The TTC will implement a number of service changes on February 16, 2020, but this is a comparatively minor set including the end of construction and resumption of normal routes for three projects:
- Davisville Station paving, Lawrence Station paving, and Runnymede Station easier access construction (79 Scarlett Road only).
There will be changes to some services on Don Mills on weekends as the provision for effects of Metrolinx construction is reduced. No other routes are affected, nor is any weekday service.
So-called reliability improvements continue to work their way through the system. The predominant effect is to stretch available buses over longer running times with corresponding reduction in scheduled service levels. Routes affected in this round are:
- 21 Brimley, 53/953 Steeles East local and express, 54 Lawrence East, 116 Morningside, 129 McCowan North, 505 Dundas, 945 Kipling Express
The peak bus fleet in regular service goes down by 5 in the AM peak and up by 5 in the PM peak, and so this month is a wash in terms of vehicles used. However, the reliability changes mean that buses on the affected routes are scheduled for slower driving speeds and/or longer times for recovery at terminals.
505 Dundas is a particularly odd case because the route is already notorious for having multiple buses taking extended layovers at terminals. The “new” schedule reverts back to October 2018 when running times were even more generous than they are today. Streetcars will return at the next schedule change on March 29, and if they have as generous travel times as the buses, congestion at Broadview and Dundas West Stations will become even worse than it is today.
Steve Munro 
Why on earth is the 116A getting extra running time, especially that much?? It has long layovers at both ends anyways, and it never blends properly with the 116C.
They have 120 mins running time with 4 buses for a 30 min headway in the peak period. You could drop a bus and the running time and STILL have the same headway.
LikeLike
The 505 has generally been run on headways rather than schedule for the most part because of the scheduled running time being too short. However, the headway is usually too wide given the number of buses (5min – 7min), hence the rampant bunching at the stations. There is often a fair amount of short turns after the pm peak as buses are transitioned back to scheduled operation. Not the most efficient operation, obviously.
Steve: Now that I have the bus tracking data for Dundas, I will compare what is actually happening with what you report.
LikeLike
Sigh… I think the TTC needs to deem the frequent transit network 15 minutes or better.
LikeLike
These changes don’t go far enough to improve service it’s horrible and unacceptable pass a car tax or gridlock tax.
LikeLike
Interesting if you look all the way down in the board update that Queen-Queensway-Roncesvalles construction as vanished from the report.
Steve: And if you look all the way down in the tables linked from my post, you will see that it has been postponed to 2021. The reason is that planned work on Dundas from College westward would completely isolate the west end if KQR were under construction at the same time.
LikeLike
Crosstown construction at Don Mills/Eglinton of lane closures “will begin as early as February 7, 2020 and continue for approximately two (2) months
And incidentally, 25, 925 and 34 will be slowed by loss of transit lanes and turn lanes.
Steve: Sounds like Service Planning and Crosslinx are just a teensy weensy bit out of sync on this!
LikeLike
Steve, beginning on Sunday, March 29, streetcars will return to the “505 Dundas” route after two years of temporary bus replacement. On the same date, the “511 Bathurst” route will switch to temporary bus replacement, ahead of the scheduled date for track construction; streetcars will be taken off this route and replaced with buses. These projects include the replacement of track at Front Street, on the Bathurst Street Bridge. What is the precise date for this construction to begin? How many weeks will this temporary bus replacement last?
Streetcars should and will likely (make a brief) return to “511 Bathurst” in time for the running of the Canadian National Exhibition (CNE), as many people taking the TTC to the CNE take the “511 Bathurst” route to get to and from this annual event; also, they (streetcars) transport a lot more people than buses.
What’s the starting date for track construction at Dundas Street West from College Street to Sorauren? This project would require temporary bus replacement on sections of the “505 Dundas”, “506 Carlton”, and “504 King” routes – and release some streetcars.
Steve: The city has not yet posted construction notices for the 2020 construction projects. TOInview has generic time periods of Q2-Q3 for Bathurst, and later in the year for Dundas and Howard Park.
