The TTC “Annual Service Plan” has been rebranded as the “Network Plan” in the interest of clarity, but based on the 2026 edition’s meagre content so far, this is an infinitesimal network. In particular, it really does not deal with the transit network as a whole, but only small tweaks at the edges. Big decisions such as long range, city-wide plans, budgets, service levels and the future of transit as part of Toronto are all made elsewhere.
Issues such as strategies for improving ridership and budget reviews which bear directly on the amount of service riders see are not in this plan. Nor is any discussion of basic service quality and management, nor of the fractured nature of TTC information for and communications with its riders.
Round One of the Network Plan consultation addresses only a handful of proposed route changes. More substantial work including an Express Bus Network review and discussion of construction-related service changes won’t appear until Round Two in August.
The Network Plan presentation lists several parallel studies under development parallel to but not included in the Annual Network Plan consultations. Only those keen transit watchers know about all or most of these, and it is a hard slog keeping up. The table below is from the Round One presentation deck.
- 2026 Annual Service Budget
- Sets service levels for each board period in 2026
- Includes number of vehicles, service hours and distance
- 2026-2028 Ridership Growth Strategy (RGS)
- Cost-benefit analysis of service, fare, infrastructure and customer experience initiatives
- Could achieve ridership growth over the next 3 years (if funded)
- RapidTO Transit Priority Lanes
- Completed: Queens Quay East
- Next: Dufferin St and Bathurst St corridors (pending July 2025 Council approval). Target: ready for 2026 FIFA World Cup
- Feasibility and design studies are on-going for the Jane Street, Finch Avenue East, and Lawrence Avenue East roadways
- FIFA World Cup Transit Service Plan
- Increased service on key downtown routes
- Additional service on match days and during Fan Festival
- Reducing bunching and gapping
- Efforts to reduce bunching and gapping on 10 of the most problematic routes with enhanced on-street presence as well as scheduling related changes
There are also:
- 5-Year Service and Customer Experience Action Plan
- Fare Policy Study and Outlook
- Corporate Plan
- 5-Year Accessibility Plan
- 5-Year Diversity & Human Rights Plan
This may suit the TTC’s fragmented internal structure, but it drives people outside of the TTC mad. One does not have to be a seasoned transit advocate, merely a daily rider, to rail at the frustration of “consultation” on a handful of minor route changes. Basic service issues across the system must wait for the budget (no public consultation there at all), the Ridership Growth Strategy (budget limits again) and a Board that, until recently, actually believed (or chose not to challenge) management claims about quality.
Two burning issues are service quality (with associated crowding and unpredictable waits), and the effect of construction projects on routes (not to mention abjectly poor and inaccurate communications to riders). We will have to wait until Round Two in August to address at least some of these problems.
Consultation
An online survey opens July 7-16. There are separate consultations with the Advisory Committee on Accessible Transit (ACAT) and the TTC’s Planning Advisory Group which after many years now has a formal name. (Full disclosure: I am a regular contributor to that group.)
Pop-Ups will be held from 4-6pm at the following dates and locations:
- July 9th: University of Toronto Scarborough Campus
- July 10th: St. George Station
- July 15th: Sherbourne & Rosedale Stations
- July 16th: Lawrence West Station & Sunnybrook Hospital
In The Works
The major route changes pending are those associated with the opening, if ever, of Lines 5 Crosstown and 6 Finch West. These changes were approved in previous Annual Plans.
Service improvements are for Fall-Winter 2025-26:
- 5 minute or better service at all times on subway lines 1 (YUS) and 2 (BD).
- This change will affect weekday late evenings, Saturday early morning and evenings, Sunday morning and evenings. Service at other times is already better than every 5 minutes. There is no mention of peak period service improvements.
- 6 minute or better service from 7am to 7pm every day on 505 Dundas, 511 Bathurst and 512 St. Clair.
- 505 Dundas now runs every 10 minutes except on Saturdays and Sundays when some periods already have 6 or 8 minute service.
- 511 Bathurst now runs every 10 minutes except weekday afternoons at 9’30” and Saturday afternoons at 8′.
- 512 St. Clair now runs every 8-10 minutes during daytime periods.
- Adjustments to 385 Sheppard East Night Bus (September).
- Adjustments to Community Bus routes 402 Parkdale, 404 East York and 408 Victoria Park (Early 2026).
