Grew up in suburbia and hated taking the bus. Was always jealous of downtown folk that we always close to the subway or had streetcars. Now I realize I take it for granted. At least as a kid I *could* take the bus in suburbia which is not true for most North American cities. Also TTC makes it very easy to transfer to subway with fare paid terminals, instead of waiting on the street
There's a bizarre viewpoint in Toronto that improving transit is somehow an affront to cars. So every proposed project sparks a few nutters into getting a small minority of people pressuring city council to cancel so many of the improvements that get proposed. Every time we've managed to make an improvement, it came with either a major struggle or keeping it on the down low until it was done,
I think part of the problem is not enough attention or voice given to those using transit ( a significant contingent ) and allowing us to tell our story and how service will benefit us!
Honestly the TTC bus system is great for me as I am in a transit desert without any subway nearby. So having a really good bus system is a great help. But I wish that the streetcar systems were improved in many ways because they are just really slow in some areas and less frequent than bus routes nearby
Bit of a shame there’s no museum to celebrate the 100 years - even a small one! They’ve got a good few heritage vehicles, there’s artefacts and historic photos at Toronto Archives .. could be very easy to do! :(
There is a museum in Halton county but I never actually got to go there. It is a full day trip where you have to take your bike on a train and go from Guelph station to the museum. I understand that it is run by a non-profit and so on, but making a transit museum only accessible for car drivers must me somewhere high on the list of mortal sins.
@@ramzanninety-five3639 yeah agreed - I mean in terms of an official museum, perhaps downtown - the streetcar Museum at Halton is more of a collection than an museum.
@@JamesScantlebury I think when Portlands were being redeveloped, there was a proposal in there City Hall to make a museum there. I guess you can still do that in the old roundhouse by the CN Tower which is somewhat of a railway heritage place. But I agree, we could use such museum. Or museum of Toronto history in general, because now we only have a bunch of photos in the City Hall and Pioneer Village (which is more of an Ontario museum, really).
@@ramzanninety-five3639 The National Trollybus Museum in the UK is in a village outside of Derby but no bus or anything. Some of the other museums are horrible but some of them are pretty nice. Mostly buses. Trams one is great, they tell you what train for if you want to walk or to get the bus. so nice. Other are just in the city centre.
@@tsareric1921 TfL museum is quite centrally located if I remember correctly. As I mentioned, museums run by enthusiasts usually are quite far away from big cities, but they usually compliment bigger official museums in the city. Halton County Radial Railway Museum is the only such museum in Southern Ontario and it is excruciatingly far
The biggest problem with the TTC is that mostly the powers-that-be (TTC commissioners and politicians) are not public transit users. They look at the dollar sign, and tend to sabotage any needed improvements needed for the TTC. They would defer repairs and maintenance to save money. They would increase crowding on the the vehicles, again to save money. They don't install platform screen doors on the subway platforms, again to save money. Instead of replacing the streetcar single-point switches with double-point switches, they issue "go slow" orders, again to save money.
The slow orders on the streetcar network massively increase operating costs by increasing the round trip time and thereby increasing the number of vehicles and operators required for a given frequency. And that's not even talking about the lost revenue from a less attractive service
I heard something a long time ago that I am not sure is correct but it was about how our politicians were actually 'banned' from riding public transit. It was because there is a belief in the intelligence security agencies that public transit is not safe for public officials. If this belief is still around it completely takes public officials out of our public experiences so they actually stop being able to relate to the public they are supposed to care for and serve. I found that information really telling about how politicians can become so out of touch with everyday people because they could be forced to avoid living like the people they serve.
Come for the TTC's 100th anniversary, stay for Reece railing against the subway and streetcar networks 😂. In all honesty, this was an excellent video, and the discussion on the importance of the bus network highlights the workhorse nature of the TTC. Local transit service in Toronto might not be glamorous, but it gets the job done very well overall with minimal fanfare. There might be a lot more flashy rapid transit systems in other major North American cities, but very few of those systems will accomplish what our nuts-and-bolts surface network does on a daily basis. As for the actual centenary of the TTC, hopefully at least a few books come out to commemorate the occasion. I still have my 75th anniversary book written by Mike Filey, and it's enjoyable to pick up and read randomly.
I first read about Toronto's impressive bus system in Paul Mees' book Transport for Suburbia, and I've been impressed with the late night frequency every time I've visited. I agree that while buses don't get the same love as rail, they are the backbone of a great network. With the right frequency and exclusive lanes, we can quickly shift a lot of trips to transit and reduce emissions. Rail is great too, but it takes years to build so the benefits are often delayed.
As someone who grew up in Scarborough and still lives here, I do realize now how much I take the bus network of the TTC for granted sometimes. When I lived in Vancouver for a few months I really enjoyed the SkyTrain but when it came to surface buses, I felt it was really lacking in some ways compared to Toronto, and I did begin to miss the accessibility riding to and from the Subway and the SRT. The fact that sometimes waiting for 15 minutes for a bus to come by sometimes feels like an eternity for us in Toronto, but is luxury to even some major cities is pretty blessed. And I loved the fact that I could go downtown, spend some late nights with friends, hop on the subway and there'd still be buses able to take me to a stop where I didn't have to walk too far from my place after fatigue and drinks started to set in. I drive primarily now because of work necessities, but I do not have a problem leaving the car at home and taking the bus because I know as much as we lament it sometimes, we do have a pretty damn good bus system on the TTC.
I just arrived to Toronto 2 weeks ago and the bus transit system is perfect. I've been using google maps and I love how accurate it is! Sometimes you have to be at the bus stop 4 minutes earlier because the buses go at a good peace and if there is any delay is not more than 3 minutes! In addition the Toronto roads are in an amazing shape. I also used the metro and I think is really good how they complement each other. The only think that TTC has to improve is to put more places where people can recharge the presto card.
Did I ever mention that there's a good chunk of southwest Brooklyn without _any_ overnight bus service (either 24-hour or exclusive to nights, the latter of which only existed in a limited capacity for about a year), and that the overnight bus service that exists on the fringes of that chunk is, at best, only half as frequent as overnight subway service (one train every 20 minutes)? And that's just one of the better examples of areas getting shafted overnight. That year of the B11 getting its overnight service restored (at 20-minute headways!) was one of the best things for that area I could've ever imagined. I can only imagine if NYC had more overnight bus service (routes running overnight in addition to having daytime service, along with buses every 15-20 minutes) that we'd maybe have a bus network that, while not as impressive as the TTC's, would still be a real boon.
