Month: September 2023

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Line 3 SRT Replacement Service and Derailment Investigation

The TTC Board received a presentation at its September 26, 2023, meeting updating the information in the report published with the agenda. The first part deals with plans for the Line 3 bus replacement service and gives additional details beyond those previously announced.

The shift to using all of the Red Lanes on Ellesmere, Midland and Kennedy is planned for November 19.

The travel time today is considerably higher than when the RT was operating (second bar in the chart on the right below). This will be reduced with the elimination of transfers at STC between feeder routes and the 903 shuttle service together with the full transit priority implementation in mid-November. Further saving is expected when buses shift to a busway in the SRT corridor.

On November 19, eight routes will be extended to Kennedy Station to eliminate the need to transfer to the 903 shuttle.

The most disappointing part of the presentation is the timeline overview which shows the opening date for the busway in the SRT corridor as 2026. Design work is underway to be completed in 2024 with construction in 2025 aiming at a mid-2026 opening date.

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Streetcar Diversion Update, Sept. 24, 2023

The weekend of Sept 23-24 saw another shuffle in the streetcar diversion list on which I last reported a few weeks ago. This round of changes is triggered by two events:

  • Metrolinx work on the Lakeshore East corridor at Queen & Degrassi streets prevents streetcar operation through the underpass, and at times the road will be closed to all traffic.
  • Toronto Hydro work on Queen West has completed to the point that streetcars are no longer diverting via King Street through Parkdale.

Services now operating on Queen Street include:

  • 501L (aka 507) Queen bus from Long Branch to Dufferin. These buses do not appear on transit apps.
  • 501B Queen bus from Bathurst to Broadview & Gerrard, with downtown diversion around Ontario Line construction.
  • 501 Queen streetcar from Sunnyside Loop to McCaul Loop.
  • 501D (aka 513) Queen bus from Victoria Street (looping via Church, Richmond and Victoria) to Neville Loop. These buses appear on transit apps as 513 Queen East.
  • 503 Kingston Road bus between the Don River and Kingston Road.

During certain periods, the underpass at Degrassi will be closed to all traffic and the 501/503/513 services will divert via Broadview, Dundas and Carlaw.

Complete closures are planned for Sunday, September 24 all day, and from Friday, September 29 at 10pm to Monday, October 2 at 4am.

The 504 King car operates only west of Distillery Loop pending completion of road and track construction on Broadview from Gerrard to Broadview Station Loop. Heavy construction at the loop will begin on Monday, September 25. Paving in the curb lanes on Broadview south of Danforth has begun following completion of track work.

The 72A Pape bus serving King Street East will use the same diversion around Queen & Degrassi as the Queen services, and will not serve stops south of Dundas nor on Queen east of Broadview during periods when the underpass is closed.

The 505 Dundas car no longer serves Queen Street East except between Coxwell and Woodbine Loop. It now operates via Broadview, Gerrard, Coxwell and Queen to Kingston Road.

There is no map of the current route arrangement in the east end on the TTC’s Streetcar Service Changes page, and some maps for 505 Dundas reflect its route before the shift north to Gerrard Street. The 505 Dundas section also still includes a reference to the 506C bus from Castle Frank Station which no longer operates.

The 506 Carlton car is unchanged with normal service except at the west end where cars divert to Dundas West Station due to water main construction on Howard Park Avenue.

Routes 509 Harbourfront, 510 Spadina and 511 Bathurst are operating normally.

Route 512 St. Clair will remain a bus operation until summer 2024 for various construction projects.

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TTC Board Meeting Preview: September 26, 2023

The TTC Board will meet at Scarborough Council Chambers at 10:00 am on September 26, 2023. This will be the first meeting of the reconstituted Board under Mayor Chow’s administration. Among the reports on the agenda are:

The agenda also includes a report Update on TTC’s Partnership Approach to Community Safety, Security and Well-Being on Public Transit. I will address this in a separate article.

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Streetcar Queues at Spadina Station

Updated September 19, 2023 at 6:40 pm: According to the Financial and Major Projects Update on the TTC Board agenda for September 26, 2023:

Detailed Design Review (100%) for the Spadina Station – Streetcar Platform Extension is underway and expected to be completed by Q3 2023.