- Service reliability improvements.
- Transit priority signal modifications at 50 locations by year-end (in progress).
Pending construction projects:
- King-Dufferin (September-October 2025)
- Queen East at the Don Bridge (TBA)
Proposals in the 2026 Network Plan include:
- Restructuring the north end of 19 Bay and the east end of 26 Dupont to serve Rosedale Station.
- Extend 75 Sherbourne to Castle Frank Station, and reroute 82 Rosedale to cover part of the northern portion of 75 Sherbourne.
- Swap the eastern terminals of 905 Eglinton East Express and extend 154 Curran Hall so that the 905 ends at UTSC and the 154 goes to Conlins.
- Extend 52F Lawrence (the Royal York branch) to Sunnybrook Hospital, extend 11 Bayview from Sunnybrook Hospital to Lawrence Station, remove 124 Sunnybrook.
- Extend 101 Downsview Park and 128 Stanley Greene to serve William Duncan Road.
Yorkville Route Changes
The TTC proposes to reroute both 19 Bay and 26 Dupont to serve Rosedale Station via Davenport Road and Yonge Street. This would remove service from the around-the-block loop via Dupont and Bedford used by 19 Bay, from Bedford south of Davenport and from St. George Station.
The change would provide 19 Bay with an off-street loop at its northern terminus for operator rest breaks. 26 Dupont already has an off-street connection at Jane Station.
TTC claims that these changes will aid in service reliability, but a major problem on both routes is that service is very infrequent and unreliable. These routes see very light ridership in part because they cannot be depended on and better alternatives exist in their catchment areas. Tinkering with the routes at Rosedale will not address these problems.
Both routes are examples of the downward spiral of routes with service cuts and lost ridership. There might be redevelopment along the Dupont corridor, but you would never know this from TTC service levels.
19 Bay currently has a practice of holding for time at Bloor Street so that departures in both directions match the schedule. At the south end of the route, the traffic-plagued segment south of Front Street was lopped off as a separate route, 114 Queens Quay East, to improve reliability.
26 Dupont has at times suffered from inadequate scheduled running time.
| Weekdays | AM Peak | Midday | PM Peak | Early Eve | Late Eve |
| 19 Bay | 22′ | 25′ | 22′ | 30′ | 30′ |
| 26 Dupont | 24′ | 30′ | 28′ | 27′ | 30′ |
| Saturdays | Early AM | Late AM | Afternoon | Early Eve | Late Eve |
| 19 Bay | 25′ | 25′ | 30′ | 25′ | 30′ |
| 26 Dupont | 30′ | 26′ | 25′ | 28′ | 23′ |
| Sundays | Early AM | Late AM | Afternoon | Early Eve | Late Eve |
| 19 Bay | 25′ | 25′ | 25′ | 25′ | 25′ |
| 26 Dupont | 30′ | 24′ | 30′ | 24′ | 30′ |
Rosedale/Sherbourne Route Changes
TTC proposes to reroute the 75 Sherbourne bus to Castle Frank Station, and to adjust the route of 82 Rosedale to cover most of the area now served by the Sherbourne bus north of the bridge at Bloor Street.
This change would give the 75 Sherbourne an off-street terminus at the north end. It would also give riders to and from the George Brown College campus on the waterfront the alternative of using either 65 Parliament or 75 Sherbourne for their trips.
75 Sherbourne is notoriously unreliable even at times when traffic congestion cannot be blamed.
82 Rosedale operates every 20-25 minutes at all times.
| Weekdays | AM Peak | Midday | PM Peak | Early Eve | Late Eve |
| 75 Sherbourne | 6′ | 7’30” | 8′ | 20′ | 25′ |
| 65 Parliament | 8′ | 13′ | 9′ | 15′ | 13′ |
| Saturdays | Early AM | Late AM | Afternoon | Early Eve | Late Eve |
| 75 Sherbourne | 22′ | 14′ | 12′ | 20′ | 20′ |
| 65 Parliament | 13′ | 15′ | 13′ | 15′ | 13′ |
| Sundays | Early AM | Late AM | Afternoon | Early Eve | Late Eve |
| 75 Sherbourne | 24′ | 20′ | 20′ | 24′ | |
| 65 Parliament | 15′ | 13′ | 15′ | 13′ |
Scarborough East Route Changes
The TTC proposes that the 905 Eglinton East Express which now terminates at Conlins Loop would switch to ending at University of Toronto Scarborough Campus. The 154 Curran Hall bus would be extended to Conlins Road replacing the 905.
