There are comparatively few service changes pending for the November-December 2016 schedules as it’s late in the year, and the TTC’s main concern is to constrain costs in anticipation of a revenue shortfall for 2016.
Construction Projects
Various diversions will end with this schedule period or shortly thereafter:
- Construction at St. Clair and St. Clair West Stations will be complete allowing:
- resumption of streetcar service over the full 512 St. Clair route,
- operation through the bus loop by 74 Mt. Pleasant and 88 South Leaside, and
- the interline between 126 Christie and 33 Forest Hill will be broken, and these routes will once again access St. Clair West Station Loop.
- Construction at Neville Loop will be complete allowing resumption of 501/301 Queen streetcar service to the east end of the line.
- Water main construction on Queen is expected to end by November 30 at which point the Queen car will return to its normal routing between Spadina and Shaw.
The list of routes affected by the Eglinton Crosstown project continues to grow, and additional running time will be provided on 7 Bathurst, 11 Bayview, 29 Dufferin, 33 Forest Hill, 56 Leaside and 90 Vaughan (the peak period 90B branch to Eglinton West Station will not operate). Generally speaking, these routes will not get added vehicles, but the headways will be stretched to accommodate congestion. The November 2016 changes only affect weekday schedules, but weekend changes will occur in the future.
Streetcar Shortage / Exhibition Loop
The continued shortage of streetcars will trigger the following arrangement for service to Exhibition Loop:
- 511 Bathurst will be operated with buses, and these will run through to the Exhibition grounds replacing the existing 509 shuttle service. Streetcars will return in early 2017 when vehicles will become available from bus substitutions elsewhere (notably the west end of 501 Queen) and from delivery of additional new cars.
- 509 Harbourfront cars will turn back at Fleet Loop until construction at Exhibition Loop completes in mid-December.
Trimming Service
Various routes and periods will see small changes to frequency of service to free up resources and reduce costs. The projected changes in loading on the affected routes remain within the Service Standards.
Routes 121 Front-Esplanade and 514 Cherry will be modified so that their hours of service match the standard 6 am to 1 am pattern (8 am on Sundays).
Christmas Period Schedules
The Christmas period for 2016-17 will be three weeks long because the holidays land on a weekend. Reduced service will operate through to the second weekend in January 2017 because schools will be closed for the first week of the year.
The TTC anticipates free transit service on New Year’s Eve, but has not yet announced a sponsor.
Steve Munro 
I understand that the TTC ‘formally’ evaluates new routes (like 514 and 121) both for frequency and for stop locations. Do these reviews get to the Board and are these changes the result of this review or just ‘tidying up’?
Steve: This is part of the “tidying up” which includes trims to several other routes as listed in the chart.
LikeLike
It would be a better idea if 7 Bathurst interlines with 511 Bathurst if operates from the same division with some buses terminating north at Bathurst station.
Steve: Considering how erratic service on 7 Bathurst is, the last thing folks need south of Bloor is an interline.
LikeLike
If there is still a streetcar shortage, why are they retiring some CLRVs already? Are they in such bad condition, that they can’t use duct tape and chewing gum to hold them together?
Do you have a list of retired CLRVs?
Steve: Yes, even the chewing gum and duct tape are wearing out. Also, they have pulled a number of cars for overhauls.
The status of the CLRV, ALRV, and Flexity fleets are available at the CPTDB site.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Now we finally have the details of the first step in John Tory’s “Ridership Reduction Strategy.”
My question is this: how much will these cuts save from the precious operating budget?
The timing of this announcement could be useful inasmuch as it is a slight taste of what is in store in a far bigger helping in 2017. Councillors talk about “efficiencies” as if these little trims around the margins of the services they never use are actually improvements. In November, the TTC will become more “efficient” through straight up service reductions on 16 routes. The page where it is announced even has the gall to be titled “Improvements and Changes.”
LikeLiked by 1 person
What is the status of the study of all routes in the Junction area which was to be conducted late (now?) this year?
Steve: No word. I will inquire.
