Removing local bus stops violates TTC's own standards

The TTC's plan to remove local bus stops along the Eglinton East RapidTO corridor violates its own service standards, according to a new analysis by Hayden Poon.

“Transit riders on Eglinton East want to keep our local stops and have more bus service,” said TTCriders member Beulah Esuk, who lives near one of the cancelled stops. “Removing local stops will make transit less accessible to the people who need it most.”

Original analysis by TTCriders member and Ryerson student Hayden Poon shows that the majority of the new stop locations along the Eglinton East RapidTO corridor do not meet the TTC’s own service standards to have local bus stops spacing within the range of 300-400 metres.

“The TTC’s plan to take away local stops violates their own service standards,” said Hayden Poon. “Why not have local buses continue to service existing local stops and have express buses serving major stops on the bus lane corridors?”

Update (Nov. 2020):

Because residents have been speaking out and calling their Councillors, the TTC will temporarily keep three local bus stop locations at Torrance Road, Beachell Street and Cedar Drive. The TTC says that ridership at these stops will be monitored and reviewed, but the pandemic is not the right time to evaluate ridership.

Take action:

Call your Councillor! Paul Ainslie: 416-396-7222 Michael Thompson: 416-397-9274 Jennifer McKelvie: 416-338-3771
Send a letter to the TTC Board and your City Councillor. Scroll down to use the template letter below.
Download posters. Put them up at your local bus stop or share them with your neighbours.
Make phone calls to local residents about this issue. Sign up here to get notified of phone call events (from home).

Please contact [email protected] if you would like to get connected to other riders on your route to put up posters at bus stops or take other actions together. Twenty-four of sixty-nine local stops were planned for removal on Eglinton East, Kingston Road, and Morningside as of October 11, and a similar stop consolidation is planned for Jane Street this Spring.

TTCriders is calling on City Council to:

Run both local service and express bus service
Run more bus service, not less, on RapidTO corridors
Publicly release data from the TTC’s online survey on bus stop consolidation
Ensure that any future consultations, including on Jane Street, place posters at bus stops to adequately advertise proposed changes to transit users
Restore full TTC service to alleviate crowding on buses

TEMPLATE LETTER

Email to: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected] (find your local Councillor email here)

Subject ideas: Keep my local bus stop // Stop consolidation on RapidTO corridors

Dear TTC Board, Mayor John Tory, and my local Councillor _________[look up your local Councillor here],

I have been riding the bus during the pandemic and the crowding is unacceptable. Transit riders need more service, not less.

That's why I am outraged by your decision to remove my local bus stop and reduce service frequency along the RapidTO corridor. Instead of cutting service, the TTC should run buses that serve local stops and run express buses serving major stops.

[Personalize your letter: My local bus stop has been removed on Eglinton East / Kingston Road / Morningside and this is affecting me and my neighbours because ... I take the bus on Jane Street and I don't want my local stop to be removed this Spring.]

I urge you to:

Run both local service and express bus service
Run more bus service, not less, on RapidTO corridors
Publicly release data from the TTC’s online survey on bus stop consolidation
Ensure that any future consultations, including on Jane Street, place posters at bus stops to adequately advertise proposed changes to transit users
Restore full TTC service to alleviate crowding on buses

Sincerely,

[Your name] [Your postal code or address]

MORE INFO:

Analysis by Hayden Poon: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vT42v0ySvpS41N7seeUuettTD-h1vj_BN7BqlgYC29IWVJm4osU0kykhV2ZOHf75km2LhV1XL5ipdAI/pubhtml

TTC Service Standards: http://www.ttc.ca/PDF/Transit_Planning/TTC_Service_Standards.pdf

TTCriders and Scarborough Civic Action Network open letter: https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vR4rBtx_rfPvRI9RkDgvfFQJ84Uq5ZLp4qkDaEgxtQsEAaHXrhGjSHiVQYwL3cm3qfRXpjVbHw7ctNM/pub

Toronto Star article about RapidTO: https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2020/10/02/ttc-rolls-out-new-bus-only-lanes-heres-what-you-need-to-know.html

RapidTO plans: http://www.ttc.ca/About_the_TTC/Projects/5_year_plan_and_10_y/Priority_Lanes.jsp https://www.ttcannualplan.ca/eglinton-east-overview https://www.ttcannualplan.ca/jane-street-priority-bus-lane

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