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905 Eglinton East Express March-April 2023

The 905 Eglinton East Express operates from Kennedy Station to the University of Toronto Scarborough Campus with service also via Ellesmere east to Conlins Road on weekdays. This article primarily reviews the service during March and April 2023.

Major differences in the service after March 26, 2023 include:

  • Articulated buses replaced standard sized vehicles.
  • Scheduled service ran less frequently to compensate for the larger vehicles.
  • Scheduled travel times were lengthened.
  • A stated goal of the new service design was to improve reliability. This was only partially achieved.
  • Although the route officially operates with 18.5m articulated buses, standard sized 12m buses can be found regularly as extras both on weekdays and weekends. This suggests that even before the new service began operating, the TTC realized that they might have cut too deeply. The number of extras varies from zero to three, day by day.
    • These are extras that were reported in the tracking data. Whether there was even more unscheduled service is impossible to tell.
  • Travel times during the weekday daytime between Ellesmere and Kennedy Station, both ways, increased by 10-15% with the new schedule and larger buses.
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TTC Wants Your Input on Service Plans

Although month after month of service reductions to fit the available budget dominate transit debates, the TTC forges ahead with their “5-Year Service Plan & Customer Experience Action Plan”. The intent is to develop priorities and strategies for the 2024-2028 period.

Also underway is work on the 2024 Service Plan. This will focus on issues arising from many construction projects.

The work will take place until October 2023 in various stages beginning with a survey available online (it is also available by mail on request).

The elephant in the room through all this is, of course, the future funding status of the TTC and the level of service they can hope to operate with whatever money comes their way. Part of the survey asks which aspects of service should be enhanced or trimmed depending on the availability of funds.

The objectives of the plan are described with this text:

“We consider two major objectives when planning transit services in Toronto:

  • Maximize mobility and satisfy changing travel needs by ensuring public transit is provided in the right places, at the right times; and
  • Ensure all TTC transit services are efficient and cost-effective (and therefore affordable).

As we work towards these objectives, we strive to balance the benefits of transit services with the cost of providing them.”

This says quite clearly that money will rule the planning, but what has consistently been missing in TTC plans is a sense of advocacy. “Cost effective” is a term that depends very much on the frame of reference. Service convenience, speed, reliability and comfort all have a value as part of an overall push to move people to transit from cars. It is pointless to trumpet a move to greener buses if those buses provide poor service, or worse, sit in the garage because there is no money to operate them.

“We can’t afford that” is a common response when people ask for better service, but too often we are not told what improvements might cost. We might not have the money today, but good political debate should be informed on the options.

Twenty years ago, an essential part of David Miller’s Ridership Growth Strategy was to say “don’t tell us that we cannot do anything, tell us what our options are and what they will cost”. The decision should be up to politicians and their constituents, not pre-empted by management. Of course, if plans are built under direction to avoid spending more money, then management does what they are told.

Parts of the survey could use more granularity. For example, the response to construction and diversion requirements is very different depending on which part of the city one talks about. Where there is a fine-grained street grid, it is much easier to keep service near its normal route than in areas where through streets are widely spaced.

There is no recognition that service reliability interacts with service frequency and speed. There is no point in spending great effort on transit priority schemes only to reduce service and ignore reliability. Travel time savings on paper can be offset by unpredictable wait times, not to mention longer walks to stops.

The survey recognizes the importance of communications. I wrote recently about problems in navigating the TTC’s website and confusion in presentation of updates. A related problem is that that riders have different needs for accessing information. In some cases, it will be “what should I do tomorrow” planning, but a lot of access is for “where is my bus right now”. Finding accurate info quickly is vital whether this is via a smartphone app, an in-shelter next vehicle display or a poster hanging by a string from a stop pole.

The challenge is to get from recognition to implementation, a big problem in an organization that has too many information silos and no apparent single point of responsibility.