66% of tram tracks in Brussels have a dedicated right of way... That is quite good I actually think considering the system is one of the largest in the world (215 kms in length)
@RoadhogTime13 well they do alleviate some subway, local bus, and streetcar pressure during rush hours but tbh, I feel that they don’t attract many passengers partly because who wants to pay $6.50 for a local bus? Like NYC, they should invest in some motor coaches that would be worth the higher price.
The rocket bus routes are still here, and there are now more than ever before. They were just renamed into the 900 series of route numbers instead of the 190 series, to create a more intuitive link with the corresponding local service. For example the 185 Don Mills Rocket was renamed as the 925 Don Mills Express, to better match the 25 Don Mills (local).
@RoadhogTime13 the TTC has been trying to get rid of the premium bus routes for a long time because they don't carry that many passengers and even with a double fare, they lose tons of money. But the people who ride those routes are wealthy and have the means to put heavy political pressure each time the TTC tries to cancel them. The only thing which did work was to move one of the buses from the Long Branch express onto a new Mimico GO station shuttle.
@@OntarioTrafficMan what they should’ve done was just renumber the Rockets to the 900 as a renumbering and rebranding system and repaint the Rocket buses into a red rocket livery, it could’ve been a whole bus rapid transit system. This way to keep the use of the TTC’s Rocket branding. I understand the idea but it could’ve been better executed
Maybe they should build more decicated tracks and where this is not possible tunnels? Maybe the Subway could be used as Urban "fast Trains" and expand the Tram Network for the finer distribution
They considered using the Sheppard subway tunnels as part of a Sheppard LRT, but they found that the tunnels were too small for the tall low-floor LRT vehicles that Toronto likes to use.
You're right about the bus system in Toronto Reece, and I'll add that while Mississauga and Brampton are both greatly improving their bus system (having started from a better point than much of the GTHA), much of the rest of the GTHA has abysmal transit service. Routes that don't run on weekends, service that ends at 7pm, making service so unattractive that a pseudo-taxi service replaces a bus, schedules highly focused on connecting GO train commuters while entirely ignoring residents travelling within the city - but the worst sin is hourly service, even in rush hours, which really only exists to tick off a check mark on a box, rather than actually meaningfully moving people around.
@@RMTransit Fair, I was thinking of the service (or lack of it) in places like York Region, Oakville, and even to a certain degree, my current city, Hamilton.
Lots to unpack in this video. Good on the TTC for investing in buses. I can’t say much about streetcars and subway trains, but it is unfortunate that TTC didn’t put as much money in these vehicles as it did for buses. I don’t know why, but I think that users could have gotten newer streetcars and trains sooner. And if we really want the bus network to be the best possible, why not reinvest in trolley coaches? Might the TTC want to consider the same routes that had trolley service, or would it want to try trolleys on other routes? So, yes, lots to celebrate. Lots to improve, too. (-:
Trolleys would be good for a lot of reasons, but they would require a lot of infra and given how long it's taking use to just paint lanes idk how long that would take. Pure service investments will have a quicker benefit!
One time in the winter I was on an articulated bus in Toronto and it got stuck in the snow and there was long wait for a replacement bus so that’s something the streetcars have on the buses the streetcars are less likely to get stuck in the snow in the winter
Thank you Reece for an extremely interesting video. As a British viewer may I make one specific comment. Londoners constantly complain about their buses. But visitors to London (whether from Britain or further afield) think London buses are extremely good.- 'Mind Boggling'.
Put futuristic fenders over the wheels (similar to the streetcar) and differentiate busses from cars/vans/caravans/etc in design language. And yes, create more sophisticated stops, signage, and signalling.
You should check out the Stockholm bus system. Although there should be more light rail and street cars for the big trunk lines, it is actually great. There's almost no place you can't get to by bus in the whole region.
The busses are a huge plus for Toronto. A friend and I both live near GO rail stations but to see each other by rail we’d have to go through union station, but ttc buses saved probably an hour off the trip
As someone who takes the streetcar to work everyday- you hit every point perfectly. With the King shuttle buses running right now for track work my commute is actually noticeably faster than when the streetcars are running, although it is MUCH more crowded which is frankly the only reason I prefer the streetcars. They need signal priority at the very least. When traveling through the financial district its brutal getting stuck at every single light and then having to stop again right after crossing the intersection because the stops got moved as a part of the king street pilot program. I honestly don't understand why they cater the downtown core of the city to car traffic, like yea drivers are gonna complain if you give the streetcar right of way in DT but if you chose to live in the suburbs I have zero sympathy for you because you chose to live so far. As you have said previously, its a dense urban core and thats just the way its gotta be. The streetcars need a serious improvement.
Unfortunately, while I agree with you, city council is stacked in a way that budget-focused car-friendly councillors from the inner suburbs manage to slow down if not outright veto major improvements to transit priority, streetcar track/switch improvements, and streetcar expansion. That paired with non-existent management at the TTC substantially hampers meaningful improvement (good KPIs ≠ good service).
The bus network is great until you're in Scarborough trying to go north past Steeles when frequency, consistency, and user experience drop off a cliff. But I mean it lovingly towards a great system overall. Looking forward to better integration with Toronto's neighbours.
I grew up near Steeles Avenue, and it was mind blowing how much higher transit ridership is within the political boundaries of the City of Toronto. Routes within the city will literally have 10 times more ridership than nearby parallel routes outside of the City, while running through an equally suburban environment.
Gotta say Vancouver bus service even out in the burbs is pretty ok these days and yeah the TTC does a different but as good as a job or better as Translink
I know this channel is probably rail oriented, but can u please do more insight about the buses in toronto?? Sorta like demystified or transit explained?
I like it when you’re passionate. ⭐️ Compare the TTC busses with the STM network? The goal should be to turn the “electric busses on steel wheels” into a *real tramway network* is to give them a fully reserved right of way. And yes that means losing parking spaces (stop the crocodile tears…). But that’s all you’d lose. And priority at intersections too.
