shuttle bus crowding

Huge number of TTC routes are overcrowded

If you’ve ever been on the TTC, this may not come as news to you.

It turns out that many TTC routes have reached beyond their satisfactory capacity and are classified by the Commission's own standards as “overcrowded.”

Fifty different routes exceed overcrowding standards in the course of a week, which amounts to about one-quarter of all surface routes, according to a report in the Toronto Star.

The TTC says lack of vehicles is part of the problem. This comes partially as a result of Bombardier’s failure to stick to the new streetcar delivery schedule.

The worst offenders are the 505 Dundas streetcar, the 41 Keele, the 122 Graydon Hall, the 53 Steeles E., and the 11 Bayview.

Some of the 50 overcrowded routes only achieve that status during rush times, or on weekends. The TTC says the numbers are averages, meaning that they can be overcrowded sometimes, but not always.

For rush hour times, the 505 Dundas was the most overcrowded, reaching 122 percent capacity at times. For “any time” during the week, the 504 King unsurprisingly took the top spot, at 123 percent over capacity on Saturday evenings.

The TTC says it's taking action to prevent the issue, but some forces are beyond its control, like the Bombardier shipment failures.

Perhaps the King Street Pilot Project, which begins operation on November 12, will help alleviate some of the issues on the 504. As for the rest of the routes, it may be a tight ride for many people for a little while yet.

Lead photo by

Jason Cook


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