Bike Walk Bus Toronto

 In a previous blog post , I spoke about how the lack of GO bus stops on rail-replacement routes within the City of Toronto was one of the most significant examples of downtown-centrism in our region transit system. Recently, I was thinking about how other GO Transit policies punish passengers taking trips within Toronto that aren't downtown. In this blog post, I will provide a few examples of how GO Transit prioritizes downtown--suburban trips at the expense of numerous others. Transfer Barriers I won't rehash his article, but Sean Marshall recently wrote about how the new One Fare removes only one of a number of barriers between TTC and GO Transit. Because the TTC network was built around the subway system, connections to GO stations tend to be pretty poor. Considering that GO stations were built with a parking focus, transferring to connecting bus routes can be a pain. Sean gives examples of Old Cummer and Etobicoke North, which are two stations on major arterial roads, wit...

 On this blog, I rarely speak about downtown transit issues. This is for a few reasons: there are lots of other people doing it, and in terms of the basics of providing transit service, downtown has a solid grid shape. This works well for transit, except for the areas to the southwest of Union Station. In this blog post, I will outline the basics of this area, outline its recent transit history, and what I think the next steps should be. The Area The area in question is roughly defined as anything bounded by Lake Shore, Strachan, King, and York. This area is high-density, and there are significant development pressures here. Neighbourhoods include CityPlace and Fort York. In addition, numerous attractions can be found here, including the CN Tower, Rogers Centre, and Fort York. In this block, there is east-west transit service along King, as well as along Queens Quay, just south of Lake Shore Boulevard. There is north-south transit on Bathurst, Spadina, and via Line 1 from Union (wh...

  Hey everyone! It's been about two months since my last blog post, but I am back! This post is based on an exchange/investigation I have been having for the last month. Hope you enjoy! Background Information The 365 Parliament Blue Night is a TTC bus route that operates whenever the subway is closed, duplicating route 65 Parliament the entire way from Bloor down to the Esplanade. It is functionally the same as the 65, except that it doesn't stop within Castle Frank Station's bus terminal (as the subway is closed). The route was established in September 2015, during a big reorganization of night bus routes, in order to provide a new north-south connection between Yonge Street and the Don River. The 365 map, circa 2015. Note the southern loop at the Esplanade has reversed in direction as of late 2021. Owing to the route's short length, a single bus can provide a half-hourly service. However, the short length limits its usefulness, and is the lowest ridership night route ...

  Hey guys! Today's route is the 29 Dufferin, which operates with two branches: 29A Dufferin: Wilson Stn to Exhibition (Dufferin Gate) 29C Dufferin: Wilson Stn to Exhibition (Princes' Gate) There is also the 929 Dufferin Express service, which operates during weekday daytimes and early evening. It offers limited stops, and duplicates the 29A... mainly. Sometimes it duplicates the 29C when construction limits access to Dufferin Gate Loop, like what will happen in January. This route is notorious for delays and being very busy, which has led it to being described at 'Sufferin on the Dufferin.' It is really hard to argue with this statement. The Route All 29 Dufferin buses depart the upper level of Wilson Station via west on Wilson and south on Dufferin. The stretch of Dufferin until Lawrence is a mix of industry, big-box stores, single-family homes, and Yorkdale Shopping Mall. Personally, this is one of my least favourite places to walk in the city. South of Lawrence, the...

  The next route we are looking at is the 7 Bathurst bus! This route operates with one branch: 7 Bathurst: Bathurst Stn to Steeles Additionally, some garage run-ins operate on a shortened branch: 7S Bathurst: Bathurst Stn to Wilson This is the first mainline route we will be taking a look at. The route is very busy, but suffers greatly from speed, which we will speak about later. The Route Northbound buses depart from the Bathurst Station bus terminal by turning right. Most mainline routes do not turn at all, and the 7 is no different. The 7 has a large loop just south of Steeles, looping clockwise via Fisherville, Carpenter, Steeles, Village Gate, and Greenwin Village. Buses wait for their time at Greenwin Village/Bathurst, before continuing back south on Bathurst Street. Sights to See TTC Hillcrest Complex Cedarvale Ravine Kay Gardner Beltline Trail Baycrest Hospital Little Manila (Bathurst and Wilson) Earl Bales Hinder Property Holocaust Museum Esther Shiner Civic Stadium Subway...

  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 ro...