I think one aspect your either missing or ignoring is the politics of it all. Are we forgetting the Rob Ford era? The streetcar was/is perceived as a "downtown thing" and as such has to fight an uphill battle in Toronto politics to get anything of substance. The Streetcars could be great, but the reason they aren't isn't apathy from the public it's the political deadlock, or at least the perceived opposition. They managed to sneak the King st pilot in and finally enough people saw the light on that once it was in action; the same is possible for things like signal priority and dedicated lanes on other streets. It's not really a technical problem, it's sadly a political problem.
@@RMTransit The toronto political landscape (any many other ontario metros) is dominated by suburban councilors who insert themselves into urban issues. So again, the problem isn't a technical one - the TTC (and local councilors) likely know the options but getting them past a suburban dominated council (or really any car-oriented ward) is the issue. The solution isn't suggesting the technical fixes, it's fostering an environment where they aren't opposed on reflex.
The St Clair streetcar, is a pathetic excuse for a streetcar. Even with the lane separation, its uber slow because there are stops every 400 meters. I would say there is a pandemic of irrational stops in the TTC network. For example, at St Clair, the streetcar leaves the terminal and stops across the street, 30 meters away from the terminal -_- and than it stops again at Deer Hill which is 200 meters away, and yet again at Avenue that's only 200 meters away... and it goes on and on and on
As somebody who used to ride the bus regularly, that peace of mind about not being stranded is huge. I'm from Ottawa where our buses are notorious for being off schedule, so 30+ minute waits were not uncommon. 15 minutes was the peak headway for a lot of the routes I took, and this is 15 mins from downtown. Put me off riding buses anywhere I go, because I had it in my head that buses are just inherently bad.
Someone once told me the difference between Toronto and NYC is that NYC sends a taxi down the street every minute and Toronto sends a bus. What is most amazing is how Toronto's better way is so well used.
I posit that the difference between waiting on a bus, and a long bus ride, is the presence of windows, and other progress indicators, on a bus. You can judge your progress through the windows, but unless there is an LCD at the stop to keep you appraised of the progress of the bus you're waiting on, you're stuck with a measure of uncertainty when waiting around for the bus to arrive. That uncertainty, that sense that you need to be constantly alert and ready so you don't miss it, makes the time seem longer than if you could rely upon subconscious cues to alert you it was time to get ready. I think the bus ride would be similarly unpleasant if those screens, and windows, were removed, so that you couldn't tell how close you were getting to your destination, and would suggest that bus, and other commute, lines invest in fleet GPS and a phone app that can keep the user appraised of service status, vehicle location, and any interruptions as they happen. It would be even better if that app would buzz you when the bus was a minute from the stop, so you could pick up your gear and step to the curb, ready to board.
Meanwhile in Singapore we were still taking large-scale deliveries of buses (e.g. Volvo B9TL, which we have ~1800 of) that didn't have any passenger information system to tell you what your next stop was (either via a screen/LED/LCD display or a speaker) as late as 2017 (though some netizens thought that smartphone apps could make such systems obsolete). We do have a few bus stops with screens telling you how long to wait for the next buses to come though
Just having those old streetcars and no new ones in a fleet would've been illegal in Europe already 10 years ago or so. Look at Vienna, Prague or Berlin (they actually got rid of their Tatras some months ago) where they run old and modern streetcars in a mix, so that everyone can get to their destinations, also blind and disabled people.
I talk about Toronto anywhere and people always speak about riding the streetcar. For those who don’t get to visit often they are interested in the streetcar. I love the streetcar, the buses, the subway in Toronto
In Sydney, most bus routes are pretty good for reliability, frequency and coverage. But the reliability and frequency isn't quite enough that you don't need to think about it on some routes. However, every single vehicle on the network (except some select privately operated busses) is real time position tracked, which gives that peace of mind that you can check that your bus is actually coming, and how long it'll actually be. Or train or ferry. (But if your ferry isn't coming, there isn't anything you can do anyway XD )
The live tracking feature of modern transport networks is incredibly valuable because as you say people can find some comfort knowing their bus hasn't broken down!
10 years ago rob ford completely destroyed transit city and cut bus service.. the streetcar literally came before the buses and still are a huge part of the network and will continue to be expanded. You’ve only recently been living in Toronto so your experience is your experience. I’ll always defend the streetcars because they’re a huge part of Torontonians world - something someone from British Columbia just wouldn’t understand. You must know about the streetcar projects and new lines being proposed, Scarborough Durham BRT? New Waterfront LRT, Realignment of union station streetcar platforms, streetcars the port lands, east bayfront.. lots of streetcars. Give the streetcar some more time to come back stronger than ever. The buses were horrible before that revamped the bus network you need to take a trip to 2005-2011. The bus network is much mu chi better now express service network was a game changer for those long haul trips 108 - 196b- purple line 190- 38 western north York to eastern Scarborough.
I would say when it comes to buses it depends on the route you take. Some routes are still slow and terrible... Other routes are in high demand so the frequency of service is high. For example Route 60 vs Route 53. You have no idea how many buses went by on route 53 before at least 1 route 60 came to my stop only to skip the stop due to it being full... That really motivated me to get my driver's license. Maybe TTC really does mean TakeTheCar.
Toronto should have tunneled under almost all the current streetcar lines and started to run the streetcars as small subway trains. This is essentially what is going on with the Eglinton Ave now.
Have you thought about making a video about the luxembourgish trains, CFL it's a small enough system to cover in depth you could highlight the great things such as that it's free and the great frequency but also its shortcommings such as suposedly (I'm not Luxembourgish) the reliability, you could then argue things to do with single track, bottle necks and the costs and merits of a radial network
I agree with everything you said. When the rocket subway cars were introduced and hyped, my heart sank. Such a mediocre design encasing the usual hospital waiting room ambiance. The Munich U-Bahn fleet and the Japanese have much to teach us in this regard.
