York University Heights bus service changes: A Case Study

TTC recently adjusted a number of routes to facilitate connections to the soon-to-open Line 6 Finch West LRT. Notably, changes were made to routes that operate between Keele and Dufferin, on either side of Metrolinx's Newmarket subdivision rail corridor. This area is vaguely York University Heights (or Duke Heights).

This service change is the latest in a series of changes that have modified this service over the past eight years. Obviously, improvements to service are welcome, but these changes are more along the lines of trying to make low-ridership routes work. These routes have demand, but are difficult to serve. TTC has tried a large variety of patterns to make the service 'work' to limited degrees of success.

In this article, I will outline how service in the area has changed, and compare today's services to those of the past to assess whether or not they are 'improvements', and not just 'adjustments'.

Setting the Scene

The crude map above outlines the area. I have split into six areas: four are principally industrial (Chesswood, Alness, Petrolia, and St Regis), one is principally residential (Stanley Greene), and one is a mix of institutional and recreational with a speckling of other uses (Downsview Park).

The yellow circles are Line 1 stations; running from northwest to southeast, we have Pioneer Village, York University, Finch West, Downsview Park, Sheppard West, and Wilson. Downsview Park is ringed in green as it is also a GO Station, on the Barrie Line, and plays an important regional role.

How Routes have Changed

Before 18 December 2017

Given that the subway terminated at Sheppard West (then known as Downsview), the routes in this part of the city were duplicative, and focussed on making connections to the subway and to York University. 

Service to Chesswood and St Regis was provided by the 107 Keele North route. This was a YRT route contracted out to TTC, and so the Toronto services were generally an afterthought. The 107B via Chesswood operated every 19 to 23 minutes during peaks, and every 32 minutes during weekday middays. No service was provided at any other hours. The 107C and 107D served St Regis, and operated at the same frequencies as the 107B. However, St Regis had service at all hours - between every 25 and 40 minutes. Note that service every 40 minutes is considered to be out of TTC's service standards.

Alness was served by route 117 Alness. Buses operated in a large loop - prior to 3pm, buses ran north via Alness and south via Dufferin, with this pattern reversed after 3pm. What this meant is that service on Alness was one-way at all times. Someone who was trying to travel to a destination on Alness from Steeles before 3pm was out of luck. The 117B branch ran during peaks, every 10 minutes, with a deviation via Flint. During the midday, the 117A ran every 20 minutes, without the deviation. Service was not provided at any other times.

Petrolia was served by the 41B Keele branch. This was a one-way loop, via Keele, Steeles, Petrolia, and Canarctic. There was a similar symptom here to the 117, in that passengers on Petrolia could not catch a bus up to Steeles. This branch ran during weekday daytimes, with frequencies of every 9 to 11 minutes. No service was provided during weekday evenings or on weekends.

Downsview Park was served by the 101 Downsview Park route, running from Sheppard West Station. This route was every 20 minutes, and did not operate after 10pm. (I once had to get home from Scotiabank Pond after 10pm - what an eerie walk).

Stanley Greene was under construction at this point, and so no service was provided.

18 December 2017

On this date, the Line 1 extension to Vaughan opened and routes were changed to facilitate connections to the new subway stations. YRT took over the contracted service on Keele, requiring modification of the Toronto portions of the route.

The service on Alness and Chesswood were amalgamated into the 117 Alness-Chesswood. This route ran from Sheppard West Stn to Steeles and Dufferin. Notably, it was bidirectional, eliminating the previously identified challenge when travelling to and from Steeles. Buses ran every 10-20 minutes during weekday daytimes, with all trips deviating via Flint.

The St Regis and Petrolia services were amalgamated into the 107 St Regis, running from Sheppard West Station to Pioneer Village Station. This bus ran at all hours (with very late trips around 2:30am to serve industry on Petrolia), at frequencies of every 23 to 30 minutes.

Service to Downsview Park and Stanley Greene was unchanged. The 101 did not really take advantage of the new subway connection at Downsview Park Station.

A map outlining proposed changes when the subway was extended. Everything was implemented as shown, aside the 41 Keele route.

9 May 2021

TTC noted that ridership was not meeting standard on both the 107 and the 117. The routes were amalgamated into the massive loop that was the 107 York University Heights. The connection on the 107 to Pioneer Village Station was lost, as was the deviation via Flint. 107A buses operated clockwise (service St Regis, Petrolia, Alness, and Chesswood, in that order), with the 107B operating counter-clockwise.

This arrangement introduced service to Alness and Chesswood at all hours. However, frequencies took a hit. Rush service was every 24 minutes on each branch. While you could take any branch (and thus a bus every 12 minutes), someone on Alness would want the 107B as to not the scenic route. In effect, service was reduced from every 10 minutes to every 24. Service was as infrequent as every 60 minutes on each branch, far outside of standard and thus difficult to use.

7 September 2021

During peak periods, the Flint deviation is re-established. During these periods, the 107A is replaced by the 107C, and the 107B by the 107D.

26 March 2023

Service in Downsview Park and Stanley Greene is modified significantly, finally providing service to Stanley Greene. The 101 Downsview Park now operates between Downsview Park Station and Stanley Greene. Service runs every 30 minutes, and ends at 10pm. This route provides a direct connection to the GO Train.

The new 128 Stanley Greene operates from Stanley Greene to Wilson Station, every 30 minutes, during peak periods only.

In practice, customers who wish to get to a subway station can take either route, so service is effectively every 15 minutes for this trip.

16 November 2025

In preparation for the opening of Line 6, routes are modified to improve connections at Finch West Station.

