Today, May 12, the TTC implemented many changes to its services as detailed in my previous article.

• TTC Service Changes Effective May 12, 2024

Earlier in the week, on May 7, the Mayor Chow and TTC Chair Myers, among others, held a press conference to announce widespread service improvements, and the illustration below has appear in the Mayor’s social media feeds.

There is only one problem: several of the routes on this map will see service cuts, not increases. In some cases, there is a service increase, but on only part of a route or at a limited time through the week. The chart below illustrates where and when the changes actually happen.

In parliamentary language, one might say that “the Mayor was badly advised”. However, it is her name and face on an announcement that simply is not true.

TTC management has a long history of spinning service changes to emphasize the gains, such as they might be, while downplaying the cuts. The May 2024 changes were particularly challenging to anyone who wanted the details because the memo containing this information was not released until the afternoon of May 10. Normally it is available one to two weeks in advance. It may have suited the stage management of the press conference to keep it under wraps.

995 York Mills Express was singled out in the press announcement because of the doubling of weekday midday service from 20′ to 10′, but that is a rare example of a significant improvement. It is not typical of the actual changes to the bus network as a whole.

I have already written about the so-called service recovery based on vehicle hours, not on actual service frequency. The TTC itself has noted a decline in traffic and transit speeds in recent years. That, combined with more generous provisions for delay recovery time has pushed up the number of hours even while some routes see less frequent service.

This chart and the following text have been corrected to show changes to 939 Finch East Express which were missed in the first version.

A detailed route-by-route review follows the “more” break.

Routes Included in the “Service Increase” Map

19 Bay: The south end of this route serving the waterfront has been lopped off as 114 Queens Quay. This change should insulate the main route from effects of traffic congestion on Bay and on Queens Quay. The route is a shadow of its former self, and has very infrequent service in spite of having an HOV diamond lane. With the change in route length, service frequencies are modified. In many cases, scheduled service will be even more infrequent, notably on weekdays, than it was before. At no time does this route operate frequent service.

25 Don Mills: The only change on this route is the restoration of 10′ headways in the late evening period.

36 Finch West: PM peak service between Yonge and Finch West Station is more frequent at the peak and reduced in the early evening. West of Finch West Station, the Milvan branches run slightly less frequently. The major change is that much of the extra running time and buses added to compensate for Line 6 construction have been removed, but there is no change in scheduled frequencies.

935 Jane Express: Weekday early evening service has been restored.

38/938 Highland Creek: The usual summer service change consolidates the local and express services and reduces frequencies. This change is typically reversed in September.

39 Finch East: Early morning and late evening service is improved on Saturdays.

939 Finch East Express: Service is improved in weekday peak periods and midday, and on Saturday afternoon.

44 Kipling South: Service is improved in the weekday midday and PM peak.

46 Martin Grove: Schedules are adjusted for “reliability” with the extension of running times on weekends. Service will be less frequent in all periods except late evening.

53 Steeles East: The only change is that service is more frequent on Saturday afternoons.

57 Midland: Service is increased during weekday peak periods and midday.

60 Steeles West: Service is increased during weekday peak periods.

68 Warden: Service is increase weekday middays and Saturday afternoons.

72 Pape (and 81 Thorncliffe Park): These routes have been amalgamated as one service because Pape Station Loop will be closed for six months. Service on the consolidated route, both north and south of Danforth, is generally more frequent, with a few exceptions to the south mainly in the early morning and late evening.

76 Royal York South: Service improved weekday midday and late evening.

92 Woodbine South: Weekend service improved for added summer traffic to The Beach. Weekday service will run less often to provide additional running time.

95 York Mills: Service improved during most weekend periods and weekday evenings. Express service improved weekday peak periods and midday.

102/902 Markham Road: 102A local service to Centennial College suspended for the summer. Express service will run less frequently but will use articulated buses for a net addition to capacity.

104/184 Faywood/Ancaster Park: These routes are interlined and share a common schedule. Running times have been adjusted with a mix of more and less frequent service depending on the period.

111 East Mall: Improved PM peak service.

114 Queens Quay: New route replacing the south end of 19 Bay and the west end of 72B Pape. Scheduled service is more frequent on weekdays and some weekend periods.

123 Sherway: Service during most weekend periods will be less frequent due to running time changes.

Other Routes (Seasonal and Construction Changes)

8 Broadview & 62 Mortimer: As part of the route shuffle for the Pape Station closing, these routes are extended south on Broadview to Gerrard. The headway changes are an effect of the longer route, and they will shift back when the normal routes are restored in the fall.

903 STC Express: Service is modified for the summer with less weekday service running through to Centennial College, and all service east of STC suspended on weekends.

927 Highway 27 Express: Peak period trippers to Humber College are suspended for the summer.

A Note About Service Reliability

When the TTC widens headways to provide more running time for buses, they often argue that this will improve service because operators will be better able to stay on time. In effect, they claim that the service is already bad and they are adjusting schedules to match the real world.

(For example, a route that operated every 20 minutes with three buses would have a one hour round trip time. If the headway changes to 25 minutes, the round trip is now 75 minutes rather than 60. The same number of bus and operator hours are scheduled, but riders see less frequent service.)

Unfortunately, regular service is not the TTC’s strong suit. A related problem is that uneven service leads to higher loads on buses in wider gaps, and for routes that already have infrequent service, these gaps can be very wide indeed.

Either way, saying that service is “increasing” on such routes is simply not true.