TTC: Streetcar, Bus and Wheel-Trans Operations & Maintenance

[TheTigerMaster]

This thread is for discussions regarding TTC’s non-rapid transit surface operations and maintenance, including busses, streetcars and Wheel-Trans. Discussions regarding new capital infrastructure, including new vehicles, should happen in their appropriate Transportation & Infrastructure thread. Our previous discussions about bus, streetcar and Wheel-Trans operations and maintenance have been shoehorned into threads regarding related capital infrastructure, or into TTC All Items (Catch All).

 

[TheTigerMaster]

Steve Munro has a new article about our 2015 Blue Night service expansion: Blue Night Service Expansion: Fall 2015

There will happen in two stages in September and October 2015.

Current Blue Night network:

Blue Night Network (September 2015):

Blue Night Network (October 2015):

The 300 series Blue Night routes will be renamed to correspond with their daytime route numbers. For example, 307 Eglinton West will be renamed to 332 Eglinton West to correspond with the 32 Eglinton West daytime route. Blue Night streetcar routes won't yet be renamed, because the CLRV/ALRV rollsigns don't have the new route numbers.

 

[AlbertHWagstaff]

301, 304 and 306 already have the right numbers, only the Spadina night car would need to be renumbered. 310 would be the only new route number.

 

[CDL.TO]

The level of night service truly is remarkable in Toronto and the TTC deserves credit. Dare I say, our nightbus network is even comparable to places like London and Paris. It's certainly heads and shoulders over the service here in Amsterdam.

But I'm still concerned about how the new Blue Night network is planned. They're making it more like the regular TTC network, which makes it easier to understand but which is also adding a bunch of new transfers. These transfers are fine during the daytime when you transfer from a 5 min frequency subway, to another 5 min frequency subway, to a 10 min frequency bus. But for Blue Night, that becomes transfer from a 10 min frequency bus, to a 15 min frequency bus, to a 30 minute frequency bus.

I think the night network could be improved if the TTC made an effort to:

1. Bring routes like Jane or Don Mills into the downtown core to offer a direct trip between downtown and those destinations
2. Join together routes that currently terminate at the same location or close to each other, such as 365 Parliament and 322 Coxwell, to enable more trips that don't require a transfer
3. To make some short extensions to create new connections, such as sending the 341 Keele to Dundas West Station so that better connections can be made to the 306 Carlton and 304 King.

These are nightime routes. Doing what we can to minimize the need for people to be waiting outside for bus connections at 4am is important, and there shouldn't be any traffic congestion causing operations to be unreliable.

 

[Megaton327]

301, 304 and 306 already have the right numbers, only the Spadina night car would need to be renumbered. 310 would be the only new route number.

Actually 310 is Bathurst, Spadina is going to be 317. 311 has been freed up I believe, formerly Islington I think, so I think it makes way more sense to switch Bathurst to 311 and Spadina becomes 310 but apparently they aren't doing that. 317 Spadina it is.

LFLRVs and Buses are naturally immune to the rollsign issue. I think it was actually that article by Steve where I read that Spadina CLRVs will be signed 510 Spadina 24 hours a day, with the LFLRVs being signed 317 Spadina at night.

 

[nfitz]

I'd assume they'll do it gradually. Let the 311 sit unused for a bit; then renumber 310 to 311; and later 317 to 310.

Though perhaps we've hit the point they should simply use the regular number all-day.

 

[salsa]

In light of the planned night service improvements announced recently, now is a good time to look back at the night bus networks of the past. We've come a long way.


1963

1982

1988

2000

2009

2014

 

[W. K. Lis]

Mt. Pleasant used to have (blue) night service when the St. Clair streetcar served it up to Eglinton & Mt. Pleasant. Today, Mt Pleasant has no service after 7 PM. It should return to "regular" service after 7 PM, using one bus in September, but no overnight.

 

[TheTigerMaster]

It's a 5 minute walk from Mt. Pleasant to Yonge. That's close enough that regular service isn't needed. Nice to have though.

 

[TheTigerMaster]

Steve Munro has a new article on service changes effective September 2015: http://stevemunro.ca/2015/08/10/ttc-service-changes-effective-september-6-2015/

 

[AlbertHWagstaff]

It's a 5 minute walk from Mt. Pleasant to Yonge. That's close enough that regular service isn't needed. Nice to have though.

A little longer than that if you're near the cemetery, but north of Davisville it's pretty close. Ridership really fell off that route in the mid-1970s, especially after the bridge closure, people just adapted and that was that. If you're gong to Mt. Pleasant & Davisville area, it's quicker to take the Bayview bus, and if you're going to Mt. Pleasant & St. Clair, the South Leaside bus is quite frequent.

 

[salsa]

I hope there are plans to merge the two Mt Pleasant routes (74 and 103) when the crosstown opens. Ditto for Avenue Rd.

 

[smallspy]

I hope there are plans to merge the two Mt Pleasant routes (74 and 103) when the crosstown opens. Ditto for Avenue Rd.

The TTC had quite long-standing plans (circa 2002) to merge the north and south halves of the Mt Pleasant route, and run the new combined route to Davisville Station via Merton. Alas, I have no idea what has happened, as it doesn't seem like it's reappeared on any of the more recent reports.

I didn't think that Avenue Road was likely to be combined because I thought that the service levels and ridership were so vastly different north and south of Eglinton. But researching the headways of the two lines has proved me wrong in that respect - and maybe it is likely that it will happen.

Dan
Toronto, Ont.

 

[TheTigerMaster]

CBC: TTC to test talking buses on Bathurst, Bayview routes

The TTC will test busses that have state-of-the-art artificial intelligence technology to engage others in road rage.

Four talking busses will operate on a tryout basis on the 11 Bayview and 7 Bathurst routes.

The external announcements, heard from outside through a speaker near the front of the bus, are designed to attack other drivers with ad hominem insults when they drive recklessly near the bus.

Read the real story: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/ttc-to-test-talking-buses-on-bathurst-bayview-routes-1.3193622

 

[salsa]

CBC: TTC to test talking buses on Bathurst, Bayview routes



Read the real story: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/ttc-to-test-talking-buses-on-bathurst-bayview-routes-1.3193622

The Star article has this extra detail:

Bus numbers 8200, 8300, 8350 and 9050 will provide the announcements from a speaker near the front door.

Since I live near Bathurst, I might go out later to hear the talking buses.