In a previous article, I reviewed the transition from streetcar to bus operation on 510 Spadina in mid-June. Since then, the route saw other changes:

• Beginning on July 8, TTC suspended service south from Front Street between 3 and 7pm on weekdays due to congestion and very extended travel times on the southbound approach to the Gardiner Expressway. See 510 Spadina Bus Modified Diversion Tracking.
• From July 15 to 21, the north end of the route diverted to St. George Station during road construction in the Spadina/Bloor intersection. See Spadina Replacement Bus Shifts to St. George Station.
• On July 29, implementation of a reserved bus and cycling lane began south from Richmond to Lake Shore. See Reserved Bus Lanes for Spadina?

The reserved lane has greatly reduced delays at the south end of the route, albeit at the expense of road capacity.

This article presents travel times over various segments of Spadina from Bloor Street to Queens Quay during July 2024 to show the effect of the changing route configuration.

A key factor evident in the tracking data is that congestion occurs outside of the peak periods, and not necessarily in the same way each day. It can be tempting to cherry pick the afternoon peak as a worst case target, but that does not solve all problems. The extent of congestion also varies, and transit priority must be on a sufficient scale to deal with the bad days, not simply to improve conditions a bit over a short distance.

What is quite clear is that the City and TTC reaction to congestion problems gave the impression of surprise rather than preparedness, and that weeks of delays for riders could have been avoided or at least reduced in severity at both ends of the route.