Nearby redevelopment planned to occur in the near future will provide access to the tunnel structure for platform expansion.

Regular riders of the 510 Spadina will be familiar with long, sometimes very long, intervals spent waiting in the tunnel outside of Spadina Station just for their car to move onto the platform and discharge passengers.

This is the compound effect of several factors:

  • The Flexity streetcars are too long for two of them to be on the platform at once (as the former CLRV cars could be) with one loading and the other unloading.
  • The Flexitys cannot selectively open doors, except for the very front one, to serve riders while only partly on the platform.
  • A common situation at this station is for a car to wait on the platform while the operator takes a bathroom break or waits for a relief crew to show up.
  • The running times on the 510 schedule are generous enough that there is usually time to sit at Spadina Station rather than leaving immediately.
  • During some periods, service that would normally operate to Union Station is cut back to Queens Quay or Charlotte Loop giving cars even more surplus running time.
  • When service on Spadina is bunched and a parade of cars reaches Spadina Station, only one car can use the platform while those behind wait in the tunnel.

This situation cries out for better line management and scheduling, including shifting away from a strict adherence to “on time” cars and a move to dispatching on a regular headway to avoid backlogs. Step back crews would be essential in allowing cars to leave as quickly as possible while operators had their breaks. (Note that breaks are generally not taken at Union because it is a busy station serving two routes.)

As things are, much of the benefit for riders of a reserved lane on Spadina can be undone by the operation at Spadina Station.

During the month of August 2023, 510 Spadina service to Union did not operate on the following days so that all service at Union could be provided by 509 Harbourfront cars to Exhibition Loop:

  • Saturday, August 5 from about 8am to 8pm during the Caribbean Carnival.
  • Friday, August 18 onward from about 10am to 8pm during the CNE.

In an attempt to see just how bad this problem was, I built a fine-grained “map” of Spadina Station Loop for my usual route analysis programs. This includes screenlines at:

  • The loop entrance where the north and southbound tracks divide
  • The east end of the station platform
  • The west end of the station platform

This allows plotting of how long cars spent queued in the tunnel, and how long they sat on the platform. Unfortunately, it is not possible to resolve the difference between cars sitting at the loading area at the west end of the platform and those almost, but not quite, on the platform to unload.

(The reason for this is that the TTC’s “Vision” tracking system does not accurately map car positions inside the station. Indeed, cars sometimes appear to reverse within the station according to the GPS data. This is likely due to the problem of getting accurate GPS info underground.)

This is a route that should have more reliable service given its operation entirely in reserved lanes, and it certainly should not make riders wait five minutes or more just for a car to reach the platform at Spadina Station.

The TTC’s Real Estate Investment Plan includes an item for expansion of the platform at Spadina Station, but it is not clear that this applies to the streetcar platform. With the current tight budget it is hard to see this sitting near the top of the pile for funding.

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Yet Another 501 Queen Diversion

The TTC has announced a diversion of 501 Queen streetcar service between Roncesvalles and Shaw via King due to Toronto Hydro work at Gladstone Avenue.

This diversion took some at TTC by surprise. I was alerted to it by a reader [with thanks] who received a notice from Hydro of an impending project and streetcar service suspension “as per TTC approval”. This was not mentioned in the September Service Planning memo, and when I asked the TTC, nobody seemed to know anything about it.

The services now operating on Queen are:

  • 501L/B Queen bus from Long Branch to Broadview & Gerrard, with downtown diversion around Ontario Line construction.
  • 501 Queen streetcar from Sunnyside Loop to McCaul Loop diverting via King and Shaw through Parkdale.
  • 503 Kingston Road bus between the Don River and Kingston Road.
  • 505 Dundas between Broadview and Woodbine Loop at Kingston Road.

Needless to say, this arrangement completely bamboozles trip prediction apps, although transsee.ca makes a valiant attempt to keep up with the situation.

This will change on September 22/23 with the closure of Queen East at Degrassi for Metrolinx work on the GO corridor, and, in theory, completion of the Hydro work on Queen West. Stay tuned for updates.

