Earlier this year, the TTC conducted the first round of consultations on its 2025 Annual Service Plan. My comments on it include several maps and tables including an update on previously proposed changes that had not yet been implemented.
The following changes are in the second round of consultations:
The proposed removal of 87 Cosburn service to East York Acres has been withdrawn for further review.
The review of Community Bus routes now includes proposed extensions and restructuring, although the scope is limited by a lack of budget headroom. There is no discussion of where more routes might be added to the system but for a lack of resources to run them.
Proposals have been added for alternate service during some, but not all, major construction projects planned for 2025.
A proposal to review and consolidate mid-block bus stops has been added.
Except for the 87 Cosburn, all proposals from round one appear unchanged in round two.
The TTC’s survey is available here and will be open for feedback until November 11, 2024. If you have suggestions, please be sure to respond to the survey. Some TTC planning staff do read this site regularly, but feedback on the plan should go to them directly to be part of the record.
I participated in a recent stakeholder session on the plan, and was disappointed by its lack of ambition. There is no sense of a “Ridership Growth Strategy”, an aspirational statement of “here is what we could do”, as opposed to living within the existing budget. It’s almost as if John Tory and Rick Leary never left.
On an informational basis, the plan does not recap pending changes for the eventual opening of Lines 5 Eglinton-Crosstown and 6 Finch West, nor does it discuss past proposals that have not yet been implemented (see my article on round one for a list of these). This leaves riders to search through available background materials to get an overall sense of what will happen in 2025. There is no concrete discussion of general service improvements to attract ridership.
The remainder of this article details the proposals added in the round two consultation.
Updated Oct. 29 at 2:35pm:The service chart showing crowding levels has been revised with adjusted colouring, and to give emphasis to lines so that they stand out better. See the end of the article for a sample.
Updated Oct. 27 at 8:45pm: Sample charts have been added at the end incorporating some suggested changes.
This article continues my search for clear ways to display vehicle crowding data that I now receive as part of my data feed from TTC. In previous articles, I have shown vehicle tracking charts colour coded for the crowding index.
These charts show the regularity (or not) of service, locations of delays, bunches and gaps, and the resulting crowding pattern. This is useful for fine-grained analysis, but one must look at many charts to see the overall patterns.
In an attempt to “zoom out”, I developed a new chart format that shows the proportion of service at each crowding level seen at screenlines along a route by time of day. This article presents the results for the routes already published, but I wanted to nail down the format before publishing more. (I have many more in the wings including 25/925 Don Mills, 29/929 Dufferin, 36 Finch West, 39/939 Finch East, 41/941 Keele, 52/952 Lawrence, 53/953 Steeles East, 60/960 Steeles West, 85/985 Sheppard East, 86/986 Scarborough, 89/989 Weston, 116 Morningside, 129 McCowan North, 903 STC Express, and 905 Eglinton East Express).
Regular readers will know that I abhor the TTC’s practice of reporting service stats on monthly averages with every trip combined to give an overall picture. This hides a lot of things, notably the variations by hour and location, not to mention variations between routes. The chart format proposed here attempts to strike a balance between a hyper-detailed view and one where readers can see how routes behave at a level they can relate to their own journeys.
Does the new format shown here work for readers? Please let me know in the comments. I can do a lot of preparatory work on the other routes, and then drop their stats into whatever the final chart template looks like.
Many thanks to those who have sent suggestions regarding other charts I have published.
This is the third in a series of reviews of various transit lines in Toronto. Although the streetcar fleet is not yet reporting passenger loads (automatic counter installation is in progress), it is still worth looking at the quality of service provided on some of these lines.
For 505 Dundas, I will look at seven days’ operation from Monday, September 16 to Sunday, September 22. The intent is to show that conditions on the route are not “one of” instances, but a continuing pattern. The article includes:
operating charts (sometimes called Marey diagrams after their supposed inventor well over a century ago),
vehicle spacing charts showing bunching and gapping of streetcars, and
headway summary charts for the month showing the range of headways at various times and places along the route.
An added topic at the end is a review of travel times on Dundas between University Avenue and Bathurst Street and the effect of parking restrictions that were implemented there earlier in 2024.
Items of particular note:
During some periods, streetcars leave terminals fairly evenly spaced, but do not stay in this condition across the route. The bunching and gaps seen by most riders are not as good as terminal-based stats might indicate.
Some periods when there is no specific event impeding service see pairs, and occasionally trios, of streetcars travel together for extended periods.
Terminal dwell times are adequate for a rest break in most periods, but there are times when this does not occur. Short turns, notably westbound at Lansdowne, become more frequent.
Two major delays/diversion occurred during the period covered by this article from demonstrations downtown. The after-effects on service lasted hours beyond the events.