@@RMTransit Most Japanese commuter/metro rolling stock have a similar design of unpainted stainless steel bodies too though (probably to save maintenance costs by maximising commonality with older stock)
Streetcars are 100x more comfortable a ride than buses. That alone makes their retention worth it. The problem with reliability is that ttc has zero control over the infrastructure they run on. Same with buses, but their nature makes them somewhat more adaptable. Case in point, left turns in front of streetcars. TTC should be able to restrict where and when other vehicles are able to block them, probably 100%. Cars slow down ttc, not the other way around.
If Vancouver match the frequency of Toronto's buses, especially at night, it would be amazing and get more people to consider using them. Not to do with this video but construction has began on the Capstan station on the Canada Line, it wasn't really publicized that much at all.
Vancouver City used to have more frequent bus service and more express buses but TransLink decided to destroy our good bus service. look at Facebook page we ride public transit Vancouver .
I seen in Vancouver they have a bus street combo thing they told a bus put a street car parts on it no idea if they Maks a cheap way to too have a street car I like that you can ride all the bus system in the GTA even the Go system and they all use the same card system I think it's available for Apple Pay maybe not tried it
Yeah Im actually going to raise you transperths bus system, its extremely well integrated to Perths railway network and it easily spans gigantic areas of suburban sprawl, similarly with Sydney, Brisbane and Adelaide's bus systems.
I live 50 metres from Old Mill Station. 20 minutes to downtown. Subway rocks! I used to live in New Toronto. 60 to 90 minutes to downtown by streetcar. They suck. And as a cyclist who has gone down several times after hitting the tracks, well, don't get me going. . .
Melbourne is constantly upgrading trams, but they're also running 20th century vehicles. Sounds like a good way to have more vehicles for better frequency?
Ther is a lot of transit history in Vienna still Wienerlien is just 22 Jahre alt. Vienna has maintained its 130-year-old a lot tramlines we still have 28 lines bim´s the but we are upgrading the rolling stock. Sadly we have not to build a new line at that time. Still, you cant imagine the ring without the 60-year-old legacy red and white teams. The Bus goes everywhere at any time I wish my bus in Vienna was not evrey ten minutes.
Perhaps this is where we examine problematic sprawl in the GTHA. Yes, the TTC bus system does a fantastic job at responding to laissez-faire development practices, but they offer little hope for change in this respect. Instead of continually enabling long, sparse commutes; why not reimagine how streetcar suburbs would have evolved had we not divested?
repair of streetcars in Toronto Both Metrolinx and TTC could not agree which gauge the new line on Eglington and Finch too use. Mixing the two different gauges has created a nightmare for major repairs for the new cars. If TTC gauge was used then all the cars could be repaired at Leslie Barns, since standard gauge is used the repair areas are not as large TTC Barns and there will be smaller two areas for repair and maintence. All the major repairs to cars will have to go Thunder Bay or Kingston Ontario. What a waste of money???
That's not necessarily true, major repairs will happen at the maintenance facilities! Leslie Barns isn't really equipped to do the work for the LRT network either.
Could you please get into the habit of introducing yourself and this channel at the beginning of your videos? You typically begin with "hello and welcome back to the channel". Anyone who is on CZcams for more than 15min realises that there thousands of different channels. Yours is not THE channel. How about "Hello my name is___, and this is RM Transit" -- or even putting those on a caption card. It really is either arrogant or very inward-focused to say this is THE channel. Thank you.
With bus service, you have to compare apples to apples. While City of Toronto definitely beats City of Vancouver, suburban Vancouver somehow beats suburban Toronto.
Grew up in suburbia and hated taking the bus. Was always jealous of downtown folk that we always close to the subway or had streetcars. Now I realize I take it for granted. At least as a kid I *could* take the bus in suburbia which is not true for most North American cities. Also TTC makes it very easy to transfer to subway with fare paid terminals, instead of waiting on the street
Yeah! I didn't even bring up free body transfers, they're a big deal!
There's a bizarre viewpoint in Toronto that improving transit is somehow an affront to cars. So every proposed project sparks a few nutters into getting a small minority of people pressuring city council to cancel so many of the improvements that get proposed. Every time we've managed to make an improvement, it came with either a major struggle or keeping it on the down low until it was done,
It's a North American thing as a whole tbh
I think part of the problem is not enough attention or voice given to those using transit ( a significant contingent ) and allowing us to tell our story and how service will benefit us!
A bus every 15 minutes late at night? Damn, I'm missing out - that is incredible.
It truly is, I'm amazed every time
Honestly the TTC bus system is great for me as I am in a transit desert without any subway nearby. So having a really good bus system is a great help. But I wish that the streetcar systems were improved in many ways because they are just really slow in some areas and less frequent than bus routes nearby
I wouldn't say it's a transit desert if there's great bus service!
Bit of a shame there’s no museum to celebrate the 100 years - even a small one! They’ve got a good few heritage vehicles, there’s artefacts and historic photos at Toronto Archives .. could be very easy to do! :(
There is a museum in Halton county but I never actually got to go there. It is a full day trip where you have to take your bike on a train and go from Guelph station to the museum. I understand that it is run by a non-profit and so on, but making a transit museum only accessible for car drivers must me somewhere high on the list of mortal sins.
@@ramzanninety-five3639 yeah agreed - I mean in terms of an official museum, perhaps downtown - the streetcar Museum at Halton is more of a collection than an museum.
@@JamesScantlebury I think when Portlands were being redeveloped, there was a proposal in there City Hall to make a museum there. I guess you can still do that in the old roundhouse by the CN Tower which is somewhat of a railway heritage place. But I agree, we could use such museum. Or museum of Toronto history in general, because now we only have a bunch of photos in the City Hall and Pioneer Village (which is more of an Ontario museum, really).
@@ramzanninety-five3639 The National Trollybus Museum in the UK is in a village outside of Derby but no bus or anything.
Some of the other museums are horrible but some of them are pretty nice. Mostly buses. Trams one is great, they tell you what train for if you want to walk or to get the bus. so nice. Other are just in the city centre.
@@tsareric1921 TfL museum is quite centrally located if I remember correctly. As I mentioned, museums run by enthusiasts usually are quite far away from big cities, but they usually compliment bigger official museums in the city. Halton County Radial Railway Museum is the only such museum in Southern Ontario and it is excruciatingly far
The biggest problem with the TTC is that mostly the powers-that-be (TTC commissioners and politicians) are not public transit users. They look at the dollar sign, and tend to sabotage any needed improvements needed for the TTC. They would defer repairs and maintenance to save money. They would increase crowding on the the vehicles, again to save money. They don't install platform screen doors on the subway platforms, again to save money. Instead of replacing the streetcar single-point switches with double-point switches, they issue "go slow" orders, again to save money.
