The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) will be working to increase service and conduct schedules revisions on its bus, subway and streetcar networks, starting Sept. 1. When fully implemented this fall, the bus network will have more service hours than were in place pre-pandemic. Across the system, service hours will increase to 97 percent of pre-pandemic levels, with ridership at approximately 80 to 85 percent compared to 2019.
“People across Toronto need and want more frequent and reliable transit service and I am thrilled to say we are delivering just that,” said Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow. “The TTC is the lifeblood of Toronto and I’m proud of the tremendous progress we’ve made towards returning service to pre-pandemic levels. We are making record investments to enhance service and safety on the TTC, encouraging millions of riders into the system every day.”
Starting Sept. 1, customers on 16 bus routes will experience more room on board and shorter wait times while 23 routes will see improved service reliability. Additionally, six new and revised routes will improve customer wayfinding and better connect key employment, education and retail areas in northeast Scarborough, east Scarborough and south Etobicoke, Ontario, providing more transfer-free trips for faster journeys. The routes include a new 154 Curran Hall, 185 Sheppard Central and 904 Sheppard-Kennedy Express, as well as revisions to the 54 Lawrence East, 80 Queensway and 85 Sheppard-East.
The agency will also restore more than 100 extra scheduled bus trips and make route adjustments to facilitate students boarding at multiple locations surrounding schools. The TTC is launching a year-long pilot program for free transit for Grade 7-12 student field trips in partnership with the Toronto public, Catholic and French school boards.
“As a board, we are focused on rebuilding the foundations of Toronto’s transit system and making the system more attractive to all customers,” said TTC Chair Jamaal Myers. “These service increases and improvements are all about getting the basics right for our customers and making stronger connections for communities where they are needed most. As customer travel patterns stabilize, we can confidently make longer-term changes to the system to address new travel demands that have emerged and evolved from the pandemic.”
Subway service on Line 1 Yonge-University will be increased to address crowding and shorten waits at the busiest times. Trains will arrive every two-to-three minutes during weekday morning and afternoon rush hours and every four-to-five minutes in the early afternoons and evenings between 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. The new schedules will shorten wait times by up to approximately one minute. Extra trains will add more demand-responsive service on Line 2 Bloor-Danforth, with further scheduled increases planned to start in October.
The TTC is also expanding overnight streetcar service with more frequent trips on the 312 St. Clair and 306 Carlton routes, as well as introducing a new 303 Kingston Rd. overnight service, providing more transit options for customers between 1:30 a.m. and 5:30 a.m. daily.
A complete list of service changes beginning September can be found on TTC's website.
