The TTC is ramping up service on 16 bus and streetcar routes, with a particular focus on cutting down on wait times on weekends.
Mayor Olivia Chow made the announcement during a press conference at the corner of Steeles Avenue West and Weston Road on Tuesday morning.
The corridor will see increased Saturday service on the 60 Steeles West, 165 Weston Rd. North, and 960 Steeles West Express routes beginning on March 30.
The TTC says that the additional service will improve service frequency on Saturday afternoons from every three to four minutes to every two minutes.
It says that there will be 26 additional buses on the roads on Saturdays to enable the service improvements, many of which will be deployed along the Steeles Avenue and Weston road corridors.
“We’re adding thousands of hours of service across the city, at all times of the day, with added capacity and higher frequency on bus, subway and streetcar service,” TTC CEO Greg Percy told reporters. “Particularly on weekends, where demand is outgrowing capacity.”
The TTC says that it will increase service on a total of 12 weekday bus routes and another nine weekend bus routes.
It is also set to deploy six additional streetcars on the 505 Dundas, which the TTC says will allow it to provide a service frequency of every eight minutes on Saturday mornings and every six minutes in the afternoon afternoon hours. For the 506 Carlton six additional streetcars will deliver service every eight and nine minutes on Saturday afternoons and early evenings, respectively. The TTC will also improve service frequency on the Line 4 subway by approximately 33 per cent thanks to the addition of 380 weekly train trips.
The increased service for Line 4 will “reverse a cut” made in 2023 to the line’s service, according to Chow.
“What I keep hearing from people is that they want more bus service, faster, come more often, shorter wait, more comfortable…not as crowded,” Chow said.” And getting home to their loved ones faster.”
The service improvements are being funded through a 6.5 per cent increase in the TTC’s operating budget for 2025 that was approved as part of Toronto’s budget.
“Today’s announcement is great news for the thousands of TTC customers, especially out here in the suburbs,” TTC chair Jamaal Myers said. “From March 30, we will be increasing service on 14 bus routes, including service for our customers in North York, Etobicoke and Scarborough.”
“There will be 26 more buses on the road on Saturday afternoons, bringing over 1100 buses. In the east we are increasing service on important routes such as the 16 McCowan, the 39 Finch East and the 57 Midland.”
The TTC also highlighted a previously announced pilot project to address “service bunching” on 11 surface routes, including the 506 Carlton, 512 St. Clair and the 165 Weston Rd. North.
Service bunching occurs when factors such as traffic or weather lead to different buses or streetcars arriving at a destination at the same time, leaving longer gaps for subsequent travellers.
“These supervisors are already in place and we are already seeing good results from this pilot,” Myers said.
According to a TTC rep, these supervisors were put in place on four routes as “proof of concept.” The supervisors will be added to all 11 routes March 30.
For a more detailed breakdown of specific routes that will be affected please follow this link.