Only one event, an early-morning “operational problem”, triggered the use of shuttle buses, at least to the extent that these were tracked and appear in the data feed.
There are a lot of charts in this article. For some readers, this will be a case of “TL,DR” but others really like all of the detail.
This post reviews operation of TTC service on the 54 Lawrence East bus and its express equivalent, 954, for September 2024. It continues on the work of building new charts including crowding data that began in the previous article on 35/935 Jane.
In response to suggestions, there are a few changes in the charts here.
The shade of red used for crowded buses has been darkened.
A reader suggested using a colour palette with a common base such as a light, medium and dark taupe. I experimented with it, but found the contrast for fine lines against a white background did not work well, especially on small displays.
New charts showing the distribution of headways along the route and over time have been added.
The scheme used is intended to give comparable information to a histogram, but on a more compact basis that makes changes along routes easy to see.
Summary of the 54/954 Lawrence East bus review:
Service on 54 Lawrence is unreliable with much bunching and gapping during many periods, especially toward the eastern end of the line.
Bunching caused by unregulated “blending” of the two branches (54A to Starspray and 54B to Morningside) is chronic. (This is a common problem on branching routes.)
Crowding during off-peak periods generally occurs on buses that are running in a gap.
Groups of buses commonly stay together for extended periods, including terminal departures, rather than being spaced apart to minimize gaps.
Late evening service on the eastern end of the route is quite erratic, and there was a repeated wide gap on most days in the period reviewed here.
The 954 express service has relative little crowding and much more reliable headways than the local service.
This route is a textbook example of abdication of route management. The tracking data shows little sign of congestion compared to some other routes, and bunching is a common operating practice.
First off, an apology to regular readers for the lack of posts in the past week or so. I have been working on new ways to present service reliability data together with information on bus crowding. This is now possible because the TTC includes crowding info in the data I receive from them.
Updated October 21, 2024 at 7:45am:
The scheduled service levels for 35/935 Jane have been added.
Charts showing the distribution of weekday headways by hour and location have been added.
TTC service metrics suffer from a lack of detail, and an inability to see what is happening to “my bus” or “my streetcar” as opposed to average service conditions over many hours, weeks and vehicles. Statistics purport to show that average loads and service lie within so-called Service Standards (about which more later) while riders wait glumly for buses that arrive in packs and have little room on board.
In past articles, I have presented charts showing the behaviour of many routes, but there are limitations of how many charts I can publish. With the advantage that I can review all of the data, patterns are more evident than might be the case with only excerpts.
One important pattern is the spacing of vehicles along a route. TTC standards assume that if service is “on time” (itself a rather loose concept) at terminals, the rest of the line will look after itself. Flatly, this is not true, but it is an assumption that lets managers collect gold stars they do not deserve.
Even on days when there is no adverse weather, traffic or special events, tracking data show that a reasonably spaced service might leave a terminal, but can degenerate into pairs (or worse) along the line. Instead of a steady “tick .. tick .. tick” of service promised by the schedule, riders experience “tick …… tick tick ….. tick .. tick ………. tick tick tick” like a drunken clock. All of the promised buses might eventually arrive, but unevenly. Of course, riders in the real world know that even at terminals, departures can be uneven, and this worsens across a route.
This contributes to crowding because the buses in wide gaps tend to have more riders, and the problem compounds as stop service times for these buses rise.
Although the TTC has released vehicle tracking data since 2007, crowding data are much more recent. Initially they showed up in the real-time data feed used by various apps, and now in the archival data I receive each month. This allows analysis of the relationship between vehicle spacing and crowding, as well as a better view of when and where routes are heavily used.
Buses have automatic passenger counters with infrared beams at doorways to keep track of entries and exits. Work to install them on the streetcar fleet is still in progress, and crowding data for streetcars is not yet available.
This article looks at bus tracking data showing crowding levels. This is a preliminary view of 35 Jane to show and explain the new chart formats. In future articles, I will dive into this and other routes in more detail.
If you have suggestions to improve these charts, please leave a comment.
Updated October 21, 2024 at 11:30am: The end date for the 501 Queen diversion via Church, King and Spadina has been changed to “mid-November”.
Updated October 18, 2024 at 11:00am: Information on diversions that have finished has been moved to the end of the article to avoid confusion. A planned diversion on Queen west late evening and overnight service from October 21-24 has been added.
Effective October 13: (Don Bridge reopens two days earlier than the planned Oct. 15)
501 Queen:
West end: Regular service.
Downtown: Streetcar Diversion via Church, King and Spadina both ways.
East end: Regular service restored at the Don Bridge.
