6 Bay

 The second route we are going to look at is the 6 Bay! This route has one branch:

• 6 Bay: Dupont to Queens Quay and Sherbourne

This route is quite helpful, but downtown traffic plagues its reliability. Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, this route has been relatively tolerable and quick. Ridership, however, has taken a significant hit.

The Route

Northbound buses depart George Brown College's Waterfront campus' stop on Dockside Drive. Buses travel west on Queens' Quay, then north on Bay Street. Passing a number of important destinations, including City Hall and the Eaton Centre, the bus travels through some of the tallest areas of the city. The bus stops in front of Bay Station in the ritzy neighbourhood of Yorkville before turning northwest onto Davenport. Buses end their trips at Davenport and Dupont, halfway through the clockwise loop of Davenport, Dupont, and Bedford. 

Bay Street never used to be one through street. Originally, it was a series of discontinuous roads, including Bear, Terauley, and Ketchum.  This is most notable with the slight bend just north of Queen, where Terauley and Bear were linked into one.

Sights to See

• George Brown Waterfront Campus
• Redpath Sugar
• Collège Boreal 
• Jack Layton Ferry Docks
• Scotiabank Arena
• CIBC Square
• Union Station
• Brookfield Place
• Old City Hall
• City Hall
• Eaton's Centre
• Toronto Coach Terminal

Subway Connections

• Bay
• Union

Commuter Rail Connections

• Union

Frequency and Ridership

Buses on route 6 Bay operate every 10' during the peaks, every 17'30 during the midday, and every 30' during the evening. Note that prior to the pandemic, the morning peak service was around twice as frequent as it is now. On the weekend, service ranges from every 14' to every 30'.

Prior to the pandemic, the route carried 10,400 passengers on an average weekday. This falls significantly to 2,700 on a Saturday and 2,500 on a Sunday. The significantly higher weekday ridership is due in part to two groups that use this bus: students at George Brown College travelling from Union, and provincial government employees reaching their offices at College and Bay. With the pandemic forcing these two groups home, the route is much emptier, and service was reduced as a result.

Thoughts

I feel like a lot of people avoid taking the 6 Bay because it runs within the Line 1 'U' and people perceive the subway as faster. However, if you are on Bay and you need to get to Bloor, the 6 is sometimes faster than making your way to Yonge or University, descending the stairs, waiting for the train, only to ascend the stairs a few stations north. Nevertheless, the low frequency in the evenings, between every 22' and every 30', makes the route not worth the wait. 

The route is delayed by traffic in many places, but that's literally because it operates entirely downtown. Some problem points are at Bay and Queens' Quay, with significant pedestrian traffic and the bus needing to make a right turn, and at Queen and Bay. Ridership north of Bloor is significantly less than below. This used to be accounted for with the 6B Bay: to Bloor (Davenport/Yonge) branch that was cancelled only last year.

While the route provides a good alternate to the subway, its northern terminus is... confusing. The route terminates at Dupont and Davenport, a mere three (short) blocks from Dupont Station. While I guess people could walk it, who would? I'm not sure why this connection was never made, other than the fact that Dupont has no bus loop. Then again, I would have it loop counter-clockwise by George Brown Casa Loma Campus (would anyone take it from campus to campus? Absolutely not). The routes in this area, in general, do not feel complete (see the 26 Dupont post whenever I make it). In addition, as of 2020, Bay Station is not accessible while Dupont is.

The Future

The new East Bayfront neighbourhoods are currently under construction, and when they are complete, will likely require a reorganization of bus services in the area, because, frankly, the 72B Pape will not cut it. This neighbourhood will also include the new Université d'Ontario français, which will need a strong transit connection. The long-term goal is a streetcar line along here to the redeveloped Portlands, but building a second streetcar loop at Union almost feels like a pipe dream. If the 6 is extended further east, I worry about even more unreliability especially with the inevitable construction. I guess we shall wait and see!

from Jelo Gutierrez Cantos