FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 23, 2025
Toronto, ON–TTCriders, a membership-based transit advocacy group, and Toronto Environmental Alliance (TEA) celebrate the passing of RapidTO, dedicated transit lanes on Dufferin and Bathurst at today’s meeting of Toronto City Council.
Toronto, ON–TTCriders, a membership-based transit advocacy group, and Toronto Environmental Alliance (TEA) celebrate the passing of RapidTO, dedicated transit lanes on Dufferin and Bathurst at today’s meeting of Toronto City Council.
“Giving priority to the 75,000 daily riders on these lines is a huge step forward,” said Andrew Pulsifer, Executive Director of TTCriders. “Implementing these lanes will make transit more reliable and encourage more people to take a bus or streetcar instead of driving.”
While the plan was watered down from its original proposal of lanes extending to Eglinton, Council reaffirmed support for expanding RapidTO today once City Staff have time to establish parking replacements, turn restrictions and mitigate local traffic infiltration. We expect clear timelines for full implementation of dedicated transit lanes north of Bloor as originally proposed to have the greatest benefit to transit users and congestion. Public consultations on both lanes revealed strong support for full implementation all the way up to Eglinton, with 77% supportive on Dufferin and 68% supportive on Bathurst.
This plan was approved by Mayor Chow’s Executive Committee on July 16 and went before the full City Council for the final vote, where it passed 20-3 Councillors Brad Bradford, Stephen Holyday and James Pasternak voted against priority for transit riders.
“We are very encouraged that Council has supported this initial phase of work, which will help move more residents rapidly along the Dufferin and Bathurst corridors, while making important progress towards Toronto's climate goals," said Emmay Mah, Executive Director of TEA. “We also expect the City to bring this project to completion, so Toronto residents can enjoy the full benefits of the RapidTO network, including moving forward with long promised transit lanes along Jane Street, Finch East, Steeles and Lawrence."
“Transit users will continue to speak up and fight for common-sense solutions like dedicated transit lanes,” said Pulsifer. “These have already been proven effective in other cities around the world, including New York, Montreal, Bogota, London and many others. Toronto needs the TTC to keep up with existing best practices to become truly a world-class transit system.”
Thousands of people spoke up through petitions, consultations, and by packing the room to speak to Councillors at meetings, declaring that they want dedicated lanes all the way up to Eglinton. We look forward to our city leaders working together to ensure their voices are heard.
Media Contact:
Andrew Pulsifer
Executive Director, TTCriders
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The money will be allocated to replace, maintain or upgrade major components on buses, streetcars and subways so they run properly. But the budget also includes plans for new trains on Line 2 (with funding help from the province and Ottawa), more electric buses, and fixing subway signals, the TTC’s communications systems, escalators, elevators and more.
TTC delays and closures are expected to get worse — and longer — this year before overall service gets better, according to the transit agency.
The TTC published its annual report Monday outlining which closures and diversions will be needed carry out “necessary” repair work to upgrade or maintain its aging infrastructure and expansion projects. The agency has pegged its need for state-of-good-repair work at $11.2 billion over the next decade.
The report shows that subway and streetcar delays that frustrate commuters trying to navigate the city — amidst world-famous congestion on the streets — will continue. It’s a necessary part of the city’s transit growing pains, TTC staff say, with new subway lines and cars on the horizon.
