they will be managed to fit into gaps in the 509 service, or will pull the usual trick of short turns everywhere — coming out into service right behind a through car to minimize the amount of work they have to do — remains to be seen.

   Also, the TTC has decided to address my pet peeve that service to Long Branch loop on the 123 Shorncliffe is much better in the daytime than at peak periods. However, their solution is to reduce service in the daytime as well. The 123A branch that turns at Sherway is like the camel’s nose under the tent. First it was afternoon peak only; then morning peak as well; and now daytime.

   Yes, there is a complementary 110A/B service to Long Branch from Islington station. While this is fine if you’re starting from Long Branch and simply wish to head to the subway agnostic of which station, it’s too complicated to figure out when you’re on the subway and want to go to Long Branch — should you get off at Islington and catch the 110A/B, or carry on to Kipling and catch the 123? None of these routes runs anything like an easy-to-remember clockface schedule, and getting access to a vehicle arrival programme is only marginally possible in some of the brief open cuts. The schedule, of course, assumes that everything is running on time, which is not guaranteed in my experience. Running back and forth between Kipling and Islington means you can miss both the next Shorncliffe and Islington South bus, one after the other.

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10. I guess removing Spadina service from Queen Quay is to reduce wear and tear on the track until it is replaced.

    If they really wanted to reduce wear and tear they should put the two much lighter PCCs in service on Harbourfront. It would also free up two CLRV for use on the rest of the system.

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11. On one of the city issued releases for major work – Adelaide is/was supposed to get a major overhaul from somewhere near University to Spadina.

    I know watermain work is one thing being done – but do i assume they’re ripping up the wrong way track as well? (meaning…could work be prepped to bring a track – either non/revenue – back into service)?

    It’s kind of a wasted street – and still a better way to divert then using queen or king…

    As for queen’s quay…. with the western construction still floating in the lake breeze…it’s near impossible to think when they’ll figure out how to deal with the eastern part….

    Steve: The watermain work is already underway east of Spadina.

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12. I remember once seeing the report published online that shows how many vehicles travel per route/branch per period on either a TTC or Toronto city website. Can you point me to the report or the name of it which will have those statistics? I believe it is the same one you use to illustrate your pdf charts that show when a vehicle is removed and headways change. The master report of that is what I’m after!

    Steve: Go to the Planning Page on the TTC’s site and scroll down for the Service Summary. However, the report I use to produce the list of changes is not published online.

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13. Streetcar writes that the West Queen to North Broadview switch is permanently plugged? Not sure what this means. I’d sworn I’ve seen 504 and 505 cars doing this movement recently – but perhaps I’m mistaken.

    Steve: A plugged switch has been mechanically taken out of service in a way that the operators cannot throw it even manually.

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14. The recent CEO’s report indicated that the Queen Street track work from Greenwood to Coxwell would last from May 7th to October 8th.

    5 months seems uncharacteristically slow for such a relatively short piece of track, even with all the switches at Russell. Is it really going to take 5 months for 750 metres of track?

    Steve: There is a lot of work to be done in Russell Carhouse itself including the track on Connaught and the ladder on Eastern Avenue.

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15. A question about the Queen’s Quay East LRT plan, and Waterfront Toronto in general. I’ve understood that the government money given to WT was seed money to improve the lands and increase the value. Then, WT sells the land to developers and uses the proceeds to fund the next wave of expansion. At various times, however, I’ve heard that the government contribution has just about dried up and that WT is looking for new revenue sources to fund its plans, QQE LRT included, let alone the Port Lands. Where did all of the money from Monde, Corus Quay and East Bayfront go? Is it that WT didn’t get enough money from land sales, or that I’ve misunderstood the terms of operation under which WT operates? Wasn’t WT supposed to be self-sustaining from dev fees?

    Steve: You have the model right, but the problem is that the cost of cleaning up the land and building all of the infrastructure needed for new development considerably exceeds the revenue from development profits. A related problem is one of timing — long before actual development occurs, WFT must invest in upgrades to the land, but it does not have the legal authority to borrow against future revenue. Finally, their site is so big that large parts of it will not be developed for decades because the market simply cannot absorb that much new residential or commercial space quickly.

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16. Steve says: , their site is so big that large parts of it will not be developed for decades because the market simply cannot absorb that much new residential or commercial space quickly.

    I understand there’s a plan to get the western section of Queens Quay redone, but is it not an option for them, to start work and progress as development pops up from the Bay street portal east?

    Much like a subway expansion would go. Bring it where the demand is, then slowly bring the line further out?

    or…is this model of thinking way off?