Shuttle bus from Broadview & Gerrard to Queen & Bathurst:
Westbound via Church, Richmond and Bay
Eastbound via Bay, King and Church until 10pm daily
Eastbound via University, King and Church from 10pm to 5am daily
503 Kingston Road: Regular service from Bingham Loop to King & York looping downtown via Church and Wellington Streets.
504 King: Regular 504B routing restored between Broadview Station and Dufferin Loop. 504A has already been on its regular routing and does not change.
508 Lake Shore: Regular route to Broadview Station via Queen and Broadview restored.
Effective October 21-24 Only
501/301 Queen
October 21-24 only from 11pm to 4am: Streetcars divert between Shaw and Roncesvalles via King for trackwork at Queen & Brock. Shuttle buses to Neville Loop
Metrolinx work at Queen and Degrassi Streets will require a street closure and diversion of transit service during installation of a new bridge deck for the Lake Shore East GO corridor. As part of the Ontario Line work, the GO corridor will be raised to the now-standard elevation above roads it crosses. This work has been underway at various locations northward from Eastern Avenue along the corridor.
The Metrolinx work will begin on the evening of Friday, September 27 at 9pm, but the TTC will remove its streetcar overhead and power supply beginning on Thursday, September 26 at 9pm.
The Metrolinx work will end on the morning of Monday, September 30 at 5am, but streetcar service will not resume until Wednesday, October 2 at 4am to allow for reinstallation of streetcar overhead. A benefit of the new, higher bridge is that problems with passing trucks tearing down the overhead should cease.
TTC will run a shuttle bus service between River Street and Kingston Road, diverting both ways via Broadview, Dundas and Carlaw around the construction area.
This will affect the daytime and overnight services on 501/301 Queen and 503/303 Kingston Road.
TTC map:
Metrolinx map:
The TTC and Metrolinx notices for this work contain slightly different information. I have confirmed the dates shown above with TTC Media Relations.
The City/TTC project to rebuild utilities, track and the roadway on King Street between Dufferin and Shaw Streets has completed earlier than originally planned. The roadway is now open, and TTC will be restoring power to allow testing of its new tracks and overhead.
Streetcar service between Shaw and Roncesvalles on King will resume with the October schedule change on October 6. Affected routes will resume their normal destinations:
501 Queen will operate to Humber Loop.
504B King will operate to Dufferin Loop.
63 Ossington will resume its Liberty Village loop via Atlantic Avenue and King Street. (Although there was a proposal to change this route to use Dufferin Loop as a western terminus in the Service Plan, this is not being implemented.)
This project originally included the reconstruction of the King/Dufferin intersection, but this was deferred to 2025 as part of a planned water main and track replacement project from Dufferin Street west to Close Avenue.
According to the TOInview map of planned construction work, other water main and track projects affecting King Street in 2025 include:
The Church Street intersection
Shaw to Bathurst
Updated September 18, 2024 at 3:40 pm:
The 63 Ossington bus will revert to using Atlantic Avenue, and then King west to Roncesvalles on Monday, September 16 until October 5. From October 6 onward, the Ossington bus will loop east on King to Shaw, its original pre-construction route and streetcars will serve King Street.
Once again the Toronto International Film Festival will disrupt streetcar service downtown. This year, the effect is more severe because of already existing diversions and construction projects.
The TTC’s announcement of diversions is on their News page and on their Updates page in separate postings. The information differs between the two. There is also an announcement in their Service Advisories.
Updated September 5 at 1:20pm:
A map of the 504B service from Distillery to Woodbine Loop has been added to the Service Advisory. This advisory has been updated, but is still incomplete.
The table comparing the three notices has been modified to reflect recent revisions.
Updated September 5 at 7:50am:
The correct layout of King east diversions appears to be on the map in the Updates page which is included below. There are two services operating:
504A between Broadview Station and King & York via Church and Wellington.
504B between Woodbine Loop and Distillery Loop.
Updated September 4 at 10:00pm:
The three announcements are inconsistent, and the “Update” page for 504 King service in the east end does not make sense.
The TTC is setting a new record here for inconsistent public information. Here is a comparison of the claimed services.
Route
News Item
Update
Service Advisory
East of University
503 Kingston Rd
Turns back from York.
Turns back from York.
Turns back from York.
504A King
Turns back from York. No mention of Distillery District service.
See below. Original version was correct, but this was updated to a nonsensical routing.
Turns back from York. Broadview Station reroute not mentioned.
504B King
Broadview Stn to Distillery
Broadview Stn to Distillery
Turn back from York. No special routing mentioned originally, but a map showing the Distillery to Woodbine Loop service has been added.
303 Kingston Road
Not mentioned.
Turns back from York.
Not mentioned originally. Updated to show turnback from York.
304 King
Turns back from York.
Streetcar not mentioned, only shuttle bus.