LikeLike
The TTC 320 Yonge blue night can also be considered to be renumbered as 397 Yonge to match the daytime service that is operated by 97 Yonge.
LikeLike
And Steve, since Raymond asked about the review of the Junction area routes, do you know the status of the report on the Lawrence/Morningside area?
Steve: Asking about this one too.
LikeLike
What are you talking about? John Tory has resulted in the greatest increase in ridership in all of TTC history and virtually overnight too. The increase comes from the astronomical rise in ridership from those 12 and under and those claiming to be 12 and under. They don’t pay fare but the ridership still counts in theory even if not by the TTC and so, I suggest that you do your research before making completely false claims. Also the TTC is failing to count the massive amounts of fare evaders courtesy of it’s POP (Payless Option Plan) system and poor enforcement (I see fare enforcement officers more often sitting in McDonald’s and Tim Hortons and Starbucks than I see them on the TTC). Amen!
Steve: Actually, despite your cynicism, the actual situation is that the loss of fare-paying riders is bigger than it appears superficially because there is much more ridership by children than expected. These are counted in the totals, and they mask part of the overall decline.
LikeLike
Sure, a brilliant move by Mayor Tory. Kids are lazy and will now ride for free rather than walk a few blocks. Tory’s excuse “to help families get around” is typical BBS. The problem is kids alone and in groups filling up buses and leaving paying adults on the street waiting for another bus. BTW Don’t try to tell me it does not happen because I had to wait for FIVE buses (25 mins) on Eg West one school day at 3pm due to school kids getting on first and leaving no room for me and other adults. Bus continued to leave adults at other stops.
Anybody with any brains would have phased this in. Start outside rush hours only. Start when accompanied with an adult. One adult paying and one child free, additional children pay $1 cash. Once the effect of this is seen then perhaps go to two or more children per adult. Also, go to all hours _IF_ no capacity problems encountered. Allowing ALL children to ride free ALL the time WITHOUT proof of age is stupid! NEXT year by start of school year (about 11 months away) photo ID will be required. According to TV news story when that part was announced ALL children of ALL ages will require photo ID! How stupid can you get? In the case of Tory and the TTC, there is no limit. Imagine 5 year olds carrying photo ID or their parent carrying same for multiple kids and stopping to show driver! Brilliant!
LikeLike
I’m not sure which schools specifically are referred to here, but U of T (St. George and Scarborough campuses) and York U both start classes in the first week of January. Will service to those schools still be reduced in spite of thousands of students making their commutes?
Steve: It’s the elementary and secondary schools. Many routes have extra trips scheduled to coincide with peak loading times at major schools. The subway is also not as busy during this period, and “summer” service levels will operate on lines 2, 3 and 4.
LikeLike
Steve, is it safe to presume the December 31 completion date for Coxwell loop (still on the construction notice) and discontinuance of 22-70 interline will not be met, or has TTC showed their hand on that yet?
Steve: In the current service memo, the end of construction is still listed as January 2017. When the memo for January schedules comes out in early December, we will see what they are actually planning. In fact, the draft of that plan should already be circulating internally in the TTC (the draft is posted early for operators to review coming proposals), and “well informed” readers might want to let us know what’s in it.
LikeLike
The TTC should reinstate the child fare so that the TTC would get more money for improvements.
LikeLike
To help reduce delays on 47 Lansdowne during the Caledonia Station construction at Eglinton, it would be better if the all 47 Landowne cut back north at St. Clair with a new bus route named 18 Caledonia and operate from Yorkdale Station to Lansdowne Station along Bridgeland, Caledonia, Caledonia Park, Davenport, and Lansdowne and buses to loop south at Lansdowne Station via Paton, Emerson, and Bloor.
LikeLike
The TTC seems to be removing schedules at stops and replacing them with basically a blank schedule inviting riders to get their apps from Google and Apple, and contact the TTC via the twitters and facebooks. At Evans and Brown’s Line, the stop pole had three timetable holders, but every one held the “get the app!” posters. Same across the street.