    Steve: I am talking about the east end of the waterfront — east from Parliament to Leslie.

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17. So, we’ve just got an announcement that the Queens Quay tracks from Spadina to Union are being taken offline until May 7 for track reconstruction. This sounds very different from the 509/510 split that this post talks about.

    So, what’s happening here? Is this the permanent change (moving the tracks to the south side of Queen’s Quay) or is it just that the tracks have deteriorated to such a condition that work can no longer be delayed?

    Steve: This is doing work on the track east of Spadina that’s in rough shape in advance of the switch-over to the split operation. I will update the main post with more info.

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18. I seriously hope that we don’t start seeing long term shutdowns of the Transit City lines 20-30 years from now for track reconstruction. I cannot ever remember a time when the subway has been shut down for construction for more than a weekend (possibly the Sheppard subway construction was an exception, I cannot remember). On the other hand there have been shutdowns of parts of the streetcar system for months for years. Light rail track embedded in concrete is costly and time consuming to replace.

    This is assuming that the Transit City lines don’t suffer from chronic overcrowding problems 20 years from now and we aren’t talking about replacing them with subways when they reach the point that they require major reconstruction, like the SRT is reaching the end of its useful life now. If the GTA grows at the same rate it has grown in the last 20 years this is a highly likely scenario. Eglinton, west to the airport (assuming that section is built) and Sheppard, between Don Mills and Victoria Park are probably the sections of LRT that have the highest risk of chronic overcrowding problems in the next 20 years.

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19. @Andrew

    Valid concerns. However, as Steve explains in another blog, modern track requires digging up only the top layer of concrete that holds the tracks; the concrete layers below the top layer don’t have to be replaced.

    Also, here’s track reconstruction happening over 3.5 days. Totally doable.

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20. At the very least, reconstruction would be easier on the street than on an elevated structure as on the SRT and you could always do it in sections in combination with early shutdowns.

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21. Thanks for pestering whoever you had to pester to get details on the Queens Quay plans. Seems like a bit of a waste to spend three weeks fixing up a line that’s going to be torn up not long after, but I suppose track conditions have gotten so bad that it’s too late to avoid that.

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22. @Andrew:

    The SRT is reaching the end of its useful life not because the track requires reconstruction, but because the vehicles are close to 30 years old and are reaching the end of their useful lifespan. This is no different than our subway cars, which historically have been retired after 30-35 years on average. Steve, correct me if I’m wrong, but if Bombardier was still making Mark I cars, the TTC/City could have purchased a replacement fleet and the line would continue operating, much like our subways continue uninterrupted when the fleet changes. At the end of the day, if the TTC had not been forced by the Ontario government to change the SRT from an LRT line running PCCs to what we have today, there would be no shutdown required. To argue that the upcoming SRT reconstruction is a reason to avoid building other LRT lines is entirely misleading and ignores some very basic facts.

    Steve: Yes, if Mark I cars were still available, the TTC would have bought more of them long ago. If the SRT had been built as an LRT line (as originally proposed with CLRVs), there would also be no shutdown, although we would probably have seen a TTC gauge LRT network. Malvern would have had a rail transit connection at least 15 years ago, probably 20.

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23. Another point I forgot to mention in my response to Andrew is that the only reason the SRT is chronically overcrowded is because the TTC does not have any extra trainsets that it can add to the line. An extra two trains during rush hour would completely alleviate the overcrowding without clogging the line (trains run far enough apart today to accommodate another train or two).

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24. @Andrew: Another thing to consider is that the Transit City lines will have crossovers at various places along the line that would allow reverse-running when needed. This means that track replacement could be done on one track while operation can continue, at a reduced pace possibly augmented with buses, on the other track.

    How much of this will be used in practice remains to be seen, but it is one possibility.

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25. “This is assuming that the Transit City lines don’t suffer from chronic overcrowding problems 20 years from now and we aren’t talking about replacing them with subways”

    No, first we would build more Transit City lines on parallel major streets. Only when (roughly speaking) every original concession grid road has a LRT line and some of those are getting overcrowded would one seriously considering upgrading LRT to subway. It’s more than a little difficult to imagine what that would really look like though, since the ridership levels that could be handled by LRT on most major streets are far above what can be handled by the current system. I suspect if ridership was that high, the ridership as a percent of population would be high enough that promising to end the war on the car wouldn’t win one enough supporters to beat the Rhinoceros party candidate.

