>Express Bus Network Study, will be voted on tomorrow at the June 15, 2017 TTC Commission.
Here's a summary of the plan
- 12 new express bus routes, and 5 have been identified already. They are:
- 29 Dufferin
- 37 Islington
- 52 Lawrence West
- 89 Weston
- 102 Markham Road
- Improvements to up to 8 existing express routes. They are:
- 41 Keele
- 53 Steeles East
- 60 Steeles West
- 84 Sheppard West, west of Sheppard West Station
- 85 Sheppard East, east of Midland Avenue
- 95 York Mills
- 96 Wilson
- 198 University of Toronto Scarborough Rocket
- The possible elimination of the 5 double-fare Downtown Express bus routes. -
All door boarding, prioritized traffic lights, and traffic queue jump lanes
would be implemented across the system for further improvements in service.
Here's what we think
Now this expanded express bus service sounds great, but what are we really
getting, and when? Let's start off by saying that improving bus service is
great. Up to 1.7 million riders could use the new express bus service.
A large proportion of the service is in outer areas of the city and in
priority neighbourhoods. And all of this is for extremely low cost
relative to other modes.
The worrying news is we won't get better bus service for years. For
2017-2018, the only improvements are rebranding existing service and a pilot
for all-door boarding on the Airport Rocket. The first route improvements
wouldn’t start until 2019 and new express routes don’t start until 2020. Full
implementation of the plan would not be complete until 2026, meaning it will
take 9 years to get 12 new express routes. We need a quicker rollout.
The rollout needs to be more expansive. Only 4 of the
proposed 12 new routes would be all-day express service, with the remaining 8
routes only running rush hour express service. The reality is we need 10
minutes or better service on all bus routes across the city, and we definitely
need more service to tackle the major overcrowding issues we're experiencing
on many buses.
We need to do more to give buses a fairer share of the
road. Traffic light priority and queue jump lanes are a good start, but they do not
produce the speed and reliability improvements that can be gained from
fully dedicated bus lanes on entire routes.
We are concerned about the elimination of the five downtown express bus
routes. The TTC says these routes are not attracting ridership. We
believe the TTC should move forward on
letting riders pay a normal TTC fare on these downtown express bus
routes, and not double TTC fare. This ensures that fast transit is available
to low and moderate income people too.
This plan depends on the money being available, but there is no money
available. City Council just asked the TTC to freeze its budget for 2018,
which will, once again, force the TTC into facing a significant budget
shortfall for 2018. This will result in service cuts if funding is not
provided by the City. Ultimately, without sufficient funding for the existing
system, the express bus plan may end up taking away resources from other bus
routes across the city, resulting in reduced service elsewhere. The TTC needs to be fairly funded.
Call or write your councillor to call for improved bus service on all routes
and for buses to have a fair share of the road.
Sample letter (please copy, paste, and adapt)
Councillors' contact information are below the sample letter
Dear Councillor:
I am writing to you today about last Thursday’s announcement of plans to
expand and improve the express bus network. This plan will be voted on in
tomorrow's TTC Commission meeting. The plan's implementation is subject to
funding availability so it is a matter that every councillor gets to
decide on.
The plan includes:
-
12 new express bus routes. Five have been identified already. They
are: 29 Dufferin, 37 Islington, 52 Lawrence West, 89 Weston, 102 Markham
Road
-
Improvements to up to 8 existing express routes. They are: 41 Keele, 53
Steeles East, 60 Steeles West, 84 Sheppard West (west of Sheppard West
Station), 85 Sheppard East (east of Midland Avenue), 95 York Mills, 96
Wilson, 198 University of Toronto Scarborough Rocket
-
The possible elimination of the 5 double-fare downtown express bus routes.
-
All door boarding, prioritized traffic lights, and traffic queue jump lanes
would be implemented across the system for further improvements in service.
This expanded express bus service sounds great, but we think it can be improved.
Here's how. We are supportive of the plan, and we are pleased a large
proportion of the service is in outer areas of the city and in priority
neighbourhoods. And all of this is for extremely low cost relative to other
modes.
The worrying news is we won't get better bus service for years. For
2017-2018, the only improvements are rebranding existing service and a pilot
for all-door boarding on the Airport Rocket. The first route improvements
wouldn’t start until 2019 and new express routes don’t start until 2020. Full
implementation of the plan would not be complete until 2026, meaning it will
take 9 years to get 12 new express routes.
We need a quicker rollout.
The rollout needs to be more expansive. Only 4 of the
proposed 12 new routes would be all-day express service, with the remaining 8
routes only running rush hour express service. The reality is we need 10
minutes or better service on all bus routes across the city, and we definitely
need more service to tackle the overcrowding issue.
We need to do more to give buses a fairer share of the road. Traffic light priority and queue jump lanes are a good start, but they
do not produce the speed and reliability improvements that can be gained from
fully dedicated bus lanes on entire routes.
We are concerned about the elimination of the 5 downtown express bus routes.
The TTC says these routes are not attracting ridership. We believe
the TTC should move forward on letting riders pay a normal TTC fare on these
routes, and not double fare. This ensures that fast transit is available
to low and moderate income people too.
This plan depends on the money being available, but there's no money
available. City Council just asked the TTC to freeze its budget for 2018,
which will, once again, force the TTC into facing a significant budget
shortfall for 2018. This will result in service cuts if funding is not
provided by the City. Ultimately, without sufficient funding for the existing
system, the express bus plan may end up taking away resources from other bus
routes across the city, resulting in reduced service elsewhere. The TTC needs to be fairly funded.
We look forward to your response.
Thanks,