8 Broadview

 Today's route is the 8 Broadview! This short route operates with one branch:

• 8 Broadview: Broadview Stn to Coxwell

While this route is both low-ridership and heavily duplicated by other routes, it still serves its part in the broader TTC network.

The Route

Northbound buses depart from Broadview and travel alongside the 100 Flemingdon Park, 87 Cosburn and 62 Mortimer. The route is medium density housing throughout, but there is a high density node at Broadview and Mortimer due to a series of apartment towers. Buses round the corner onto O'Connor with the 100 Flemingdon Park, and become the only service on the corridor beyond Pape. The route ends at Coxwell, near a small commercial area, looping clockwise via O'Connor, Coxwell, Plains and Lankin.

Sights to See

• The Danforth
• Chester Hill Lookout
• Todmorden Mills

Subway Connections

• Broadview

Frequency and Ridership

The 8 Broadview operates with a single bus at all hours, producing a simple, clock-face, 30' frequency.

Weekday ridership on the 8 is low: only 810 passengers are carried daily. This is one of only five regular routes that carry below 1000 people on a weekday. 660 people take the bus on Saturdays, and 530 do on Sundays. Considering its short distance of only four kilometres one way, and the fact it only requires one bus, I would describe the ridership as decent. Ridership on individual trips has great variance, which will be explained below.

Thoughts

The 8 is one of four routes that travels north from Broadview, and it follows the routing of the 100 until Pape and O'Connor. The unique portion of the route is less than two kilometres. When we consider the frequencies of the routes during morning peak, it is clear to see why the 8 has limited ridership:

• 8: two buses an hour = every 30'
• 62: three buses an hour = every 20'
• 87: six buses an hour = every 10'
• 100: ten buses an hour = every 6'

The 8 operates only 2 of the 21 trips along this corridor at this time. The routes are not blended. This means that some 8 trips may have very high ridership if it follows a large (read: six minute) gap in service. However, if it trails on of the route by a few seconds, ridership is seemingly non-existent. 

Compare this to late evening on a Sunday:

• 8: two buses an hour = every 30'
• 62: three buses an hour = every 20'
• 87: six buses an hour = every 10'
• 100: six buses an hour = every 10'

Here, the 8 is 2 of the 17 trips hourly, which is better and means there is a higher rate of demand on the 8 than in periods with higher frequencies on the 100. 

One way to increase ridership and frequency that I have floated involves adjustment to the 100. As many people travelling from Flemingdon Park just want the subway, I think some peak service on the 100 should become express trips, that, after Don Mills and Overlea, stop only at both Thorncliffe Park stops, Cosburn, and Pottery/Mortimer. The 8 would have to cover the demand at the non-express stops, and could possibly be increased to every 10 minutes to compensate. Just an idea.

A long time ago, East York Council asked the TTC to adjust routes throughout East York. All were approved except for one. The 70 O'Connor, which turned down Coxwell to reach the subway there, was to cover the 8 Broadview route to Broadview Station, with a residual route covering service on Coxwell. This was not done for a number of reasons:

• lack of demand on the unique section of the 8 Broadview,
• much longer trip to the subway for passengers on the 70 O'Connor,
• and limiting of route options to access Michael Garron Hospital at Coxwell and Mortimer.

This gets floated about by transit 'enthusiasts' from time to time. While I personally like gridded service, I feel like this change does much more harm than good. Additionally, any person on the 70 who needs to get to a destination on Broadview can switch to the 87 at Coxwell and Cosburn, which is part of the Ten-Minute Network. 

Lastly, the buses have to pull an awful left turn off of Lankin onto O'Connor without a traffic light. I think the loop should be done in a counter-clockwise direction instead to avoid this turn, as lights at Lankin and O'Connor are otherwise not warranted.

The Future

This route has not changed since 1984. Wow! I really don't see it changing either. The only think that may happen is more frequent service if the 100 Flemingdon Park gets converted to express service, but that's definitely a maybe.