What to expect from historic TTC service cuts coming next week over the COVID-19 crisis

Thestar.com
May 6, 2020
Ben Spurr

The TTC will formally reduce the frequency of its bus, streetcar, and subway operations next week in a set of sweeping and historic service cuts brought on by the COVID-19 crisis.

The cuts will affect more than 120 bus and streetcar routes, as well as the agency’s two main subway lines. The reductions, scheduled to go into effect on May 10, will result in the TTC operating about 15 per cent less service citywide than before the crisis, according to an internal report the agency provided to the Star.

Most bus and streetcar routes will run at reduced levels.

For example, the 501 Queen streetcar will operate every 10 minutes all day instead of its previous schedule of every few minutes during peak periods.

The 36 Finch West bus, which previously operated during morning rush hour as frequently as every four minutes and 30 seconds, will run every six minutes instead.

Service on the Line 1 (Yonge-University-Spadina) subway will be reduced to one train every three to four minutes in the daytime, up from pre-COVID schedules of every two minutes and 20 seconds during morning rush hours. Line 2 (Bloor-Danforth) will see a similar reduction.

The Queen streetcar is seen on October 17, 2011.

Almost all 900-series express bus routes are being suspended, but the TTC will continue to operate local service along affected lines. The agency will also defer the introduction of seasonal routes like those serving the Toronto Zoo, Cherry Beach, Harbourfront, and Ontario Place.

Although agency officials acknowledge the cuts are unprecedented, TTC spokesperson Stuart Green said once they’re in place, riders won’t notice a significant difference compared to current service levels.

That’s because the TTC divisions began reducing service on an ad hoc basis starting in late March as the pandemic forced the city into lockdown and transit ridership plunged. Demand is down about 85 per cent from regular levels. The cuts coming next week will effectively make those earlier reductions official.

TTC director of service planning Mark Mis said the agency expects the lower service levels to be in place until at least the end of August.

Green said the cuts are “temporary” and designed to “be scaled back up” as the city begins to reopen and “ridership returns to normal.”

The TTC is facing an unparalleled financial crisis as a result of COVID-19, with the agency estimating it’s losing about $90 million a month. It announced two weeks ago it intends to temporarily lay off about 1,200 employees in an effort to reduce costs. Negotiations with the transit workers union over the terms of the layoffs are ongoing.

Despite the agency suffering staggering losses, Green said the service cuts coming May 10 are not a cost-saving measure. Instead, he said they’re intended to adjust service to lower ridership while still allowing passengers enough space on vehicles to practice social distancing.

“As (TTC CEO Rick Leary) has indicated, our plan is to match service with demand,” said Green.

Some of the bus routes that will be cut are ones the TTC had previously identified as being overcrowded during certain times of the day, such as the 37 Islington, 117 Alness-Chesswood, and 123 Sherway. The agency has said the still-busy routes serve employment areas and low-income neighbourhoods where essential workers and other residents have few alternatives to public transit.

Most bus and streetcar routes will run at reduced levels.

Shelagh Pizey-Allen, executive director of transit advocacy group TTCriders, said instituting service cuts now could exacerbate crowding and put passengers at risk.

“Riders are already reporting crowding on some routes. Reducing service just as some businesses reopen will make physical distancing more difficult,” she said.

But the TTC says it doesn’t expect the cuts to cause further crowding on any routes.

Automatic passenger counters on buses will be used to detect whether there are more than 15 riders on board at any given time, and on weekdays more than 270 free-floating “run-as-directed” buses will be at the ready to be deployed on routes where crowding becomes an issue.

“Our Transit Control Centre will manage all service in real time and will have flexibility to redeploy service where it is needed most,” Green said.

Mis said that by monitoring passenger loads and redeploying service the agency has been able to significantly reduce crowding. In late March, 22 per cent of all bus trips were overcrowded, but the number has declined to about 5 per cent, he said.

“So we’ve made huge strides in that regard,” Mis said.

Once in place, the cuts mean the TTC will operate about 22,000 fewer service hours per week.

Broken down by mode, bus and subway service will each drop about 15 per cent, and streetcar service will decline by more than 19 per cent.