The slow orders on the streetcar network massively increase operating costs by increasing the round trip time and thereby increasing the number of vehicles and operators required for a given frequency. And that's not even talking about the lost revenue from a less attractive service
I think that's an oversimplification
I heard something a long time ago that I am not sure is correct but it was about how our politicians were actually 'banned' from riding public transit. It was because there is a belief in the intelligence security agencies that public transit is not safe for public officials. If this belief is still around it completely takes public officials out of our public experiences so they actually stop being able to relate to the public they are supposed to care for and serve. I found that information really telling about how politicians can become so out of touch with everyday people because they could be forced to avoid living like the people they serve.
Come for the TTC's 100th anniversary, stay for Reece railing against the subway and streetcar networks 😂.
In all honesty, this was an excellent video, and the discussion on the importance of the bus network highlights the workhorse nature of the TTC. Local transit service in Toronto might not be glamorous, but it gets the job done very well overall with minimal fanfare. There might be a lot more flashy rapid transit systems in other major North American cities, but very few of those systems will accomplish what our nuts-and-bolts surface network does on a daily basis.
As for the actual centenary of the TTC, hopefully at least a few books come out to commemorate the occasion. I still have my 75th anniversary book written by Mike Filey, and it's enjoyable to pick up and read randomly.
It would be awesome if some books came out! It's a significant milestone!
I first read about Toronto's impressive bus system in Paul Mees' book Transport for Suburbia, and I've been impressed with the late night frequency every time I've visited. I agree that while buses don't get the same love as rail, they are the backbone of a great network. With the right frequency and exclusive lanes, we can quickly shift a lot of trips to transit and reduce emissions. Rail is great too, but it takes years to build so the benefits are often delayed.
Couldn't agree more, Mees' book is legendary!
As someone who grew up in Scarborough and still lives here, I do realize now how much I take the bus network of the TTC for granted sometimes. When I lived in Vancouver for a few months I really enjoyed the SkyTrain but when it came to surface buses, I felt it was really lacking in some ways compared to Toronto, and I did begin to miss the accessibility riding to and from the Subway and the SRT. The fact that sometimes waiting for 15 minutes for a bus to come by sometimes feels like an eternity for us in Toronto, but is luxury to even some major cities is pretty blessed. And I loved the fact that I could go downtown, spend some late nights with friends, hop on the subway and there'd still be buses able to take me to a stop where I didn't have to walk too far from my place after fatigue and drinks started to set in.
I drive primarily now because of work necessities, but I do not have a problem leaving the car at home and taking the bus because I know as much as we lament it sometimes, we do have a pretty damn good bus system on the TTC.
I just arrived to Toronto 2 weeks ago and the bus transit system is perfect. I've been using google maps and I love how accurate it is! Sometimes you have to be at the bus stop 4 minutes earlier because the buses go at a good peace and if there is any delay is not more than 3 minutes! In addition the Toronto roads are in an amazing shape. I also used the metro and I think is really good how they complement each other. The only think that TTC has to improve is to put more places where people can recharge the presto card.
I don't even bother with scheduling apps since the frequency means buses rarely stick to a schedule. Look at the route you want to take and go!
Did I ever mention that there's a good chunk of southwest Brooklyn without _any_ overnight bus service (either 24-hour or exclusive to nights, the latter of which only existed in a limited capacity for about a year), and that the overnight bus service that exists on the fringes of that chunk is, at best, only half as frequent as overnight subway service (one train every 20 minutes)? And that's just one of the better examples of areas getting shafted overnight. That year of the B11 getting its overnight service restored (at 20-minute headways!) was one of the best things for that area I could've ever imagined. I can only imagine if NYC had more overnight bus service (routes running overnight in addition to having daytime service, along with buses every 15-20 minutes) that we'd maybe have a bus network that, while not as impressive as the TTC's, would still be a real boon.
Absolutely, it's always amazing how New York doest run way more service!
The great thing is that electric buses are being introduced quickly. We already have the largest electric bus fleet in NA!
It's exciting but I want to make sure we implement them well!
66% of tram tracks in Brussels have a dedicated right of way... That is quite good I actually think considering the system is one of the largest in the world (215 kms in length)
And it has a lot of other great features...
I'd love to see Toronto getting just above 50%!
The TTC should’ve kept the Rocket buses and repurposed them as BRT. Even have MCIs or Prevost coaches for the Downtown express routes.
@RoadhogTime13 well they do alleviate some subway, local bus, and streetcar pressure during rush hours but tbh, I feel that they don’t attract many passengers partly because who wants to pay $6.50 for a local bus? Like NYC, they should invest in some motor coaches that would be worth the higher price.
The rocket bus routes are still here, and there are now more than ever before. They were just renamed into the 900 series of route numbers instead of the 190 series, to create a more intuitive link with the corresponding local service.
For example the 185 Don Mills Rocket was renamed as the 925 Don Mills Express, to better match the 25 Don Mills (local).
@RoadhogTime13 the TTC has been trying to get rid of the premium bus routes for a long time because they don't carry that many passengers and even with a double fare, they lose tons of money. But the people who ride those routes are wealthy and have the means to put heavy political pressure each time the TTC tries to cancel them. The only thing which did work was to move one of the buses from the Long Branch express onto a new Mimico GO station shuttle.
@@OntarioTrafficMan what they should’ve done was just renumber the Rockets to the 900 as a renumbering and rebranding system and repaint the Rocket buses into a red rocket livery, it could’ve been a whole bus rapid transit system. This way to keep the use of the TTC’s Rocket branding. I understand the idea but it could’ve been better executed
I feel like GO taking over these routes could be an interesting idea, the Double Deckers are much more suited to express services.
Maybe they should build more decicated tracks and where this is not possible tunnels? Maybe the Subway could be used as Urban "fast Trains" and expand the Tram Network for the finer distribution
@@Humulator this idea sounds alot like lrt’s
They considered using the Sheppard subway tunnels as part of a Sheppard LRT, but they found that the tunnels were too small for the tall low-floor LRT vehicles that Toronto likes to use.