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26. @Leo

    On the subject of SRT shutdown, TTC is still considering acquiring buses made of stainless steel. Recently, New Flyer has offered the stainless steel option due to Montreal’s STM consider that option. Once the XD40s and XD60s hit the streets in 2013, it’ll reduce crowding for the SRT Shuttle in two years as well as heavy busier express routes (including the 131)

    I observed the 54 Lawrence East, maybe TTC could add more short turn branches because the route runs almost 5 minutes than Finch East. Maybe TTC should institute the 54 to use articulated buses perhaps?

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27. Preliminary information from Waterfront Toronto about the Queen’s Quay West project indicates that early utility work will start in May, and major construction in July. WFT expects to hold a public briefing with details of the construction staging in early May. Until now, the problem with nailing down the schedule has rested with utilities that were unwilling to commit to specific work dates. (This is not unlike the situation we encountered on St. Clair.)

    This is perhaps the most disturbing transit-related news since Rob Ford’s first day as mayor. The Queen’s Quay ROW reconstruction is a high-profile surface rail construction project, and it’s happening before any of the visible Transit City work gets going. As such, the cars’-rights crowd will be circling it like vultures, watching for a chance to build opposition to Eglinton & Sheppard & Finch.

    The TTC assured Torontonians that they learned the lessons of the St. Clair construction debacle, and that very different construction management practices are being used for the Transit City lines. If we’re looking at the same co-ordination problems on QQ, then they’re either not using these new practices for this line, which is just dumb, or they still don’t have the muscle required to get the utilities to stand in line, which doesn’t bode well for either the residents of QQ or the city at large.

    Either way, I’m worried. Like St. Clair, the QQ reconstruction is going to bring a more liveable and attractive public space for residents to enjoy, but we can’t afford another construction process that’s a slapdash, overlong mess.

    Steve: The QQ reconstruction is a Waterfront Toronto project, not a TTC project. To what extent the TTC’s St. Clair experience will inform the WFT project management team remains to be seen.

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28. Grzegorz Radziwonowski says:

    What would these improvements entail? Would they bring them to the level of the platforms on St. Clair (waste bins, updated shelter structure), or are they being full replaced (including the concrete)? Is it in preparation for the new legacy cars? If Spadina is fully closed, does the TTC have enough buses to provide shuttle service from Bloor to Queens Quay?

    Steve: This is certainly in preparation for the new LFLRVs, and I am going to chase down the specs for this work. Those stops are crowded enough as they are, but there’s no room to widen them, and more “furniture” in the form of fare machines could just make things worse.”

    Not sure if you guys have seen the tender for the work, it lists a couple of things that will be done on Spadina:

    The Commission requires the services of a Contractor to complete the Spadina streetcar line network accessibility and proof of payment infrastructure which includes but is not limited to modifying platform elevations to ensure they fall within the acceptable prescribed tolerances, modifying shelters for reinforcement, extending railing safety, way finding treatments for the visually impaired and providing electrical conduits for ticket vending machines.

    Link to tender

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29. In regards to the Queens Quay streetcar track repairs, it really makes me wonder why the 510 couldn’t just be re-routed to Exhibition Loop for the duration of the repair job instead of having a forced and unnecessary transfer at the Queens Quay/Spadina loop.

    Steve: Well, actually, most of the people on the 510 want to go to Union, not to the CNE. The big problem will be that there will be a more frequent service of 510s down at Queen’s Quay than the signals (notably at Lake Shore) are set up to handle. Of course a lot of them may short turn at King.

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30. The bustitution of the 509/510 on Queens Quay West at Union have the passengers disembark at Front. The buses then continue north on Bay to Adelaide, east to I presume Yonge, south to Wellington, and west back to Bay. Passengers then board south of Front.

    If they’re trying to disperse pedestrian traffic at Union, why not allow passengers to continue around the loop? They could transfer at King if they needed the subway, otherwise transfer with the King or even the Queen streetcars, provided the transfer was recognized there. Likewise, they could pick up passengers along the way to try and disperse the crowds transferring at Union.

    Wouldn’t a shorter loop, say west on Wellington, north on York, east on King and then south on Bay be more reliable. Granted, during rush hour it doesn’t really matter, but with all of that extra travelling with no passengers there’s more opportunity for potential problems along the way.

    Finally, given the space limitations at the Front & Bay intersection, coupled with the stop location for boarding the shuttle traffic tends to back up blocking traffic on Front St. as the shuttle is boarding. Having passengers board north of Front St. is a bit more of a hike, but at least there’s some room there for traffic to get around the bus.