“Customer experience” is a slippery term that has, in the past, revealed a lot about how some at the TTC regard what might entice riders to the system. The emphasis has been on nice-to-haves like WiFi (only recently elevated as a safety issue), elaborate waiting stations at transfer points and shops in subway stations. The most basic part of the experience – the wait for and crowding on board vehicles – is rarely discussed. As extra service for the pandemic era winds down, this is the central debate.

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Where Is My Diversion Notice?

I recently wrote about the large number of overlapping construction projects affecting the streetcar system this year. A major problem today, as in years past, is that the TTC’s website is very badly designed from the point of view of actually finding information. As I wrote that article, I kept discovering info by looking under various rocks, and in some cases from a City web page with related information.

A typical transit rider should not have to undertake such explorations just to find out what the present and planned network configuration will be.

This article describes the layout of the TTC’s site as it exists on Thursday, May 4, 2023. Things move from time to time, and you might not find a page where you thought you left it the previous day.

A fundamental problem with the site is that there are at least five different types of posts which convey service information in addition to the basic schedule and map pages for each route:

  • Service Alerts: These are posted by Transit Control and advise of current major issues affecting routes.
  • Service Changes: This page list service changes and diversions.
  • Subway Closures: These detail planned work requiring the shutdown of service on parts of the subway network.
  • Construction Notices: These detail work in progress at various sites, but these are separate from …
  • Projects & Plans: These describe major projects including construction.

Some but not all of these automatically link to the affected routes. The Construction Plans are only available to those who seek them out as I will describe later. It is not unusual to find conflicting information related to the same route or project.

There is an IT term “denormalization” which describes a situation where the same information is contained in multiple places risking synchronization problems during updates.

The TTC’s web site has many links between pages that are clearly intended to provide a “fast path” in hopping around the site rather than always drilling down from the top. However, these are not implemented consistently. Moreover, some pages with different information and purpose have the same or similar descriptions in links.

This article is not intended as a commentary on the site’s design beyond the general difficulty of finding information and the inconsistencies in where this is posted. I am sure others (you know who you are) could have a lot of fun talking about design in the comments.

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The Cost of a Scarborough RT Busway

On May 2, Toronto’s Executive Committee considered a report on the future bus service to replace the Scarborough RT which will shut down in late 2023. The “debate” was notable for a few key reasons:

  • The staff report took the position that a busway in the SRT corridor was not on the table because it is not “funded” in City budget parlance. Therefore, the report concentrates on buses operating over city streets between Scarborough Town Centre and Kennedy Station.
  • There was considerable confusion about the cost of the SRT busway option, although it has been under study by the TTC for a few years.
  • Completion of the design to 30% lacks only $2.9 million in funding. The position of most Councillors and of staff is that the province should pay, and talks are underway as part of the wider Scarborough Subway funding arrangements. Meanwhile the design work sits.
  • The Committee was misled by City staff about the busway’s cost by confusion of busway-specific costs with other elements such as the eventual dismantling of the SRT which is a common cost for any scenario.
  • Several City staff appeared to have done little prep work for the debate even though it was well known in advance that this would an item of interest on the agenda.

Meanwhile, the hapless transit riders in Scarborough wait for a fast route to replace the SRT, but see this drifting off into the mist. There is a strong sense that this project is not a priority for the City unless someone else pays. That may sound very good as a negotiating stance, but it does little for riders.

This article reviews the estimates for the busway to sort out the confused material presented to Executive Committee. Possibly, if the planets all align over Scarborough, Council can unscramble this at its meeting on May 10.

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TTC Service Changes Through Rose Coloured Spectacles

Updated May 4, 2023: The High Park bus service erroneously mentioned in the media release below is supposed to go into service on June 18 according to the Seasonal Services page on the TTC’s website.

The TTC has issued a press release as a general announcement of the planned changes on May 7, 2023. It puts a rather generous spin on what is about to happen. First, here is the unedited text.

