We’re in a climate crisis. Transportation makes up 38% of Toronto’s GHG emissions & increasing public transit ridership is necessary to reducing our footprint [3].
Our system is at a breaking point. TTC riders are experiencing major delays, congestion and overcrowding.
Bad transit isn’t equitable. Poor transit service is a barrier to employment, access to services and food. Based on the latest Vital Signs report, 65% of unemployed people live where there is low access to transit [4].
Why bus lanes and other transit priority measures?
- Low cost
- Quick to implement
- Reduces congestion
- Increases ridership
- Lays foundation for future LRT and BRT lines
Quick Facts about Transit Priority
- Despite having bus ridership that dwarfs all other transit agencies in the GTHA combined, Toronto currently has less on-street, dedicated bus right-of-ways than Newmarket [5].
- Viva Yellow (bus rapid transit line) in Newmarket carries approximately 1,200 people a day, roughly the same as the TTC’s 125th busiest bus route.
- Bus lanes reduce door-to-door travel times by 5-15%, and lead to 2-9% increases in peak ridership [6]
- The 504 King and 512 St Clair Streetcar lines had the best “value for money” of all streetcar lines and are two of just four routes with strong transit priority measures [7]
Sources
[1] & [2] http://www.ttc.ca/About_the_TTC/Commission_reports_and_information/Commission_meetings/2019/December_12/Reports/16_5_Year_Service_Plan_and_10_Year_Outlook.pdf
[3] https://www.toronto.ca/services-payments/water-environment/environmentally-friendly-city-initiatives/transformto/torontos-greenhouse-gas-inventory/.
[4] https://torontofoundation.ca/vitalsigns-issue-6/
[5] http://www.vivanext.com/project_map
[6] http://www.its.ucla.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2019/02/Best-Practices-in-Implementing-Tactical-Transit-Lanes-1.pdf
[7] https://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2019/ex/bgrd/backgroundfile-131188.pdf