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TTC Service Changes Effective Sunday, October 9, 2016

October 2016 brings relatively few changes in TTC service. The details are listed in the spreadsheet linked below.

Highlights:

  • One person train operation begins on 4 Sheppard Subway.
  • 506/306 Carlton reverts to its standard routing with streetcar operation following completion of track, water main and streetscaping on the west end of the route.
  • 502/503 services on Kingston Road revert to bus operation due to full streetcar operation on 506.
  • 501 Queen will be cut back to Woodbine Loop with a bus shuttle to Neville during reconstruction of Neville Loop. Normal streetcar service via Queen between Spadina and Shaw will resume.
  • One car will be removed from 505 Dundas during peak and early evening periods, and running times will be shortened accordingly, to reduce queuing of cars at terminals.
  • 510 Spadina schedules reorganized to match actual street conditions. Although on paper this shows as a service cut, the actual service operated has not been as good as advertised.
  • Service on Main Street will be reorganized with 64 Main operating only south from Danforth to Queen. Service north of Main Station will be provided by 62 Mortimer and 87 Cosburn (which is part of the 10 minute network).
  • Schedules on 36 Finch West, 60 Steeles West and 196 York University Rocket will be adjusted to reflect the end of subway construction activities.
  • Service on 91 Woodbine will be reorganized so that the Parview Hills branch is now operated by a separate route 93. All service on the 91 will now operate to York Mills, and the 91B peak service to Lawrence will be dropped.
  • Schedules on 165 Weston Road North reorganized for reliability with additional running time.

2016.10.09_Service_Changes

25 thoughts on “TTC Service Changes Effective Sunday, October 9, 2016”

  1. Is someone along Avenue Road superstitious about the number 13? Is that why 5 Avenue Road is not being renumbered to 13 Avenue Road?

    Is superstition the reason behind reducing the 4 Sheppard Subway from two-person operation to one-person operation?

    (Sarcastic)

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  2. Interesting that after all these years, 91A is being cleaved off to be its own route. Makes sense really. I would think that could also apply to other similar services such as the Trethewey branch of 32 EGLINTON WEST, the Rexdale Blvd. branch of 37 ISLINGTON, even the Belfield branch of 45 KIPLING, as off the top of my head examples

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  3. I assume the 93 will continue to use the 91 platform once the Woodbine bus terminal re-opens. A couple of years ago, they could have allocated the layover space to it, but when the station reopens the layover space will be gone and there will only be two platforms.

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  4. Do you know when the Neville Park loop construction will end?

    Steve: The Woodbine short turn is only scheduled for one period, to mid-November, and the work will likely finish before then.

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  6. Hello Steve,

    Long time reader, seldom poster 🙂

    I was wondering if you could update us on your thoughts on your old articles regarding MoveOntario 2020 & The Big Move. You seemed really excited back in the day.

    I know not much progress has taken place since these plans were released. But I’m sure a recap of these plan and a progress report on what has been started and what has been abandoned would be interesting to all your readers.

    Great work Steve.

    Dan.

    Steve: I plan to turn to the “New” Big Move and related issues after the film festival is over and I have time to devote to this. So far, Metrolinx has been very short on details.

    Of course, if the Minister needs a photo op, they will just rewrite the plan to suit.

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  7. Steve, have you heard about any other routes that will get revised in the near future similar to 64 or 91?

    Steve: No, but it would not surprise me. I know that the TTC has been thinking about this sort of thing for a while. In a small way, it fits into their search for “efficiency” too.

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  9. I am assuming that the statement “Single step-back at Yonge during all periods.” means that there are 5 crews to run the 4 trains, so the saving is 3 crew at all times.

    Steve: Well, there is a saving of three employees relative to the eight who would operate the four trains without step-back. However, turnarounds at Don Mills won’t be instantaneous given that the single driver has to walk the length of the four-car train. The saving is obviously proportionately higher on a longer route, but there will have to be double step backs to provide enough time both for changing ends and answering calls of nature within the constraints of a longer walk and a shorter headway.

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  10. The TTC could also reroute 501 Queen into Bingham Loop which would temporarily replace 502 Downtowner and 22A Coxwell.

    Steve: The night car is going to Bingham, but the daytime service is ending at Woodbine Loop. There is no point in changing schedules for three routes.

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  11. I’m curious how the 91/92/93 will interact at Woodbine Station with the reduction of 3 platforms to 2.

    I’m always surprised that 91 terminates at York Mills not far from Don Mills Road, rather than simply running it up the relatively uncongested piece of Don Mills Road to Don Mills station. I’d have thought that bit of extra mileage, would have increased the reverse-direction 91 ridership.

    Though perhaps I’m biased, as I used to live near Woodbine station and work near Graydon Hall Drive.

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  12. Presto or no Presto, I think that the TTC absolutely must get rid of the POP as it’s being heavily abused with very little fare enforcement and it’s also costing the TTC in enforcement costs. Today, I saw two TTC fare inspectors in uniform sitting at a Starbucks and they were there from before I arrived and still there when I left about two hrs later and it would be unusual to have a break that long but possibly their shift had been finished or not yet started. How much does it cost the TTC annually to have all these fare inspectors?