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New Metrics for a New TTC

With the changing of the guard in the Mayor’s Office and a shift in the political balance of the TTC Board, it is time to blow the dust off of the metrics in the TTC CEO’s Report and elsewhere. I have written about aspects of this before, and will not belabour earlier arguments. However, in an era of recovery, we need to show what this is actually happening, and that we are getting good use out of the transit infrastructure, notably a large vehicle fleet, that we already own.

The areas of particular interest are:

  • Ridership, demand and crowding on routes
  • Service quantity and reliability
  • Fleet availability, usage and reliability

The CEO’s Report is replete with “Key Performance Indicators” (KPIs), a favourite tool of lazy managers to give the impression a complex organization and process can be reduced to a handful of simple numbers. Either “up” or “down” is considered “good”, and as long as the lines move in the correct direction, gold stars are handed out like confetti. Rarely, if ever, is the underlying process, the product, or the real meaning of the KPIs discussed.

A subtle, pervasive issue for TTC KPIs is the focus on top line numbers for ridership and revenue. This is akin to a restaurateur who counts the receipts and the number of meals sold without asking what brings diners to the door, or even worse, whether they will come back. The goal is to sell more meals, preferably at a low cost. Advertising, not word of mouth, generates new, if not lasting, trade.

Ridership is a rough measure of system use and a point of comparison for post-pandemic recovery, but it does not tell the whole story. Already we know that the bus network which is mainly based in the suburbs has recovered much of its pre-pandemic demand, although this is not distributed the same way with shifts in peak periods and in travel patterns. Off peak recovery is stronger than peak, in part because “work from home” affects less than half of the total demand, and non-work trips still occur.

Even “growth” can be misleading. In pre-pandemic times, the TTC routinely celebrated year-over-year riding growth even while the rate of growth slowed and eventually stalled. A problem flagged at the time was that growth occurred disproportionately in the off-peak where there was surplus capacity. That capacity filled up, but thanks to budget constraints service did not expand to match.

This shows the danger of looking at a single, simple number without understanding the detailed system behaviour, or even worse, of using the simple metric to hide a growing problem. Trimming capacity to demand can be a vicious cycle that prevents growth.

The phrase “subject to budget availability” is a standard caveat on any goals, and it has haunted TTC planning for years, well before the pandemic. That might be a basic part of corporate management, but over many years it has become the foundation of TTC reality. Aim low because aiming higher will cost too much.

This speaks to the split nature of TTC goals. It is supposed to provide transportation, and the motto “Service, Courtesy, Safety” is emblazoned on the TTC’s coat of arms. However, the TTC Board sees its primary role as serving its political masters at Council and especially the Mayor.

I wrote about TTC culture and that motto back in 2010. For context, this was before Andy Byford became CEO, let alone Rick Leary.

The common problem with many KPIs the TTC publishes is that they are one dimensional and report only average values of major variables. They do not necessarily reflect what riders see nor give a sense of the shortfall between what the system achieves and what could be possible.

I have said this before: riders do not experience “average” trips any more than diners in a restaurant experience an “average” meal. A four-star restaurant might outdo itself with a plateful of magic from the kitchen, but an off day could bring overcooked, lukewarm food and indifferent treatment by the wait staff. Getting it right most of the time doesn’t warrant four stars. Getting it right only some of the time doesn’t warrant any. The diners are paying for all four.

On occasion, I am asked how I would change the TTC’s KPIs to better show what is happening. My first response is that many aspects of a transit system cannot be reduced to one-dimensional metrics that compress all of the vital details into simplistic averages.

TTC needs to focus its performance metrics on service-related factors, direct measures of what riders experience. Average values will not do, and the Board needs to understand what these numbers mean. Providing tolerable service on most routes a good deal of the time is not an advertisement for “the better way”. Provide attractive, reliable service and riders will follow.

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TTC Chair Seeks Director of TTC Policy

An unusual advertisement appeared recently on the website of Councillor Jamaal Myers, the new Chair of the TTC Board. Myers seeks, in effect, an assistant to the Chair with the title “Director of Transit Policy”. The position would be within his Councillor’s Office at City Hall, not within the TTC organization.

