New Metrics for a New TTC
https://stevemunro.ca/2023/09/11/new-metrics-for-a-new-ttc/

With the changing of the guard in the Mayor’s Office and a shift in the political balance of the TTC Board, it is time to blow the dust off of the metrics in the TTC CEO’s Report and elsewhere. I have written about aspects of this before, and will not belabour earlier arguments. However, in […]
#A_Grand_Plan #Service_Cost_and_Quality #Transit #Vehicles

TTC Service Changes for September 3, 2023
https://stevemunro.ca/2023/09/02/ttc-service-changes-for-september-3-2023/

The TTC did not release the detailed list of September 2023 service changes until the afternoon of September 1. To get this information out promptly, this article is published without the usual spreadsheet comparing old and new schedules. I will add the spreadsheet here in a few days when I have built it. Check back […]
#Service_Cost_and_Quality #Transit

TTC Announces Fall 2023 Service Increases
https://stevemunro.ca/2023/08/28/ttc-announces-fall-2023-service-increases/

On August 28, 2023, Mayor Olivia Chow and TTC Chair Jamaal Myers held a press conference at Scarborough Centre Station, hosted by TTC CEO Rick Leary, to announce planned service improvements for coming months. The map below shows routes affected by plans for October and November 2023. The routes in blue, the former SRT colour, […]
#Service_Cost_and_Quality

TTC Service Changes Effective July 30, 2023
https://stevemunro.ca/2023/07/27/ttc-service-changes-effective-july-30-2023/

The TTC will make several changes to its services on July 30, although this round is more of a “fixer upper” to correct problems with some existing schedules rather than major changes. Weekday evening subway service will be formally restored to every 6 minutes or better on Lines 1 & 2. Streetcar service in the […]
#Service_Cost_and_Quality #Transit

TTC Board Meeting July 12, 2023
https://stevemunro.ca/2023/07/18/ttc-board-meeting-july-12-2023/

The TTC Board met on July 12 with a variety of items on their agenda. I have already addressed the presentation of pending service changes as well as a discussion of short turns in previous articles. Topics discussed here include: CEO’s Report for July 2023 Ridership continues to track budget projections, and ran 2% higher […]
#Accessibility #Buses #Finance #Service_Cost_and_Quality #Streetcars #Su

TTC 2024 Service Plan Consultation Round Two
https://stevemunro.ca/2023/06/27/ttc-2024-service-plan-consultation-round-two/

The TTC is part way through production of its 2024 Service Plan as well as a 5-Year Service Plan and Customer Experience Action Plan. In Round Two, consultation will focus on plans for service changes triggered by major construction projects. Five…
#Downtown_Relief/Ontario_Line #Dufferin_Bus #King_Car #Ossington_Bus #Pape_Bus #Queen_Car #Service_Cost_and_Quality #Steeles_

Promises, Promises: 2023 Edition
https://stevemunro.ca/2023/06/02/promises-promises-2023-edition/

The Toronto Mayoral By-Election is just under a month away, and candidates pump out announcements daily, often with a transit spin. In this article I will look at the transit-related issues they are trying to address (or in some cases avoid). All of this takes place in a strange world where the availability of money […]
#Elections #Fares_&_Fare_Collection #Finance #Service_Cost_and_Quality #Transi

Charting Service Frequency (2)
https://stevemunro.ca/2023/05/29/charting-service-frequency-2/

In a previous article, I presented a proposed way to display service frequency on a route in a manner that, I hoped, would convey the pervasiveness of irregular service in a manner that would be clear to casual readers, and in a consistent format. Several readers commented on this either on Twitter or via email, […]
#Dufferin_Bus #Jane_Bus #Queen_Car #Service_Cost_and_Quality

TTC Wants Your Input on Service Plans
https://stevemunro.ca/2023/05/05/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 […]
#Service_Cost_and_Quality #Transit

TTC Service Changes Through Rose Coloured Spectacles
https://stevemunro.ca/2023/05/03/ttc-service-changes-through-rose-coloured-spectacles/

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 […]
#Service_Cost_and_Quality #Transit

A Transit Platform For Toronto
https://stevemunro.ca/2023/04/26/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, […]
#A_Grand_Plan #Elections #Fantasy #Fares_&_Fare_Collection #Service_Cost_and_Quality #Transit