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  13. I think some of the readers here are overthinking the situation the the new 93 route at Woodbine Station. Seriously does a bus that comes every 20-30 minutes need it’s own platform?

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  14. “I’m always surprised that 91 terminates at York Mills not far from Don Mills Road, rather than simply running it up the relatively uncongested piece of Don Mills Road to Don Mills station. I’d have thought that bit of extra mileage, would have increased the reverse-direction 91 ridership.”

    Studies were done on a number of routes and possible connections to the 4 SHEPPARD subway. Quite a few ‘no brainers’ were discounted as “no passenger demand” or similar dismissive terms, justified or not. Running 91 WOODBINE was studied if memory serves correct, but rejected as being impractical. Routes such as 115 SILVER HILLS, rerouting to Leslie Stn. and even 10 VAN HORNE to the same station were thought about and then dismissed. That may explain the extra bays at Leslie Stn.

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  15. So the Bingham-to-Long-Branch night car rides again? Seems a pity that it isn’t in effect for Nuit Blanche.

    As for moaning about “losses” generated by POP, there always was fare evasion: people entering through the back doors, people entering via vehicle entrances at subway stations, and people using expired or discarded transfers. I doubt it’s any worse today. At least with POP, a fare inspector can demand to see your POP. In the old days, not only were there no inspectors, you didn’t need POP, so once you were on the vehicle, you were pretty much scot-free.

    I do find it interesting that the TTC seems quite concerned about the “lost revenue” if it moves to a two-hour fare window, while apparently not saying much about POP or fare evasion. This seems to be selective attention.

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  16. At least with POP, a fare inspector can demand to see your POP. In the old days, not only were there no inspectors, you didn’t need POP, so once you were on the vehicle, you were pretty much scot-free.

    The best thing for operators is that they no longer have to really enforce fare problems/disputes which often causes a dangerous situation for the operator. Transit police can handle that as fare inspectors. I doubt the TTC would hire enough though. When I left Toronto in 2004, the ALRVs were established for quite a while with rear door entry along 501 QUEEN. Even though I used the line frequently, I never came across fare inspectors. My first week in Ottawa, and I was twice on an articulated bus that was boarded by inspectors. Priorities…

    Steve: The TTC kvetches about lost revenue, but they kvetch even more about hiring staff.

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  17. Still infrequent, crappy service on the 91 Woodbine. Now coming every 23 minutes for a nice long 30 minute run to the subway.

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  18. Diana Avon | September 16, 2016 at 7:13 pm

    “Still infrequent, crappy service on the 91 Woodbine. Now coming every 23 minutes for a nice long 30 minute run to the subway.”

    Every 23 minutes, that is an easy schedule to memorize. has the TTC not heard of clock face scheduling, i.e. the bus will be at my stop on the 13 and 43 after every hour.

    Steve: The TTC does clockface, except when it doesn’t work for them.

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  19. Steve: The TTC does clockface, except when it doesn’t work for them.

    And in fairness, clockface is legitimately problematic for routes with relatively low numbers of vehicles unless you get luck with run-time.

    Steve: I think the annoyance is that there was a time when the TTC would stay on clockface headways, but when this would cost them an extra bus, they stretched the headways instead.

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  20. How much money will one train operation save? Why not extend it throughout the subway system? In the 21st century where Google can have cars drive themselves on highways, why can the TTC not find a way for the TTC to have automatic door operation?

    Steve: Trains for one person crews are being modified with video monitors so that the driver can see the entire train. This is comparatively easy for the new TRs which are already wired for video, but not as simple for the older trains. There are about 600 subway operators, and if we save 50% of them, that’s 300 positions or an annual saving of about $27 million (taking the full cost of one operator including benefits at $90k). I suspect that the Yonge line will not convert to one-person crews until the changeover to the new signal system and opening of the TYSSE are both out of the way.

    Also, automatic operation, of course, is not going to be possible on BD for about a decade, and so that’s a moot point for the BD line.

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  21. What division will operate the 502/503 bus and the 501 Neville Park bus?

    Steve: The 501 shuttle and the 502/503 buses will run from Birchmount.

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  22. Steven asks “Seriously does a bus that comes every 20-30 minutes need it’s own platform?”

    Probably not, but it’s no unusual to see a 91 and two 92s there now in the summer, when there’s very frequent 92 service to the beach. It remains unclear how this is going to function with only 2 platforms – and that’s before this delinking of the 91 and 93 schedule.

    TTC was adamant that 2 platforms were sufficient during the public comment stage of this project, and I was adamant, they had their head up their imagination, based on then-current usage.

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  23. According to the TTC website, the 501 Queen diversion via Shaw, King and Spadina, which was expected to end in October, will continue until December.

    Steve: Yes, but without the additional running time that was previously in the schedule for the diversion. Should be a messy few months. Thanks to Toronto Water for running over their schedule, as usual.

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  24. Well, TTC crews right now are busy replacing track on Queen Street around Strachan Ave. Not sure if this is planned or opportune work.

    Steve: Opportune. This time of year, it is common to see a lot of fix-up jobs that don’t take too long such as stop replacements.

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  25. It would be even faster if the TTC used precast concrete for things like stop replacements. I don’t know why they don’t.

    Steve: The road specs are up to the city, not the TTC. I think that the concern about precast slabs would be winter performance.

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