The issue is that, if you're building tunnels - streetcars aren't a great way to utilize them
@@RMTransit Clearly the actual answer is to fill them with Teslas. Biggest /s ever if that wasn't obvious.
You're right about the bus system in Toronto Reece, and I'll add that while Mississauga and Brampton are both greatly improving their bus system (having started from a better point than much of the GTHA), much of the rest of the GTHA has abysmal transit service. Routes that don't run on weekends, service that ends at 7pm, making service so unattractive that a pseudo-taxi service replaces a bus, schedules highly focused on connecting GO train commuters while entirely ignoring residents travelling within the city - but the worst sin is hourly service, even in rush hours, which really only exists to tick off a check mark on a box, rather than actually meaningfully moving people around.
To be fair, Toronto Miss. And Brampton are a very substantial part of the GTHA!
@@RMTransit Fair, I was thinking of the service (or lack of it) in places like York Region, Oakville, and even to a certain degree, my current city, Hamilton.
Lots to unpack in this video. Good on the TTC for investing in buses. I can’t say much about streetcars and subway trains, but it is unfortunate that TTC didn’t put as much money in these vehicles as it did for buses. I don’t know why, but I think that users could have gotten newer streetcars and trains sooner.
And if we really want the bus network to be the best possible, why not reinvest in trolley coaches? Might the TTC want to consider the same routes that had trolley service, or would it want to try trolleys on other routes?
So, yes, lots to celebrate. Lots to improve, too. (-:
Trolleys would be good for a lot of reasons, but they would require a lot of infra and given how long it's taking use to just paint lanes idk how long that would take. Pure service investments will have a quicker benefit!
@@RMTransit Lots of infrastructure? That’s a good thing, isn’t it? After all, you need to **invest** in public transit. 😉
One time in the winter I was on an articulated bus in Toronto and it got stuck in the snow and there was long wait for a replacement bus so that’s something the streetcars have on the buses the streetcars are less likely to get stuck in the snow in the winter
Thank you Reece for an extremely interesting video. As a British viewer may I make one specific comment. Londoners constantly complain about their buses. But visitors to London (whether from Britain or further afield) think London buses are extremely good.- 'Mind Boggling'.
London has a great bus system indeed, though it's relationship with the railways is very different than in Toronto!
Reece has definitely never taken the 70 O'Connor LOL but otherwise I wholeheartedly agree that the buses are the backbone of the TTC.
Or the 51 Leslie.
@@mrrobot5963 yeah Leslie and Bayview aren't great, but you can always go to Don Mills or Yonge!
I live in Barrie. When I travel to Toronto I love taking the streetcar.
I like it when 2 Bus routes arrive simultaneously at an intersection. This is the paragon of connectivity IMO.
Put futuristic fenders over the wheels (similar to the streetcar) and differentiate busses from cars/vans/caravans/etc in design language. And yes, create more sophisticated stops, signage, and signalling.
Oh trust me, this is exactly the type of thing I wish we did more of in Toronto!
You should check out the Stockholm bus system.
Although there should be more light rail and street cars for the big trunk lines, it is actually great.
There's almost no place you can't get to by bus in the whole region.
Yeah that basically how it is in Toronto, if you aren’t within 300m of a bus stop, then you’re not in Toronto.
A million riders a day is super impressive. That's a good chunk of the metro are population. Way to go!
I believe it's more like a million and a half on the buses!
The busses are a huge plus for Toronto. A friend and I both live near GO rail stations but to see each other by rail we’d have to go through union station, but ttc buses saved probably an hour off the trip
As someone who takes the streetcar to work everyday- you hit every point perfectly. With the King shuttle buses running right now for track work my commute is actually noticeably faster than when the streetcars are running, although it is MUCH more crowded which is frankly the only reason I prefer the streetcars. They need signal priority at the very least. When traveling through the financial district its brutal getting stuck at every single light and then having to stop again right after crossing the intersection because the stops got moved as a part of the king street pilot program. I honestly don't understand why they cater the downtown core of the city to car traffic, like yea drivers are gonna complain if you give the streetcar right of way in DT but if you chose to live in the suburbs I have zero sympathy for you because you chose to live so far. As you have said previously, its a dense urban core and thats just the way its gotta be. The streetcars need a serious improvement.
Unfortunately, while I agree with you, city council is stacked in a way that budget-focused car-friendly councillors from the inner suburbs manage to slow down if not outright veto major improvements to transit priority, streetcar track/switch improvements, and streetcar expansion. That paired with non-existent management at the TTC substantially hampers meaningful improvement (good KPIs ≠ good service).
A lot of work is needed to take King Street to its full potential!
The bus network is great until you're in Scarborough trying to go north past Steeles when frequency, consistency, and user experience drop off a cliff. But I mean it lovingly towards a great system overall. Looking forward to better integration with Toronto's neighbours.
For sure but that's not up to the TTC!
I grew up near Steeles Avenue, and it was mind blowing how much higher transit ridership is within the political boundaries of the City of Toronto. Routes within the city will literally have 10 times more ridership than nearby parallel routes outside of the City, while running through an equally suburban environment.
I agree with you on the TTC's bus service. As far as the Streetcar service, they are slowly expanding it towards the portlands.
Coverage is good, but service levels aren't substantially improving
Gotta say Vancouver bus service even out in the burbs is pretty ok these days and yeah the TTC does a different but as good as a job or better as Translink
Idk, I lived in and continue to visit the Vancouver suburbs and service is frequently half hourly. In Toronto it's usually 10 minutes or better!
Preach! Right. Of. Way. such a cost effective improvement that will make our streets more people-centric.
I know this channel is probably rail oriented, but can u please do more insight about the buses in toronto?? Sorta like demystified or transit explained?
I've done quite a few videos on them, but you can definitely expect more!
I like it when you’re passionate. ⭐️ Compare the TTC busses with the STM network?
The goal should be to turn the “electric busses on steel wheels” into a *real tramway network* is to give them a fully reserved right of way.
