Toronto Mayor John Tory and TTC Chair Josh Colle on July 27, announced off-peak service improvements that will provide more frequent, less crowded and more comfortable service on 33 of the city's busiest bus and streetcar routes this fall.
These service improvements largely reverse off-peak services cuts that were made in February 2012 and are in addition to improvements announced to 61 routes already this summer. The increased service will start in September, and is made possible by the $95 million investment in transit in the 2015 Budget.
"I am committed to getting Toronto moving, which is why in my first budget as Mayor we made the single largest investment in transit in recent memory," said Tory. "Today, we are seeing more results from this investment which will make it easier for the people of Toronto to get to work and home to their families."
These improvements to 26 bus and seven streetcar routes across the city will provide a noticeable improvement in service quality, resulting in shorter wait times, less crowding and a better chance for customers to get a seat.
"These service improvements will provide our loyal TTC customers with the reliable and frequent service that they deserve," said TTC Chair Josh Colle. "We are proud to again offer our riders more enhanced service levels and look forward to continuing to improve the TTC for all of our customers."
Fifty-five million trips are taken each year on these 33 routes. These improvements are expected to attract an additional 1.8 million new customer-trips each year. A report outlining the improvements, "Improvements to Off-Peak Services - More Frequent and Less-Crowded" will be presented to the TTC Board at its meeting on July 29.
The announcement complements other service improvements that have been announced in recent months, including children 12 and under riding free on the TTC, the expansion of overnight service, improvements to all-day, every-day service across the city, and bolstering the ten-minute-or-better service network. The improvements made today to off-peak services are another step in making transit an ever-increasingly attractive and convenient way to travel around Toronto.