Updated Sept. 18, 2023: Although the job title in the linked advertisement is “Director of Transit Policy”, the title in Councillor Myers’ tweet and the main link on his website says “TTC Policy”.

The Director of Transit Policy will support the Chair in managing corporate, operational and administrative duties and functions, and in triaging, addressing and navigating contentious issues toward the achievement of the Chair’s priorities and the TTC’s mandate.

Key accountabilities in this role include building highly effective relationships with TTC management and employees, TTC Board members, City Councillors, public servants and TTC riders; representing the Chair in meetings as required; and leading and/or participating in high profile and sensitive projects and initiatives.

An extensive list of qualifications and experience suggests that Myers seeks someone with deep history in the municipal bureaucracy, and it is hard to avoid thinking that this is tailor-made for someone who has been here before.

Functionally, this is not a new position. Various people have acted as the Chair’s “go to” person for transit over the years. However, the formal title and the implication that this role will be hands-on in coordination and direction of the Chair’s initiatives is a definite change.

The challenge will be how to fit within existing structures including both TTC and City management, not to mention the political context of the TTC Board, Council and the Mayor’s Office.

Depending on the ambitions of whoever is chosen, there could be leadership tension between the new Policy Director and the Chair, or even confusion of who speaks for the Chair’s Office, let alone for the TTC overall. The job title alone could provoke confusion.

Chair Myers will have to manage expectations for this role including the degree to which the proposed Director can “freelance” in parallel to the existing organizations and processes. The Chair may wish to advance a policy, but cannot implement change on his own, much less have commitments made in his name by a staffer.

For all the responsibility involved, the proposed salary is $70-80K, a level fitting within a Councillor’s office budget, but hardly top-of-the-line for a key position. Who this might attract, and whether they will be taken seriously, remains to be seen. Building trusting relationships within the TTC and City Hall, and equally importantly with the wider community, will not happen overnight.

And, dear readers, don’t even think of suggesting that I apply. I have been happily retired for 15 years and have no interest in sticking my head in that lion’s mouth.

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The Changing Scope of St. Clair Construction

When I published my article about the year-long shutdown of streetcar service on St. Clair, I did not expect it would trigger a wave of complaints on Twitter/X about the scope and length of the project. Late last week, I was busy dealing with the announced service changes overall, but now am taking another look at St. Clair.

In the presentation deck (about which more below) there is a chronology showing that there was consultation back in May 2023. Exactly what this might have entailed is hard to say, but there were certainly no fireworks four months ago.

Anyone who is trying to keep on top of TTC construction plans has something of a challenge finding information. The Projects and Plans page is only linked from the common footer of all pages on the TTC site. If you don’t scroll down to the bottom, you will never find it.

Within that page is a link to the St. Clair project page. It contains links to an August 24 version of the project overview and a construction notice. The August 24 version is the one I used in writing my article. There are, however, three versions of the project overview.

The description of the planned work in the last version is quite different from the May 2023 version on which consultation would have been based.

Courtesy of the Internet Archive, I pulled up the original version of the St. Clair project page posted on August 12. Note that it says “Work will result in intermittent bus replacement on the 512 St. Clair streetcar route”, not a complete shutdown lasting to summer 2024. By late August, the page had changed.

Here are the three versions of the presentation deck:

In the May deck, text on a diversion map talks about intermittent bus operation, and the projected end date is first quarter 2024 for third party works. However, elsewhere we see that the full project including St. Clair West Station would run through to the summer.

It is quite possible that the May version of the deck gave the impression of a shorter, less intrusive project than the one now underway.

This was the version in effect for the original consultation.

By the August 11 version, the dates have not changed, but reference to “intermittent” replacement is gone.

The August 24 version contains the same information in a different form.

What is not clear is whether the TTC ever actually consulted about a more extensive shutdown, or about the problems created by operating buses in the traffic lanes, not on the streetcar right-of-way. The latter is difficult because of the support poles for the overhead system which lie between the eastbound and westbound tracks.

This is an example of scope creep coupled with changing and hard-to-find information. One might think that the TTC has been taking lessons from Metrolinx.