Starting this Sun., May 7, the TTC is introducing new schedules on some routes to improve reliability along busy corridors, add seasonal service to key city attractions, better align capacity with ridership demand and accommodate construction across the city.

“We are investing more than ever before as a City government in the TTC to continue to support transit service as it comes back from the unprecedented impact of the pandemic. The TTC is continuing to provide more service than ridership and to increase service on the busiest routes at the busiest times,” said Deputy Mayor Jennifer McKelvie. “Thank you to all TTC workers for continuing to provide safe and reliable service across our city for residents and visitors.”

“These service adjustments are a direct result of extensive consultation with communities and customers,” said TTC Chair Jon Burnside. “On behalf of the TTC Board, I commend the TTC for their focus on service improvements to important City corridors, including Markham Rd., Finch Ave., Wilson Ave., and Jane St.”

“The TTC is continuing to focus on delivering more frequent service to the areas across the city that need it most. This is all part of our strategy to match service to demand and ensure that we are meeting the needs of our riders,” said TTC CEO Rick Leary. “I’d like to thank everyone who engaged with us and provided feedback as we developed this latest schedule, and we look forward to continued feedback from our customers.”

Among the adjustments being made:

• Reduced wait times on overnight routes along Finch Ave., Jane St., and Wilson Ave., to every 20 minutes from 30 minutes.
• Enhancing reliability on the Markham Rd. corridor – one of the TTC’s busiest – by extending service on the 902 Markham Rd Express to connect to busy employment areas at Morningside and Steeles avenues.
• Launching seasonal routes to popular parks and attractions such as Cherry Beach, Bluffer’s Park, High Park and the Toronto Zoo.

The TTC will also continue to monitor service in real time and have additional, unscheduled vehicles available across all modes to fill gaps in service when and where possible.

TTC Media Release May 3, 2023

Let’s take these points in order.

… better align capacity with ridership demand …

That sound very productive, but it hides the fact that many service cuts both in May and in March were made on this basis. A related change in crowding standards implemented by management enabled service cuts on many routes, particularly in off-peak periods.

The TTC is continuing to provide more service than ridership and to increase service on the busiest routes at the busiest times …

Riders on those “busiest routes” might choose to differ. TTC has cut service on several trunk routes over the past months.

In March:

  • Line 2 Bloor-Danforth
  • 501 Queen weekdays
  • 25 Don Mills
  • 29/929 Dufferin
  • 35 Jane
  • 36 Finch West
  • 41/941 Keele
  • 943 Kennedy Express
  • 905 Eglinton East Express

In May:

  • Line 1 Yonge-University
  • 501 Queen (weekend afternoons)
  • 512 St. Clair
  • 52 Lawrence West
  • 85/985 Sheppard East

“These service adjustments are a direct result of extensive consultation with communities and customers,” said TTC Chair Jon Burnside. “On behalf of the TTC Board, I commend the TTC for their focus on service improvements to important City corridors, including Markham Rd., Finch Ave., Wilson Ave., and Jane St.”

I suspect one would be hard pressed to describe what the TTC did as “consultation” considering that they actively withheld information on service changes from City Councillors during the budget debates. The information only came to light thanks to a Freedom of Information request by TTCRiders. The official version of the May 7 changes was only released on the afternoon of May 1, although this existed in draft months earlier.

As for service improvements listed by Chair Burnside, yes Markham Road sees better service. However, the only changes on Finch, Wilson and Jane are to overnight service. Two of these routes saw daytime service cuts in March.

Among the adjustments being made:

[…]
• Launching seasonal routes to popular parks and attractions such as Cherry Beach, Bluffer’s Park, High Park and the Toronto Zoo.

The Cherry Beach, Bluffer’s Park and Zoo services run every summer. They are not additions to the network but simply revivals of regular seasonal services under new branding. As for High Park, there is nothing in the announced changes of summer service into the park previously provided by 30 Lambton. High Park Station is now served by 189 Stockyards and 30 High Park, and there is no mention of an extension in the service memo for May 7, nor is there any mention on the TTC’s website.