And yes that means losing parking spaces (stop the crocodile tears…). But that’s all you’d lose.
And priority at intersections too.
I think one aspect your either missing or ignoring is the politics of it all. Are we forgetting the Rob Ford era? The streetcar was/is perceived as a "downtown thing" and as such has to fight an uphill battle in Toronto politics to get anything of substance. The Streetcars could be great, but the reason they aren't isn't apathy from the public it's the political deadlock, or at least the perceived opposition. They managed to sneak the King st pilot in and finally enough people saw the light on that once it was in action; the same is possible for things like signal priority and dedicated lanes on other streets. It's not really a technical problem, it's sadly a political problem.
Remember who elect the politicians!
@@RMTransit The toronto political landscape (any many other ontario metros) is dominated by suburban councilors who insert themselves into urban issues. So again, the problem isn't a technical one - the TTC (and local councilors) likely know the options but getting them past a suburban dominated council (or really any car-oriented ward) is the issue. The solution isn't suggesting the technical fixes, it's fostering an environment where they aren't opposed on reflex.
The St Clair streetcar, is a pathetic excuse for a streetcar. Even with the lane separation, its uber slow because there are stops every 400 meters. I would say there is a pandemic of irrational stops in the TTC network. For example, at St Clair, the streetcar leaves the terminal and stops across the street, 30 meters away from the terminal -_- and than it stops again at Deer Hill which is 200 meters away, and yet again at Avenue that's only 200 meters away... and it goes on and on and on
Hakimi lebovic enters the chat
The 512 covers 7.0 km and has 27 stops including the termials. That's an average spacing of 270m. Stops every 400 metres would be a huge improvement
@@OntarioTrafficMan thank you!
I agree, overly tight stop spacing is an issue - especially on the streetcar.
@@SweatySockGaming XD
As somebody who used to ride the bus regularly, that peace of mind about not being stranded is huge. I'm from Ottawa where our buses are notorious for being off schedule, so 30+ minute waits were not uncommon. 15 minutes was the peak headway for a lot of the routes I took, and this is 15 mins from downtown. Put me off riding buses anywhere I go, because I had it in my head that buses are just inherently bad.
Someone once told me the difference between Toronto and NYC is that NYC sends a taxi down the street every minute and Toronto sends a bus. What is most amazing is how Toronto's better way is so well used.
I posit that the difference between waiting on a bus, and a long bus ride, is the presence of windows, and other progress indicators, on a bus.
You can judge your progress through the windows, but unless there is an LCD at the stop to keep you appraised of the progress of the bus you're waiting on, you're stuck with a measure of uncertainty when waiting around for the bus to arrive. That uncertainty, that sense that you need to be constantly alert and ready so you don't miss it, makes the time seem longer than if you could rely upon subconscious cues to alert you it was time to get ready.
I think the bus ride would be similarly unpleasant if those screens, and windows, were removed, so that you couldn't tell how close you were getting to your destination, and would suggest that bus, and other commute, lines invest in fleet GPS and a phone app that can keep the user appraised of service status, vehicle location, and any interruptions as they happen. It would be even better if that app would buzz you when the bus was a minute from the stop, so you could pick up your gear and step to the curb, ready to board.
You put this incredibly well!
Meanwhile in Singapore we were still taking large-scale deliveries of buses (e.g. Volvo B9TL, which we have ~1800 of) that didn't have any passenger information system to tell you what your next stop was (either via a screen/LED/LCD display or a speaker) as late as 2017 (though some netizens thought that smartphone apps could make such systems obsolete). We do have a few bus stops with screens telling you how long to wait for the next buses to come though
Just having those old streetcars and no new ones in a fleet would've been illegal in Europe already 10 years ago or so. Look at Vienna, Prague or Berlin (they actually got rid of their Tatras some months ago) where they run old and modern streetcars in a mix, so that everyone can get to their destinations, also blind and disabled people.
Well in Toronto the whole fleet is accessible but I do prefer the phased approach of smaller sub fleets!
I talk about Toronto anywhere and people always speak about riding the streetcar. For those who don’t get to visit often they are interested in the streetcar. I love the streetcar, the buses, the subway in Toronto
In Sydney, most bus routes are pretty good for reliability, frequency and coverage. But the reliability and frequency isn't quite enough that you don't need to think about it on some routes. However, every single vehicle on the network (except some select privately operated busses) is real time position tracked, which gives that peace of mind that you can check that your bus is actually coming, and how long it'll actually be. Or train or ferry. (But if your ferry isn't coming, there isn't anything you can do anyway XD )
The live tracking feature of modern transport networks is incredibly valuable because as you say people can find some comfort knowing their bus hasn't broken down!
I actually knew about this because of an article on Railwayage.
10 years ago rob ford completely destroyed transit city and cut bus service.. the streetcar literally came before the buses and still are a huge part of the network and will continue to be expanded. You’ve only recently been living in Toronto so your experience is your experience. I’ll always defend the streetcars because they’re a huge part of Torontonians world - something someone from British Columbia just wouldn’t understand. You must know about the streetcar projects and new lines being proposed, Scarborough Durham BRT? New Waterfront LRT, Realignment of union station streetcar platforms, streetcars the port lands, east bayfront.. lots of streetcars. Give the streetcar some more time to come back stronger than ever. The buses were horrible before that revamped the bus network you need to take a trip to 2005-2011. The bus network is much mu chi better now express service network was a game changer for those long haul trips 108 - 196b- purple line 190- 38 western north York to eastern Scarborough.
12:45 Actually here in Singapore some commuters prefer buses over trains because the former has more seating & cannibalizing
I would say when it comes to buses it depends on the route you take. Some routes are still slow and terrible... Other routes are in high demand so the frequency of service is high.
For example Route 60 vs Route 53. You have no idea how many buses went by on route 53 before at least 1 route 60 came to my stop only to skip the stop due to it being full...
That really motivated me to get my driver's license. Maybe TTC really does mean TakeTheCar.
Very nice video . All very true. Thanks so much!
Remember the late Rob Ford wanted to get rid of the streetcars what a fool
Toronto should have tunneled under almost all the current streetcar lines and started to run the streetcars as small subway trains. This is essentially what is going on with the Eglinton Ave now.
Might as well build a metro though.