Even the “text for next vehicle information” sticker is gone.
I don’t know if this is the best place for this information. It seems that the TTC figures it can cut down on stop schedule updates by sending everyone on-line. If you don’t have a smartphone, I guess you can stand around for a while. Possibly a long while. Maybe a bus will come. Maybe not until tomorrow. Get a smartphone, you poor wretch!
LikeLike
Actually, the new ‘timetable’ on the route I saw it on (512) gives slightly more information than the old ones, although it appears to show much less.*
The old sign had a list of the exact times for the early morning runs, which were less frequent. This was followed by the symbol “FS” for the main part of the day. “FS” meant Frequent Service i.e. 12 minutes or less. Finally there was a list of the evening schedule, which like the morning was less frequent.
Since the route now has all-day 10-minute service, the “FS” has expanded to cover the morning and evening lists, so the whole old timetable is covered in the note at the top of the new one :
The information about the apps in new and was not on the old form.
Hopefully the TTC will use this change to regulate the 10-minute network by headway rather than scheduled time.
* The TTC site has always listed every scheduled run and still does, but the timetables on the poles did not.
LikeLike
In reply to DavidAH, there’s zippo useful information on the new “schedules” if they’re not part of the 10-minute network. This pole had complete schedule information for three routes, 15 Evans, 123 Shorncliffe, and 315 Evans Night: https://cptdb.ca/uploads/monthly_2016_11/P1020174.JPG.a348cd5bbdcf8c695a8916cb3bf2c1fb.JPG
Now it says nothing at all. Three blank schedules (the third is on the other side of the pole) that tell you to get the app. Since these aren’t 10 minute routes, how long will you be waiting? Who knows! When is first and last service? Get a data plan! Where do the vehicles take you? Ride and find out! We’re not telling you otherwise.
Even the “text this number to get next vehicle information” sticker on the pole is gone.
And for the 512 schedule, I don’t think that brief notation is an improvement. I saw that style of “schedule” on Lake Shore, where the 501 is now part of the “ten minute network”. However, there’s 24 hour service, and there’s no timetable for that, and it obviously isn’t 10 minutes’ service at 4 AM. I want to know, if it’s early in the morning or late at night, when or if a vehicle will show up. The pole schedules used to show overnight times for the 301. Now it isn’t even mentioned.
I guess the TTC figures it can save lots of money by printing out a few generic placards — I wouldn’t call them schedules. One variety says “10 minute network” and gives start and finish of the 10 minute service. The other says nothing at all. If you are not on a 10-minute route, or outside of the 10-minute service window, you have no information unless you have a smartphone, an app, and a data plan.
But hey, the poles no longer have to be accurate or informative, or updated when service changes.
LikeLike
Once again, the entire “511 Bathurst” streetcar route will be using shuttle buses. Beginning on Sunday, November 20 and ending on Saturday, December 17, the TTC will be running shuttle buses on this route between Bathurst station and the Exhibition grounds. What warrants this service change?
This means that people going down to the Grey Cup festival by TTC- the Budweiser Game Day Fan Zone and/or the Grey Cup footbal game at BMO Field – will be taking these shuttle buses to get there. So will people taking the TTC to go to the One-of-a-Kind Christmas Show and Sale at the Enercare Centre, which runs from Thursday, November 24, until Sunday, December 4, 2016.
It won’t be until the second Sunday of the new year, January 8, 2017, that full streetcar service will be returning to the “511 Bathurst” route.
Steve: I would not count on streetcars returning in January, but will see what has been scheduled when the service change memo comes out.
LikeLike
Beginning on Sunday, November 20, streetcars on the “511 Bathurst” route will be replaced with frequently running shuttle buses.