Updated May 4, 2023: It turns out that there are plans effective June 18 for a 203 High Park bus. The existing 30 High Park will be renamed High Park North

The TTC will also continue to monitor service in real time and have additional, unscheduled vehicles available across all modes to fill gaps in service when and where possible.

The TTC has cited its “Run as directed” buses as a catch-all fix for service irregularities, but is unable to show how these vehicles have actually been used. At its last meeting, the TTC Board was told that there would be a presentation to their May 8 meeting on the use of RAD buses, but nothing has appeared on the agenda. With luck it will be a “walk in” report presented as part of the CEO’s report.

The TTC would attract better regard from those who try to support their work by being less secretive and defensive. Providing timely information allows debates about the city’s priorities to occur in context rather than with only vague rumours.

The TTC’s job is to provide good transit service. If as an organization it turns into a good news mouthpiece for the Mayor, the Board members, the CEO, it has lost its way. Toronto needs open debates about the future of so many services, not self-serving puffery.

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TTC eBus Contract Goes to New Flyer and Nova Bus

With the federal announcement of funding for the TTC’s eBus project, the bid award has been posted on the MERX website as of May 2, 2023.

The bid closed on April 18, 2022, but was not awarded until late January 2023, likely subject to receipt of funding.

The dollar value of the awards are $343.5 million to New Flyer and $220.2 million to Nova Bus. Vehicle quantities are not included in the MERX information, and I await a press release from the TTC with more details.

The total of $563.7 million is split roughly 60/40 between the two builders. This implies that neither of them scored in the highest possible echelon on product evaluation. This would have led to a much higher proportion going to one of two, or even to a single bidder, based on the scoring system in the RFP.

By implication, BYD, the only other bidder, fell even lower in the scoring. This is not surprising considering the quality and reliability problems the TTC has encountered with their vehicles.

I will update this article with additional information as I receive it.

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TTC Service Changes Effective May 7, 2023 (Final Version)

On May 1, 2023, the TTC released the final version of the service changes planned for May 7. These are substantially the same as the draft version obtained via a Freedom of Information request by TTCRiders. See Draft of TTC Service Changes Effective Sunday, May 7, 2023.

Back in January during budget debates, some Councillors asked for details of the service cuts that would be implemented due to increased crowding standards and financial constraints. TTC staff agreed that this information could be available within a week, but an unseen hand at a higher level (either the TTC CEO Leary or then-Mayor Tory’s office) blocked this. Actually admitting the effects of a budget before it was approved simply was not part of the TTC’s agenda.

The official, final version allows comparison with the draft version. Although the TTC suggested that TTCRiders publication of the draft could be misleading because of changes in the final version, in fact there is very little change.

This article includes only the updates since the draft version, and readers should look to the article linked above for the full list. The spreadsheet (linked later in the article) detailing all of the changes has been updated to reflect the differences between the draft and final versions.

Updated May 2, 2023 at 10:10 am: A overview of all routes showing which get more service and which get less has been added.

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King Streetcars Return to King Street

The TTC has announced that the 504 King streetcar is now actually running on King Street!

For the period from May 1-6, the 504B streetcar service from Broadview Station to Dufferin Loop will operate over the normal route. The west end 504C bus from Dundas West Station to the Distillery, and 504D from Broadview/Gerrard to Exhibition via Strachan will continue to operate until May 6.

Effective May 7, streetcar service will resume all the way to Dundas West Station, but all cars will operate to Distillery Loop because the Don Bridge on Queen will be under repair for a few months. The east end of the line will operate as a shuttle bus from Parliament & King to Broadview Station. West end service will be the standard combination of 504A cars to Dundas West and 504B cars to Dufferin.

This will change again on June 18 when major construction begins on Broadview Avenue and TTC service between Gerrard and Danforth will be suspended. For further details, see my article on this summer’s construction projects.

