Which is Truly Better: Toronto's Subway or Montreal's Metro?

 In previous blog posts, or even if we've spoken, I have stated that the Montreal Metro is better than the TTC subway, but Toronto has better transit as a whole. I've talked at length about the second part of the sentence, but I've never properly interrogated the first part. In this blog post, I will compare the two heavy rail systems on a number of criteria in order to decide which is the better system.

What Am I Comparing?

I will compare the systems on a number of important points. I won't be providing a number grade to each, as I think that the qualitative comparison better reflects the nuance in this comparison. The systems will be graded on:

• Hours of service
• Frequency
• Reliability
• Scheduled closures
• Speed
• Connections (walkability and destinations)
• Connections (other transit)
• Accessibility
• Architecture
• Cleanliness
• Safety

Also, for ease of writing, Toronto's system will be referred to a the 'subway' whereas Montreal's will be referred to as the 'Metro.'

Comparing the Systems

Hours of Service

Both the systems have similar hours of service, but each has one way that they are better than the other. The subway runs later than the Metro: the last trains from the Metro's termini is around 12:30am, whereas the subway is an hour later. The Metro's step ahead is that Sunday service starts at 5:30am, whereas the subway starts at 8am. I will critique the Metro's earlier Sunday start later in this post, however.

Frequency

The frequency of the lines is pretty similar throughout weekdays. The subway's frequency on any of the three lines is never worse than every 7 minutes. The Metro, however, runs at frequencies of every 7-8 minutes on the weekend, and in the evenings, headways of 10 minutes are scheduled! The Metro's ligne Bleu is worse, often running at 10-minute frequencies throughout the day.

Reliability

Both systems have reliability issues, but I think the Metro is much more reliable. Shutdowns happen, but a lot less frequently. I find when they do happen, however, they last for quite a long time. A few weeks back, the ligne Orange was closed for nearly six hours.

Scheduled closures

Both systems have scheduled closures, but I don't think either is particularly better at managing them. The subway often has weekend closures with frequent shuttles, which are very annoying, but spread the pain across a large group of riders. Metro closures tend to be a single station closed for months on end, like recently with Outremont. While it accelerates work, the pain is targeted to a specific segment of the population for a long time. Also, shuttles run very infrequently: rarely more than every fifteen minutes.

Speed

I took a sample of urban and suburban speeds for both systems for a better comparison. 

In an urban area, the 2.5km from King to Bloor takes 7 minutes, whereas the 2.3km from Georges-Vanier to Place d'Armes takes 4.5 minutes. In an urban environment, the Metro is faster, due to quicker acceleration and deceleration.

In a suburban area, the 3.5km from Main Street to Warden takes 5 minutes, and the 4.1km from Honoré-Beaugrand to Viau takes 6 minutes. The speeds across the two systems is more equal here, because the subway maintains a faster top speed.

Connections (walkability and destinations)

I don't think explaining here much is required: both systems have a lot of stations in walkable area, and there are stations that operate basically as park-and-rides.

Connections (other transit)

If you want an in-depth explanation for this section, I encourage you to read other posts on my blog. Montreal's bus network and the Exo train are poor, whereas Toronto's bus network and the GO train are great. To add on, so many Metro stations are cavernous with long tunnels, and making a bus connection can be a huge pain, like at Atwater. I mentioned earlier that I had a complaint about the Metro's 5:30am start on Sundays: buses don't start running until 7:30, so unless you live within walking distance or can get driven to the Metro, the early start is useless for many passengers.

Accessibility

D'Iberville just became the 27th station with elevators on the Metro, meaning that 39.7% of the Metro is accessible. The subway's figure is 79.3% accessible: only 14.5 stations are inaccessible as of writing (Spadina Station is only half accessible).

Architecture

To be honest, architecture does not make a good system. I think the Metro has more impressive stations, and design was an important piece of the planning process. That said, I would argue that the architecture came ahead of utility at times: the simple design of a Line 2 station like Greenwood is way more functional than many Metro stations.

Cleanliness

I think the Metro is generally cleaner than the subway, but specific places are worse. Some stations (i.e. Namur) straight up don't have garbage bins, so the station and the area around it tend to be pretty gross. 

Safety

Both systems have issues with safety. Similar to cleanliness, the Metro is generally safer, but specific places are worse. Atwater's exit into Square Cabot comes to mind.

In Conclusion...

Reading over my criteria, I think that I've changed my mind: Toronto's subway is slightly better than Montreal's Metro. I think the Metro as its own thing is better, but the subway is better as part of a system within a city. Either way, both cities have great systems that are better than the North American average.