Turns back from York.
508 Lake Shore
Turns back from York. (Nonsensical)
No service.
Not mentioned.
West of University
504A King/Dundas West
Turns back from Spadina.
Turns back from Spadina.
Turns back from Spadina
504B King/Humber
Turns back from Spadina.
Turns back from Spadina.
Turns back from Spadina.
304 King
Turns back from Spadina.
Streetcar not mentioned, only shuttle bus.
Turns back from Spadina.
303 Kingston Road
Not mentioned.
Not mentioned.
Not mentioned originally. Update implies there is no service west of York.
508 Lake Shore
Turns back from Spadina.
Turns back from Spadina.
Turns back from Spadina.
Diversion periods
Sept 5-8 Sept 9-10 (3:30-9:30pm)
Sept 5-8
Sept 5-8 Sept 9-10 (3:30-9:30pm)
Map
Downtown area only.
Full map but 504 east services do not match text.
Downtown area only.
“Update” notice for 504 east end services:
Original (retrieved from archive.org):
504A King streetcars in the east end of the city will operate between Broadview Station and King and Church streets. Streetcars will then turn south on Church Street, west on Wellington Street, and north on York Street and east on King Street towards Broadview Station.
504B King streetcars in the east end of the city will operate between Broadview Station and Distillery Loop.
Revised version (from ttc.ca):
504A King streetcars in the east end of the city will operate between Broadview Station and Kingston Road and Queen Street East (Woodbine Loop). Streetcars will then turn south on Church Street, west on Wellington Street, and north on York Street and east on King Street towards Broadview Station.
504B King streetcars in the east end of the city will operate between Broadview Station and Distillery Loop.
This is different from the map which showed the 504A running from Broadview Station while the the 504B runs between Woodbine Loop and Distillery Loop. This turned out to be the service actually operated.
From 5am Thursday, September 5 to 5am Monday, September 9:
Service will be broken at University Avenue into east and west halves of routes.
The map below was added to the Service Advisory on the morning of September 5.
The descriptions below have been updated to reflect actual operations on the morning of September 5.
In the east:
503 Kingston Road cars will operate from Bingham Loop to York via Church and Wellington, a cutback from their current terminal at Spadina (Charlotte Loop).
504A King cars will operate from Broadview Station to York via Church and Wellington.
504B King cars will operate from Woodbine Loop to Distillery Loop.
508 Lake Shore cars will not operate east of Spadina.
304 King and 303 Kingston Road night cars will turn back from the east at York.
In the west:
504A King cars will operate between Dundas West Station and Spadina (Charlotte Loop).
504B King cars will operate between Humber loop and Spadina.
508 Lake Shore cars will operate between Long Branch and Spadina.
304 King night cars will operate between Dundas West Station and Spadina.
There is no mention of any 303 service west of York Street.
Shuttle buses:
Replacement bus service will operate between Jarvis and Portland bypassing the TIFF area via University, Richmond (WB) / Adelaide (EB) and Spadina.
303 Kingston Road Night Car
There was no mention in the announcement of the 303 Kingston Road night car in the original TTC notices. It appears that the 303 is running only between Bingham Loop and York Street similar to the 503 daytime service.
I have asked the TTC for clarifications, but they remain silent on the topic.
Monday and Tuesday September 9-10
“Red carpet events” on King Street will require diversions between 3:30 and 9:30pm.
Wednesday to Saturday September 11-24
“Red carpet events” will occur, but are not expected to require diversions. Some service delays are likely.
What About Adelaide/Richmond?
Thanks to the glacial pace of construction on the Ontario Line diversion, an alternate route for streetcar service eastbound via Adelaide around TIFF is not available. Next year we are likely to see Richmond/Adelaide diversions rather than split routes.
Transit Signal Non-Priority
There is no mention in the announcement of signal adjustments, notably eastbound at King & Spadina and westbound at King & Church to support the greatly increased volume of streetcar left turns the 2024 diversions will require. Similarly, there has never been any transit priority for left turns westbound at King & Sumach to support a Broadview Station / Distillery Loop service. A major problem with past TIFF diversions has been queues at turning locations on diversion routes.
This is an example of how the City compounds the traffic issues caused by events such as TIFF with an absence of pro-transit signalling. We have millions to study red lanes and paint streets, but well-known routine diversions must fend for themselves.
The TTC has announced that streetcar service will be suspended, in part, over the 509 Harbourfront and part of 511 Bathurst at various times between Tuesday, September 3 and January 2025. This will allow the reconstruction and upgrading of the overhead system between Union Station and Exhibition Loop to be fully pantograph-compliant.
Information is posted in three separate items on the TTC site with the first being the most extensive.
Steve Munro 