As I write this, the routes as defined to NextBus (which supplies most data to prediction apps) have not been updated for 504 King or 501 Queen (which starts its own major diversion around Ontario Line construction). This means that predictions for stops are going to be a mess probably for the coming week until the main update with the May 7 service changes is implemented.

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Au Revoir to Queen Street

With the shutdown of Queen Street for Ontario Line construction between Victoria and Bay, we will not see streetcars there for many years. The last cars will run just before midnight on April 30, 2023.

Until early 2024, the absence will be over a longer stretch from Broadview to McCaul until new diversion track via York and Adelaide is finished. In turn, that depends on relocating nine utility vaults under the new Adelaide trackage.

It is possible that the TTC will revise the diversion pattern once the Don Bridge reopens to streetcars later in 2023 (it will close for maintenance on May 7), but nothing has been decided yet.

Here are photos of various generations of streetcars on the central section of Queen as a memento while we await their return.

Note that this is a large gallery, and it will take a while to load after you first click on a photo.

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A Transit Platform For Toronto

Two months from now, on June 26, Toronto will elect a new Mayor thanks to John Tory’s unexpected departure. There will be at least fifty candidates on the ballot, although most of them will garner only a handful of votes.

I am not one of them, and have no ambitions to high office. That said, I certainly have hopes that our new Mayor will have a strong pro-transit agenda and will actually care about the City rather than brown-nosing their way to small favours from Queen’s Park.

For those who are interested, here is the campaign-sized version of my advice and platform were I running:

  • Service is key. Run as much as possible, everywhere, and run it well.
  • Build budgets based on what you want to see, not on what you think you can afford. Just getting by is not a recipe for recovery and growth. If the money doesn’t come, then look to “Plan B” but aim for “Plan A”.
  • Fares are a central part of our transit system, but the question is who should pay and how much. Strive for simplicity. Give discounts where they are truly needed. Make the transit system worth riding so that small, regular increases are acceptable.
  • Focus on ease of use among transit systems in the GTA, but do not equate “integration” with amalgamated governance.
  • Transit property: parking or housing?
  • Foster a culture of advocacy in management and on the TTC Board.
  • Beware of lines on maps. A “my map vs your map” debate focuses all effort on a handful of corridors while the rest of the network rots.
  • Plan for achievements in your current term and make sure they actually happen. Longer term is important, but the transit ship is sinking. You are running for office in 2023. Vague promises for the 2030s are cold comfort to voters who have heard it all before.

That’s more than will fit comfortably on a leaflet, but, hey, I am the blogger who writes long form articles about transit. As a commentator, my biggest worry lies with those who say “TL,DR”. In the following sections I will expand on the bullets above. Thanks for reading.

How much would all this cost? In many cases the answer depends on the scale and speed of implementation. Although I have a sense of at least order of magnitude costs, I am not going to be foolish enough to put specific dollar figures here. For too long, City policy has started with a budget rather than a philosophy, an aspiration to be great, and settled for just good enough. We almost certainly cannot afford everything today, but we need to know what tomorrow we strive for.

If the 2003 Ridership Growth Strategy taught us anything, it was that we should first talk about aspirations, about what the transit system might be, rather than precluding debate with the classic “we can’t afford it” response. It’s amazing what monies can be found once information is out in the open. We commit tens of billions to construction, but are terrified, at least politically, by far lower costs to improve transit for everybody today.

I have deliberately omitted a discussion of security and related social services here. These are not just transit issues, but part of a city-wide, society-wide problem that will not be solved with a simple show of force. Recent trends both in public opinion and official responses at the City and TTC show an emphasis on providing support for those who need it: the homeless and the mentally unwell. This should continue and expand.

An inevitable question is who will I endorse? That will come later in the campaign as candidates flesh out their programs. Some make their beds with the provincial Tories. As enemies of the city, collaborators, they deserve only contempt. For others, we are in promising early days.

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