King St. pilot boosting streetcar ridership: TTC
Figures released by the transit agency Thursday state the contentious project has increased rush hour ridership by almost 25 per cent.

Thestar.com
Ben Spurr
Jan. 11, 2018

The King St. streetcar pilot project has increased morning rush hour transit ridership on the route by almost 25 per cent, according to the TTC.

The number was released Thursday in a report going before the TTC board next week.

TTC Chair Josh Colle called the numbers “extraordinary.”

“This is actually a good case study, when transit actually becomes rapid, people want to use it. So King is faster now, and it’s more reliable, and so more people are using it,” said Colle, who is also the councillor for Ward 15 Eglinton-Lawrence.

TTC spokesperson Stuart Green confirmed that roughly two weeks after the pilot was installed in November, the agency counted 2,600 people using eastbound streetcars at Spadina Ave. during the morning rush, which is the busiest time and busiest location on the King route.

The count represented an increase of 500 riders compared to the 2,100 tallied in September, before the pilot was installed.

Preliminary data has shown the project, designed to free up streetcar movement on King by removing on-street parking and compelling drivers to make right turns off the street at most major intersections, has improved travel times for transit vehicles.

Official numbers from the city say it has cut average journey times in the pilot area between Bathurst and Jarvis Sts. by as much as 14 per cent, while independent analysis by University of Toronto researchers found even more dramatic time savings.

The report, authored by acting TTC chief executive officer Rick Leary, stated that, in some ways, the pilot has made the transit agency “a bit of a victim of our own success,” because increased ridership is exacerbating crowding on streetcars.

King was already the TTC’s busiest surface route; more than 72,000 people were using the 504 King and 514 Cherry streetcars every day.

The TTC has added vehicles to King to cope with demand, and is deploying all its new, larger streetcars on the 504 line as they arrive from Bombardier’s plant in Thunder Bay, Ont.

The higher ridership figures were released as pressure mounts on Mayor John Tory to make changes to the pilot to accommodate local business owners who say the reconfiguration of the street has driven away customers.

Revenues for 26 restaurants in King’s theatre district were down an average of 41 per cent in December compared to the same month the previous year, according to the Ontario Restaurant Hotel and Motel Association.

The ORHMA is pushing for the pilot’s traffic rules to be suspended on weekends and after 7 p.m. on weeknights, and says it is contemplating legal action against the city if it doesn’t make changes.

In response to businesses’ concerns, the city launched a plan on Tuesday to “animate” King in the coming months with a design competition for the public space, street performers, warming spots, and a promotion for local restaurants. The measures will cost $200,000 on top of the pilot’s original $1.5-million budget, according to a city spokesperson.

Business owners are meeting with Tory at city hall Friday morning. The mayor said Tuesday he wants to ensure “economic prosperity is not negatively affected by improved mobility,” but warned any modifications to the pilot must preserve its positive impacts on transit service.

“What you have to do is make sure you maintain the integrity of what’s got the streetcars moving faster,” he said.