    I doubt the TTC is endearing itself to motorists with this latest arrangement. Most seem oblivious to the fact they’re following a shuttle bus which is picking up the bulk of its passengers at that stop, don’t leave enough room and are stuck gridlocking the intersection. Of course pedestrians then have a free-for-all with north-south traffic stopped by the lights and east-west traffic blocked by southbound vehicles. Someone making a prohibited turn just makes the whole intersection more chaotic.

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31. I don’t know why the 509/510 replacement bus doesn’t simply go along Queens Quay, up York, and then loop at the end of Bremner, at the south entrance to Union station. There’s little traffic on Bremner here, and it would be a lot faster than trying to get the bus up Bay, and all the trouble of looping it an area with so much construction.

    At the same time, they could do the scheduled summer service increase on the Bay bus now, to provide service for those at Queens Quay/Bay (though surely it’s faster to just walk to Front!)

    Steve: The TTC probably does not want the long walking transfer that would be needed from the south entrance of Union Station to the subway. This would be a particular issue for anyone unfamiliar with the geometry of the railway station, not to mention those with accessibility issues.

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32. Just walked past in mid-afternoon. The northbound temporary stop is an accident waiting to happen. I couldn’t see any signage, but buses were dropping off people at the SE corner of Bay and Front, where Bay has only one northbound lane because of the construction.

    Because the bus completely blocks traffic, everyone was just pouring off the bus, in front of the bus, and into traffic against a red to get to Union (southbound was also not moving, but had been gridlocked behind a southbound bus).

    It’s very dangerous. And no TTC staff on the surface to direct people (at least mid-afternoon, I heard they are there in rush hour).

    It’s an accident waiting to happen. Can’t believe anyone would authorize this in the field.

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33. Steve wrote,

    “The QQ reconstruction is a Waterfront Toronto project, not a TTC project. To what extent the TTC’s St. Clair experience will inform the WFT project management team remains to be seen.”

    That is all well and good, but with a streetcar line running right through and part of the project, the public will see what they want to see, and the Fords will make sure that is in line with what they want them to see.

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34. Hey Steve

    Has the TTC finally nailed down a timeline for the track construction for the WFT project to move the tracks over to the side yet? I know the maintenance has begun but I wonder if the real project will be started soon.

    Steve: There is supposed to be a detailed project schedule from Waterfront Toronto in early May at which point we should know the timing of track construction. The track is not “moving over to the side”, but staying more or less where it is. What is changing is that the currently eastbound lanes of Queen’s Quay will become cycling and pedestrian areas with all motor traffic relocated north of the car tracks.

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35. I had a chance to stand around the Queen/Broadview NE corner a few weeks ago, and confirmed for myself that the switch is indeed plugged. I was mistaken. Oh well, at least I can stop keeping an eye out for a car turning from heading west on Queen to Broadview, when standing at the SW corner.

    Why would this be plugged? I thought it would be a very useful curve, particularly with Queen closed east of Russell – it would mean all the streetcars heading from Russell to Main Station (or Broadview too I assume) in the morning would have to head up Parliament.

    Steve: There is a concern with possible derailments on the curve, and the intersection generally has had slow orders on it. I believe it is scheduled for reconstruction soon, but have not seen a list for the 2013 projects yet.

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36. I guess there must be a good northbound service on Parliament Street then, first thing in the AM, with all the 504 and 505 cars heading to Broadview … I guess I’m not really heading in early enough in the AM to notice.

    Hmm, so what happens in a few weeks when all the cars are going to have to come out of Russell to Coxwell (I assume that’s the plan). North on Coxwell, west on Gerrard, south on Parliament, east on Dundas, north on Broadview? I guess it isn’t much worse than running them Queen to Parliament …

    Steve: That will be quite a challenge seeing that there is no south to east curve at Dundas and Parliament. There are many ways other to get to Broadview Station, but turning east on Dundas isn’t one of them.

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37. Oops … yes, I guess they’d do that Broadview/Dundas/Parliament/Gerrard loop clock-wise. Not thinking … I should know that given the lack of the south to east Parliament to Dundas curve is the cause of all those 506 detours down to Queen Street (and then through the heavily backed up Queen/Broadview intersection) every time there’s a problem on eastbound Gerrard between Parliament and Broadview.

    The absence of that curve remains a mystery to me, the intersection doesn’t seem particularly constrained, and there’s no regular service down Parliament that would inconvenience if that switch was being flakey. Surely it’s been inconvenciencing 506 detours for … well … heck, even since before you were born!

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