Between the Bathurst station on the Bloor-Danforth subway line, the buses will follow the same course as the streetcars, however stopping on the side of the street (as with any bus route) at temporary bus stops. At the south end of the route, between Bathurst Street and Exhibition Place, they will replace the “509 Harbourfront” shuttle buses which run between Bathurst Street and the loop located just outside Princes’ Gates. These buses will run through Exhibition Place, passing the Enercare Centre, the Ricoh Coliseum, and the Horse Palace, then travelling eastbound on Fleet Street and Fort York Boulevard, before turning north on Bathurst Street. The course that these shuttle buses take is somewhat similar to the “511 Bathurst” express shuttle which supplements service on the “511 Bathurst” streetcar during the running of the Canadian national Exhibition.
When streetcars do eventually return to “511 Bathurst”, the rolling stock may include some new low-floor – and wheelchair-accessable – Flexity Outlook, but the majority of them (streetcars) will be CLRVs (and maybe some ALRVs).
LikeLike
This is the second time this year that shuttle buses are being used on the “511 Bathurst” route; the first time was from June 19 until July 30 when there was TTC track work at Bathurst and College Streets.
People choosing to take the TTC to get to Exhibition Place for the One-of-a-Kind Christmas Show and Sale (running from November 24 to December 4) and the Budweiser Gameday Fan Zone (part of the 2016 Grey Cup Festival) – both events taking place at the Enercare Centre – would likely be taking the “511 Bathurst” shuttle buses to get there.
They (the shuttle buses) don’t have either the seating capacity (they carry about 50 passengers compared to 75 on a streetcar) or the 360-degree view from the windows which you would have with a streetcar (only 270 degree view from bus windows). However, they run more frequently and are wheelchair accessible. The low-floor Flexity Outlook streetcars run on the “510 Spadina” (now fully converted to them although a few CLRVs ran on Santa Claus Parade day), the “509 Harbourfront”, and most recently a few on the the new “514 Cherry” route; passengers aboard the Flexity streetcars get an even more spectacular view of the streetscape through the windows than the CLRV and ALRV streetcars.
When are streetcars expected to return to the “511 Bathurst” route? When will the new Flexities run on this (511 Bathurst) route?
Steve: From recent comments at the TTC, I get the impression that filling out the Flexity service on Harbourfront and especially on Cherry will come before Bathurst. A lot of the timing depends on whether Bombardier actually ramps up production in Aptil 2017.
LikeLike
Streetcars are expected to return to the “511 Bathurst” route the weekend of January 20-22, 2017. That is just in time for the Toronto International Boat Show at the Enercare Centre and Ricoh Coliseum, which runs from January 20-29. By that time, construction on the retaining wall separating the GO Transit “Exhibition” station and TTC’s Exhibition Loop will be complete.
In the mean time, shuttle buses are continuing to run on this (“511 Bathurst”) route between Bathurst Station on the Bloor-Danforth subway line and the loop located just outside the Princes Gates, making frequent stops on the curbside of Bathurst Street and Fleet Street. This past Sunday, extra shuttle buses were added to this route – some of them articulated – to meet the increased demand for those heading to the Grey Cup festival and the game at the BMO Field; fans rode on theme for free after the game. Many people taking the TTC to get to the One-of-a-Kind Christmas Show and Sale are riding on these (“511 Bathurst” shuttle buses).
LikeLike
What’s going to happen to TTC’s monthly Metropass in 2017? How long will it continue before it is phased out?
Steve: Just yesterday the TTC tweeted that the Metropass would continue to be available through 2017. Although that thread does not mention a date, it will be at least until September according to Chris Upfold at a recent meeting.
LikeLike
When are streetcars expected to return to the “511 Bathurst” route, which is currently using shuttle buses? Which models – CLRV, ALRV, Flexity Outlook?
Steve: (Revised Dec. 7 at 10:10 am) The TTC has no confirmed date for the return of streetcars to Bathurst.
LikeLike
Today, I talked to the driver of one of the shuttle buses currently running on the “511 Bathurst” route. I asked him, how much longer will these shuttle buses on this route? He replies, “They will be around until February of 2017.”
Streetcars will, hopefully, return to the “511 Bathurst” route in February, just in time for The Artist Project, a contemporary art fair at the Better Living Centre, Exhibition Place, running February 23-26, 2017.
LikeLike