| Weekdays | AM Peak | Midday | PM Peak | Early Eve | Late Eve |
| 154 Curran Hall | 22′ | 22′ | 22′ | 22′ | 25′ |
| 905 Eglinton East Express | 12′ | 8′ | 12′ | 12′ | |
| Saturdays | Early AM | Late AM | Afternoon | Early Eve | Late Eve |
| 154 Curran Hall | 25′ | 22′ | 22′ | 25′ | 25′ |
| 905 Eglinton East Express | 15′ | 15′ | 15′ | ||
| Sundays | Early AM | Late AM | Afternoon | Early Eve | Late Eve |
| 154 Curran Hall | 25′ | 22′ | 22′ | 25′ | 25′ |
| 905 Eglinton East Express | 15′ | 15′ |
Lawrence/Sunnybrook Route Changes
The TTC proposes to consolidate and improve service in the Lawrence corridor and to Sunnybrook Hospital.
Route 52F (the Royal York branch) of Lawrence West would run to Sunnybrook Hospital. This branch currently does not operate during all time periods, and it appears that the TTC will not run the 52F to Sunnybrook during those periods (evenings, Saturday early morning, all day Sunday).
Route 11C Bayview that now serves Sunnybrook would be renamed as 11B and extended north and west to Lawrence Station.
Route 124 Sunnybrook would be dropped.
Downsview Route Changes
TTC proposes that the loop in the Stanley Greene area now used by 101 Downsview Park and 128 Stanley Greene be expanded to include William Duncan Road and Thomas Mulholland Drive.
Ridership and Service Changes 2024-2025
Ridership as of 2025 remains below historical pre-covid levels. The strongest recovery is on weekends at 94%, followed by non-commuter traffic at 84% and commuters at 75%. Note that “commuter” traffic is also affected by work-from-home which produces high transit demand on Tuesday through Thursday, but lighter demand on Monday and Friday. This is also reflected in general traffic levels. A commute trip can be avoided, especially for downtown office workers and to a lesser extent for students, but a trip for shopping, entertainment, visiting friends is by definition “in person”.
The June Metrics Report gives average weekday ridership for subway at 77%, streetcar at 76% and bus at 86% recovery levels. Note that an average will smooth out the variations by day of the week. Demand on Tuesdays through Thursdays is 6% higher than on Mondays and Fridays, and even that swing likely varies by area within the city and local commuting patterns.
The Annual Plan includes a chart of service recovery levels. Note that these are measured in service hours, not by service frequency or capacity. Over the years, slower operation has stretched scheduled travel times, and one hour of service does not provide the same level of capacity or frequency to riders. On a route by route basis, the range of changes varies considerably. I explored this in You’re Not Crazy: TTC Service Is Worse back in January 2025.
I will update that review later in 2025 when the Fall schedule changes are in place.
Steve Munro 
What are the potential changes that they will make to the express bus network? As a transit nerd the express network was always such an outlier to me, here we have an entire sub network of buses that could provide cross-transit journeys to different areas of the city in effect acting as a sub-network to the subway complementing it and allowing people to go to different areas quickly yet many of the routes are rush hour only which as we see in the article while is the highest ridership period is not the areas where ridership is growing and is at meaning only a portion of riders can access the network as well as many of the routes simply having too many stops or turning local all of a sudden instead of having the local bus handle that. Is it likely that the TTC changes some the routes to address too many stops as well as making the routes all day or is that just a pipe dream?
Steve: The TTC has not yet announced what their Express Network review will entail.
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When are they going to extend the 353 to Martin Grove?
Steve: This is in the 2025 Service Plan likely for a fall implementation, but I have not seen a date announced yet.
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When will the 151 be in service? All the signs along the stretch have been up but there’s been no update.
Steve: This would be part of the Line 5 opening changes for which we still await a date from Metrolinx/TTC.
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Have they given thought to what happens after most downtown corporate jobs and big banks return to office mandates are in effect (RBC Scotia and BMO have asked employees to be in office 4 days a week beginning fall 2025 – currently it’s between 2 to 3 days, other banks may follow)?