It's an ok idea but as other suggest you'd probably be better off building a metro!
Have you thought about making a video about the luxembourgish trains, CFL it's a small enough system to cover in depth you could highlight the great things such as that it's free and the great frequency but also its shortcommings such as suposedly (I'm not Luxembourgish) the reliability, you could then argue things to do with single track, bottle necks and the costs and merits of a radial network
I love the design of the trams in Luxembourg, I'll definitely cover that system eventually!
TTC stations without gaping ceiling holes.
I agree with everything you said. When the rocket subway cars were introduced and hyped, my heart sank. Such a mediocre design encasing the usual hospital waiting room ambiance. The Munich U-Bahn fleet and the Japanese have much to teach us in this regard.
Yep, they are an improvement but we could do way better!
@@RMTransit Most Japanese commuter/metro rolling stock have a similar design of unpainted stainless steel bodies too though (probably to save maintenance costs by maximising commonality with older stock)
Streetcars are 100x more comfortable a ride than buses. That alone makes their retention worth it. The problem with reliability is that ttc has zero control over the infrastructure they run on. Same with buses, but their nature makes them somewhat more adaptable.
Case in point, left turns in front of streetcars. TTC should be able to restrict where and when other vehicles are able to block them, probably 100%. Cars slow down ttc, not the other way around.
If Vancouver match the frequency of Toronto's buses, especially at night, it would be amazing and get more people to consider using them.
Not to do with this video but construction has began on the Capstan station on the Canada Line, it wasn't really publicized that much at all.
Vancouver City used to have more frequent bus service and more express buses but TransLink decided to destroy our good bus service. look at Facebook page we ride public transit Vancouver .
Nice article you did on urbantoronto
Thank you!
If the TTC's busses are the best then why is Bus Service Operator your lowest patreon level?
Because buses are the lowest order mode!
I guess one of your membership levels needs to be named "Light Rail Operator" Check pl
Nope haha
I seen in Vancouver they have a bus street combo thing they told a bus put a street car parts on it no idea if they Maks a cheap way to too have a street car I like that you can ride all the bus system in the GTA even the Go system and they all use the same card system I think it's available for Apple Pay maybe not tried it
Yeah Im actually going to raise you transperths bus system, its extremely well integrated to Perths railway network and it easily spans gigantic areas of suburban sprawl, similarly with Sydney, Brisbane and Adelaide's bus systems.
I live 50 metres from Old Mill Station. 20 minutes to downtown. Subway rocks! I used to live in New Toronto. 60 to 90 minutes to downtown by streetcar. They suck. And as a cyclist who has gone down several times after hitting the tracks, well, don't get me going. . .
Old Mill is great! See my recent Instragram post ;)
Melbourne is constantly upgrading trams, but they're also running 20th century vehicles. Sounds like a good way to have more vehicles for better frequency?
@@deepmatharu2462 Careful with that, there is no perfect city. There are better ones, but the people who live there will tell you the shortcomings.
Yeah in Melbourne's case it seems like a network redesign is needed since basic frequencies aren't amazing
liked video
Ther is a lot of transit history in Vienna still Wienerlien is just 22 Jahre alt. Vienna has maintained its 130-year-old a lot tramlines we still have 28 lines bim´s the but we are upgrading the rolling stock. Sadly we have not to build a new line at that time. Still, you cant imagine the ring without the 60-year-old legacy red and white teams. The Bus goes everywhere at any time I wish my bus in Vienna was not evrey ten minutes.
The worst problem I have with the TTC is the lack of cleaning. Subway, streetcars, and specially buses always smell very bad.
Ttc please extend 4 subway line because it’s entirely slacking stations.
Perhaps this is where we examine problematic sprawl in the GTHA. Yes, the TTC bus system does a fantastic job at responding to laissez-faire development practices, but they offer little hope for change in this respect. Instead of continually enabling long, sparse commutes; why not reimagine how streetcar suburbs would have evolved had we not divested?
I mean Toronto itself is mostly developed so the good bus service is not serving sprawl so to speak
The Finch and The Eglinton street car/LRT were supposed to be done already
You can thank Rob and Doug Ford for the delays.
Once upon a time I paid $14 for 20 transit tokens.
That's a steal
repair of streetcars in Toronto Both Metrolinx and TTC could not agree which gauge the new line on Eglington and Finch too use. Mixing the two different gauges has created a nightmare for major repairs for the new cars. If TTC gauge was used then all the cars could be repaired at Leslie Barns, since standard gauge is used the repair areas are not as large TTC Barns and there will be smaller two areas for repair and maintence. All the major repairs to cars will have to go Thunder Bay or Kingston Ontario. What a waste of money???
That's not necessarily true, major repairs will happen at the maintenance facilities! Leslie Barns isn't really equipped to do the work for the LRT network either.
Streetcars are indeed painfully SLOW... Ride the rocket?
I think a fix would be to allow them to have its own lane.
Could you please get into the habit of introducing yourself and this channel at the beginning of your videos? You typically begin with "hello and welcome back to the channel". Anyone who is on CZcams for more than 15min realises that there thousands of different channels. Yours is not THE channel. How about "Hello my name is___, and this is RM Transit" -- or even putting those on a caption card. It really is either arrogant or very inward-focused to say this is THE channel. Thank you.
Could you please do an analysis of the Doha Metro in Qatar.
Love your videos, they help me alot with my Geography essays.
It's not a top priority but maybe eventually!
oooooooooooooh am early
Bus rapid transit is more reliable and cheaper than street cars or trams.
Would you consider the Doha metro in Qatar as sustainable means of transport?
Then fking work for the TTC.
With bus service, you have to compare apples to apples. While City of Toronto definitely beats City of Vancouver, suburban Vancouver somehow beats suburban Toronto.
It doesn't uniformly since Toronto suburbs all have very different service levels
CoV was built around the streetsar lines ( as well as parts of Burnaby, NW and NV ) most other suburbs are badly designed for bus services.
thanks for stabbing the ttc streetcars in the BACK!!!!!
Too much "talking head" and not enough graphics.
Its mainly an opinion piece, hence the breakdown!
More graphics in general are helpful for entertainment purposes. But this video has more graphics than usual.
2nd comment!