TTC launches pilot project to test numbered subway lines

citynews.ca
March 1, 2014

The TTC has launched a pilot project to see if numbering Toronto’s subway lines will make the system easier to navigate.

New signs referring to the Yonge-University-Spadina line as 1 and Bloor-Danforth as 2 have gone up at Yonge and Bloor stations.

The hope is the new system will be more user-friendly, especially for occasional riders, tourists and people with language or cognitive barriers. The TTC says it will also work well with mobile technology and won’t be expensive to implement.

Right now, service on one route — like the Yonge-University-Spadina line — goes by many names, like YUS, Yonge subway and Spadina trains.

A report released last fall found the problem will only get worse as the line extends into Vaughan.

If the new system is approved, the Yonge-University-Spadina line would be 1; Bloor-Danforth 2; the Scarborough RT 3; and the Sheppard line 4. Future lines would be numbered in ascending order.

The TTC said in many cases, familiar names — Bloor-Danforth, Sheppard, etc. — will continue to be used alongside the numbers.

Paris — which has 16 subway lines — uses a numbered system, and New York City — which has 24 — uses a combination of numbers and letters.