Demand is likely going to be much higher on all weekdays soon…its almost double to days from what corporate employees are doing currently.
Or will the TTC not even acknowledge this or call this outside their control (like traffic)?
It was Ms Chow who asked the banks to try and think of more days a week last year.
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Steve – when I first saw the list, I was immediately taken back to high school English classes, reading Shakespeare’s “Much Ado About Nothing”.
As you know, the irony in two of the changes is that the TTC is reverting to previous configurations (11B replicates the old 28, while the TTC flip-flops again on whether Conlins & Morrish are best served by local or express service).
When the July feedback is gathered and an update prepared for August, do you think that new proposals will be brought forward?
Steve: Some of the proposals are described as having support from local Councillors, and it will probably take a lot to change them. An important missing ingredient is a comparison of old and new service levels. For example, which route serves Conlins is probably less important than how often and reliably it shows up. There really isn’t enough information from Round One to excite most people, and I suspect the most common issues at consultations will be service quality on bus routes generally, and when will Line 5 open.
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The extension of 52F east to Sunnybrook (and 11B west to Lawrence, presumably to Roe loop as the station bus bay is still out of service secondary to elevator installation), in favour of cancelling the 124 Sunnybrook is a “restoration” of the service that was provided most of last year while Lawrence station undergoes (ongoing) accessibility upgrades. That said, as a Yonge/Lawrence resident, I will appreciate being able to go across Avenue Road w/o transferring (during specific periods).
I was pretty surprised to read about 19 Bay and 13 Avenue being rerouted to Rosedale Station, although the station definitely has space for two semi-infrequent services (and one incredibly unreliable service). That leaves St. George w/ two bus bays and no (regularly scheduled) buses.
Looking forward to getting excited about something more ‘major’ eventually… at this point, I’ll settle for June 2026 being the #actual finish date for accessibility at Lawrence station.
Steve: It’s the 19 and 26, not the 13, going to Rosedale Station. 13 Avenue Road is not changed in this round. Poor St. George will be bereft of bus service except when there is a subway shuttle. Yes, some of those accessibility projects have gone on forever.
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Having looked at the 19/26 map, the 26 routing hasn’t been changed since 1968 when trolley buses ran that route. The TTC has underwent some major routing changes to the former trolley routes since they were abandoned back in 1993. For example, the 61 NORTOWN WEST merged with the 1 ARMOUR HEIGHTS to form the 61 AVENUE ROAD NORTH in 1992. The eastern flank, the 103 NORTOWN EAST, was renamed to 103 MOUNT PLEASANT NORTH which is set to be revived when Line 5 opens which would also include the rerouting of the 74 MOUNT PLEASANT to Eglinton Station.
Hell, the 89 WESTON’s routing has not changed much since they removed trolleys but the 161 ROGERS ROAD was created from the old routings of the 18, 63F and 48 and the 47 LANSDOWNE absorbed the northern end of the 18 CALEDONIA to form one route, which is also set to be revived when Line 5 opens. Even the 40 JUNCTION, which got extended to Kipling in 2019 and renamed to 40 JUNCTION-DUNDAS WEST.
Steve: What has changed is that the service is a lot worse now on some of the former TB routes. Part of this is demographics — the disappearance of former industrial lands — but part is the vicious spiral of service cuts and riding loss. Now we have Dupont Street redeveloping, but with very bad bus service. I am not sure the move to Rosedale Station will help.
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The Bay bus might have an easier time looping at Rosedale station, but I suspect the Dupont bus will be held up much more by traffic than it currently does running to St George station.
On top of that, traffic on Dupont is very slow, in part due to redevelopment closing lanes, whether for longer terms or with construction vehicles. What would make a very useful transit route winds up being pretty useless.
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Almost a full year of service and 154 is incredibly unreliable. Infrequent and often 40 minute gaps – especially during peak periods. My hope is if they replace service on Conlins with 154, they increase the service and manage it better.
Also did they mention if they’ll restore 40ft buses on 905 on weekends again and restore the frequency? On that note, I wonder if there are issues with the artics at Malvern as everyday 904 seems to have almost half of its runs as standard buses. On weekends I also see standard buses on 905.
Steve: No mention of bus availability or assignments.