How Many Buses Does The TTC Use?
https://stevemunro.ca/2023/04/22/how-many-buses-does-the-ttc-use/

In recent articles, I commented on the size of the bus fleet claimed in the CEO’s Report, the number of buses actually shown as active in the Scheduled Service Summary, and the ratio of spares to scheduled service. See: An underlying issue for a transit system with a large proportion of spare vehicles is that […]
#Buses #Service_Cost_and_Quality

TTC Bus Fleet 2013 to 2023
https://stevemunro.ca/2023/04/18/ttc-bus-fleet-2013-to-2023/

The Star’s Matt Elliott has reported on the issue of surplus vehicles beyond reasonable spare requirements in the Toronto Star: First off, I must report an error in my previous article which includes a table showing that the TTC has 551 spare buses. The actual number turns out to be 478. The reason for the […]
#Buses #Service_Cost_and_Quality #Transit

TTC April 13, 2023 Board Meeting Follow-Up
https://stevemunro.ca/2023/04/17/ttc-april-13-2023-board-meeting-follow-up/

The TTC Board met on April 13 with an agenda that did not give any indication that there would be lengthy debate on any item. I previewed the major issues in a previous article and will not repeat those comments here. In this article: Rogers Wireless An unexpected and lengthy discussion came from a presentation […]
#Buses #Finance #Service_Cost_and_Quality #Transit

TTC Board Meeting April 13, 2023
https://stevemunro.ca/2023/04/12/ttc-board-meeting-april-13-2023/

The TTC Board will meet on April 13, and the agenda for their meeting is rather small. Notable by its absence is any reference to the service cuts planned for May 7, 2023. The big items in the public portion of the agenda are the monthly CEO’s Report and an update on TTC’s finances and […]
#Buses #Finance #Service_Cost_and_Quality #Streetcars #Subway_Cars #Subways #Transit

Draft of TTC Service Changes Effective Sunday, May 7, 2023
https://stevemunro.ca/2023/04/07/draft-of-ttc-service-changes-effective-sunday-may-7-2023/

During the City’s 2023 budget discussions, TTC staff offered to make information about the effect of budget cuts on service public. However, an unseen hand either at the TTC or City prevented this from happening before the budget was approved. In time, a list of changes for March 26, 2023 appeared on the TTC Board’s […]
#Service_Cost_and_Quality

Red Lanes for Jane Street?
https://stevemunro.ca/2023/03/06/red-lanes-for-jane-street/

The TTC and City of Toronto work on the RapidTO proposal for Jane Street has reached the public consultation stage. There will be an online session on Wednesday, March 8, 2023 from 6-8 pm, and in person Drop Ins on March 22 and 28. Details are on the City’s RapidTO page for the project. The […]
#Jane_Bus #Service_Cost_and_Quality

Service on 905 Eglinton East Express
https://stevemunro.ca/2023/03/02/service-on-905-eglinton-east-express/

Beginning March 26, 2023, the 905 Eglinton East Express bus will run less frequently due to a combination of the new TTC Service Standards and the route’s conversion from standard sized to articulated buses. The vehicle change was not included in the information in the TTC’s overview report discussed at the February 28 Board Meeting, […]
#Service_Cost_and_Quality #Transit

Comparing TTC Service Levels: 2020 vs 2023
https://stevemunro.ca/2023/02/15/comparing-ttc-service-levels-2020-vs-2023/

A major question facing transit advocates today is the degree to which TTC service is less frequent than in the pre-pandemic era, and more recently how it will be changing on a month-to-month basis. As I write this on February 15, 2023, service changes were introduced a few days ago, and many more are planned […]
#Service_Cost_and_Quality #Transit

TTC 2023 Budget: A Bit More Subsidy, But …
https://stevemunro.ca/2023/01/04/ttc-2023-budget-a-bit-more-subsidy-but/

Mayor John Tory announced increased funding of $53 million for the TTC in 2023. To put this in context, the total TTC budget for 2022 was $2.28 billion for the conventional and Wheel-Trans systems. The total TTC subsidy will rise from $905.7 to $958.7 million. This has been presented as a “big thing”, but it […]
#Fares_&_Fare_Collection #Finance #Service_Cost_and_Quality