The project on Dundas and Howard Park does not include the intersection at Roncesvalles, and so the 504 King service should not be affected.
LikeLike
Steve, TTC track work on Bathurst Street from Front Street West to Fort York Boulevard, which includes the Bathurst Street Bridge, is scheduled for the spring; there is also track work scheduled for a stretch of Bathurst Street north of Queen Street West.
Beginning on Sunday, March 29, the “511 Bathurst” route switches to temporary bus replacement, which is AKA (also known as) ‘shuttle bus operation’. Streetcars will be taken off this route, and replaced with shuttle buses; although they have far less seating capacity than (the new low-floor Flexity Outlook) streetcars, these shuttle buses will be more frequent; also the shuttle buses use the same type of transfer as the older streetcars (the CLRVs and their double-length cousins the ALRVs) which were retired last year.
Steve: Yes, we know all of this already. I am getting tired of your repetitive comments and questions.
LikeLike
I’ve taken a look at the schedule change dates for the year. It looks lake “511 Bathurst” will start operating with buses starting Sunday, March 29, in time for track work on the Bathurst Street Bridge, and continue to operate with buses until June 20 (streetcars to return to this route June 21), in time for the start of the busy tourist season. In late summer – August 21 to September 7 – there is the running of the Canadian National Exhibition (CNE), and ridership on the “511 Bathurst” route is expected to increase, and the new low-floor Flexity Outlook streetcar has the most seating capacity of TTC surface vehicles. A schedule change – September 6 – date falls during the running of the CNE – which means a switch back to bus operation. In the past, when there was a schedule change date during the CNE, the TTC would either wait until the CNE ended before the (“511 Bathurst”) route switched back to bus operation (September 3, 2017) or switch to bus operation but leave some streetcars running on this route until the (September 2, 2018).
Steve: This is a perfectly normal state of affairs. There is always a schedule change on Labour Day weekend when fall brings a return to “winter” service levels and restores school trips that are cut in May and June. The last two days of the CNE always fall in the September Board period, and if buses are planned for that, the TTC runs streetcar extras depending on the demand. There was a time when the CNE had its own schedule period with a lot of extra scheduled service, but as attendance dropped over the years, added service is operated by extras as needed.
There is a track project planned on Dundas and Howard Park west of Lansdowne to High Park that will free up some streetcars for Bathurst during the summer. I have not seen the plans for replacement services yet.
LikeLike
Steve, I looked at the TTC streetcar tracks on Dundas Street West, west of Lansdowne Avenue using Google maps, and the condition of the tracks at this intersection has deteriorated in recent years. The concrete around the tracks is breaking up in several places. This upcoming summer, there is track work planned. This means taking streetcars off the western portion of the “505 Dundas” route which switches to streetcar operation on Sunday, March 29, 2020 – on the same day the “511 Bathurst” switches to temporary bus replacement – and replacing them with temporary bus replacement. This work begins with breaking up the concrete around the old track with jackhammers, then removing the old track.
I looked at the streetcar tracks on Howard Park from Dundas Street over to the High Park loop, and they are breaking up – and severed in a few places. There is track work planned this upcoming summer. This would mean taking the streetcars off the western portion of the “506 Carlton” route from Lansdowne Avenue to the High Park Loop, and replacing them with buses. This would free up some streetcars for the “511 Bathurst” route in time for the CNE.
This will free up streetcars to use on “511 Bathurst” in time for the Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) which runs from August 21 to September 7, 2020.
Steve: Actually, according to the March 29 service change notice, work on the Bathurst Street bridge at Front is planned to run through to the end of the year. This will prevent streetcars from serving the Ex via Bathurst this year. I have asked the TTC for the CNE service plan this year, but have not heard back yet.
LikeLike
Steve, according to your latest reply: Visitors to the Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) planning to take the “511 Bathurst” route to and from the fair will be getting a bumpier, less comfortable ride as that route will operate with buses as opposed to streetcars.
LikeLike