Route 107 is renamed to Alness-Chesswood. The new service operates bidirectionally from Sheppard West Stn to Finch West Stn, via Petrolia. This route runs at all hours, every 30 minutes, and features the deviation via Flint at all hours. The bidirectional service eliminates some of the out-of-standard services that the 107 York University Heights provided.

Route 101 Downsview Park is significantly modified. The 101A operates outside of peaks, from Finch West Station to Stanley Greene. This replaces the service the old 107 provided via St Regis. During peaks, the 101B runs, extending service to Wilson Station and directly replacing the 128. Service runs at all hours, every 30 minutes.

Notably, the 107 and 101 are interlined at Finch West Station, so passengers can stay on board. Someone travelling from Petrolia to St Regis does not have to leave their seat.

While this initial arrangement shows some improvement, the area's extreme traffic has been a significant problem. When it was three separate routes, traffic impacts could be controlled, with impacts being minimal. However, with the interline there is effectively one route, and traffic delays compound. On the first day of service, some buses were 45 minutes late, and this pattern has continued into the second week of operation.

 

Comparison Charts

In the following section, I have made charts that condense the information by area to make the changes clear to see.

Chesswood

	Before 18 Dec 2017	18 Dec 2017	9 May 2021	7 Sep 2021	26 Mar 2023	16 Nov 2025
Service	107B	117	107			107
Peak frequency	19-23 mins	10-12 mins	24 mins			30 mins
Midday frequency	32 mins	20 mins	32 mins			30 mins
Off-peak frequency	n/a	n/a	40-60 mins			30 mins
Hours of service	Weekday daytime	Weekday daytime	All hours			All hours

Alness

	Before 18 Dec 2017	18 Dec 2017	9 May 2021	7 Sep 2021	26 Mar 2023	16 Nov 2025
Service	117	117	107			107
Peak frequency	10 mins	10-12 mins	24 mins			30 mins
Midday frequency	20 mins	20 mins	32 mins			30 mins
Off-peak frequency	n/a	n/a	40-60 mins			30 mins
Hours of service	Weekday daytime	Weekday daytime	All hours			All hours
Notes	Peak service via Flint; peak directional	All service via Flint	No service via Flint	Peak service via Flint		All service via Flint

Petrolia

	Before 18 Dec 2017	18 Dec 2017	9 May 2021	7 Sep 2021	26 Mar 2023	16 Nov 2025
Service	41B	107	107			107
Peak frequency	10-11 mins	23 mins	24 mins			30 mins
Midday frequency	9 mins	30 mins	24 mins			30 mins
Off-peak frequency	n/a	30 mins	40-60 mins			30 mins
Hours of service	Weekday daytime	All hours	All hours			All hours
Notes	One-way service	Service until 2:30am

St Regis

	Before 18 Dec 2017	18 Dec 2017	9 May 2021	7 Sep 2021	26 Mar 2023	16 Nov 2025
Service	107CD	107	107			101
Peak frequency	19-23 mins	23 mins	24 mins			30 mins
Midday frequency	32 mins	30 mins	24 mins			30 mins
Off-peak frequency	25-40 mins	30 mins	40-60 mins			30 mins
Hours of service	All hours	All hours	All hours			All hours
Notes		Service until 2:30am

Downsview Park

	Before 18 Dec 2017	18 Dec 2017	9 May 2021	7 Sep 2021	26 Mar 2023	16 Nov 2025
Service	101	101	101	101	101	101
Peak frequency	20 mins	20 mins	20 mins	20 mins	30 mins	30 mins
Midday frequency	20 mins	20 mins	20 mins	20 mins	30 mins	30 mins
Off-peak frequency	20 mins	20 mins	20 mins	20 mins	30 mins	30 mins
Hours of service	No service after 10pm	No service after 10pm	No service after 10pm	No service after 10pm	No service after 10pm	All hours
Notes

Stanley Greene

	Before 18 Dec 2017	18 Dec 2017	9 May 2021	7 Sep 2021	26 Mar 2023	16 Nov 2025
Service	n/a				128	101B
Peak frequency					30 mins	30 mins
Midday frequency					n/a	n/a
Off-peak frequency					n/a	n/a
Hours of service					Weekday peak	Weekday peak
Notes

Comments

As you can see, all the services had some degree of improvement, but also some degree of degradation.

Service on Chesswood now operates at all hours, but it is less frequent during peak periods.

On Alness, service has been improved to now operate at all hours and is bidirectional. While service is better now than what it was in 2021, peak frequency is a third of what it was in 2017. A reduction from every 10 minutes to every 30 minutes is significant.

Petrolia service is now bidirectional, and operates at all hours. However, service is less than a third of what it was in 2017. Additionally, the connection to Pioneer Village Station that existed from 2017 to 2021 is lost, forcing a transfer for some customers. The late service offered in the same period has also been lost.

St Regis' off-peak frequency is generally improved, now being in standard. However, 30 minute service at during peaks is a downgrade, and the late service offered from 2017 to 2021 is also lost.

Downsview Park now runs at all hours, and serves a lot more, but service at all periods is less frequent than prior to 2023.

While Stanley Greene's stats really haven't changed, there has been a significant reliability downgrade from 2023 to 2025.

Conclusion

TTC has been trying for years to make the services in the area work. They have not figured it out. There has been a push and pull between better service hours, but worse frequency. For some, the service works better. For others, it works a lot worse. While I applaud TTC's efforts, I sometimes feel that there is a large expectation applied to services that just won't be able to meet it. This area is mostly industrial shift work, bounded on one side by a rail corridor where there just isn't demand. This area will continue to struggle, and I'm sure more changes are coming in the future. I think that the next big move is to break the 107 and 101 interline, and improve reliability, before deciding to further modify service.