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Steve, I will preface this by saying I am 70, so I can remember service some of these routes used to have. I lived in the Rogers and Dufferin area for many years. Also Bayview and Eglinton for a few years. Also worked in the Yonge/Eglinton area for over 30 years. Have I seen changes, oh yes!!
I looked at some of the changes proposed. They have chopped the Bay bus down to where it’s almost useless. Use to be lineups for crowds going to the Islands at Bay Station. Now,it doesn’t go to the docks! I don’t know how many use it for the Queen’s Park complex at Wellesley,but the schedule is so ineffective for many to use. They have made what was previously a primary route into strictly a feeder route in Bay.
Steve, I can remember the Dupont streetcar as kid, before the University subway opened and it operated 24 hours! Steve, you mentioned the changes there on Dupont……Neilson, Royce Poultry, Hepburn Steel, Rosco+Westeel (dad worked there), Planter’s Nuts, Weston Bakeries and Toronto Star Lithographers all had large buildings/sites on or near Dupont/Annette. Last year, I had to use the Dupont bus…..almost a half hour waiting. They can propose all they want but until the scheduling is decent, no one will take those routes!!(BTW, I was alone on the bus from Dundas to Jane Station).
I go to Sunnybrook Hospital a couple of times a year. I don’t know where this revision of the old Davisville run is coming from. Possibly, they afford to have a terminating bus sitting there because it’s hard enough to get in and out of!
One person said the old Shakespeare play “Much Ado About Nothing”….it fits here.
One person also mentioned about extensions after they were made buses from trolleys. Roe loop was a zone 1/2 divide. So was Bicknell. When the zones were gone and the buses on, it meant Armour Heights was gone.
Steve, do you know how many and which ones have local councilors involved??
Sorry for going on and once again thank you!!!
Steve: I don’t know which local councillors have had input to these proposals, but the Dupont/Bay and Sherbourne/Rosedale shuffles are both in Cllr Saxe’s ward.
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Please don’t make our lives difficult as they already are. TTC and the city removed our bus stop a few years ago at 250 Davenport Rd to put a bike share. We had our bus stop for over 30 some years. We have seniors and people with disabilities who could hardly manage, now you are proposing changing the route for our 26 and 19 bus routes? Is this about status? Where does TTC and the city expect us folks to board the buses? Especially in the winter? I hope this plan doesn’t go through as our seniors and people with disabilities are already struggling and suffering as it is.
Steve: I’m not the TTC and am not proposing anything, but the TTC is. Be sure to respond to their survey and get on to your local Councillor about this.
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Hi Steve again, I just noticed something. When 6 BAY was a trolley coach, it had a branch that in the north looped via Davenport, Yonge, Yorkville and back south on Bay to Front Street. This is that rush hour short turn run with a short distance added on to Rosedale Station. Interesting.
Steve: Of course in those days 6 Bay was very frequent and they didn’t need all of the service running north to Dupont. Similarly there was a short turn southbound just north of the bus terminal.
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I think that the 89 Weston should be extended to Steeles because it will give people easy access between the High Park area and Steeles area. Then the 73 Royal York should have two branches the B and C. I have been potentially thinking about the B branch going to Humber College while the C branch goes to Claireport. And service needs to be improved on the 73C branch.
Steve: Be sure to include your feedback on the TTC’s survey as my site is not an official conduit for suggestions on the Network Plan.
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The map for the Yorkville Routing Proposals is incorrect. It does not show the Existing Routing and Service Removed along Davenport from Bay to Bedford. This stretch (19 Bay) includes stops. One of these stops (northbound & southbound) is at Davenport and Avenue road. I also live at 250 Davenport and use these stops almost daily. As Rita said, they first took away our stop and now they want to remove the bus service completely!
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Do you what changes are coming to the 119. I take the 84C up Arrow Road, I’ve noticed that 119 has been added to the poles up as far as Finch. Service realignment when the LRT opens?
Steve: Yes. See TTC 2024 Annual Service Plan and scroll down to Line 6 changes.
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To Steve
The drivers of the 19 Bay bus use the washroom at Bay station while the bus is holding at Bay station. Some of the drivers actually inform the riders that they’re going to the washroom. There is a Starbucks right across the street. The drivers also frequently hold at the top of the line, even when they’re behind schedule. There is a Tim Horton’s takeout across the intersection.
Steve: Thanks for the details!
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