Initial data shows King streetcar commute now a lot faster
The King Street Pilot Project just keeps hitting the sweet spot for commuters, and now there's data to back it up.
According to The Toronto Star, preliminary data from a study by the University of Toronto shows that commute times both ways between Bathurst and Jarvis are down since the project began last month.
Evening rush hour commute times before the pilot were 22.8 minutes going westbound and 20.6 going eastbound.
The study says these times have dropped to 17.3 and 16.4 minutes respectively.
Overall, mean travel times have been reduced by 24 per cent (westbound) and 20 per cent (eastbound), signifying a huge success for the project that's so far seen mostly high praise.
I do not need a car as the king street pilot has made my commute to work nice 20-25 minutes. Would take longer to drive
â Jeffrey Doucet (@jeffrey_doucet) December 1, 2017
The report noted that since the project began, many have begun to use the service more frequently and streetcars are more crowded with some having to wait longer just to get on one.
17 min waiting for King st car and the street is a wasteland. Not sure #kingstreetpilot is shortening commute times @TTCnotices @TTChelps
â Boyu Wang (@Boyu90) November 30, 2017
But a TTC spokesperson noted in the report that once more data has been collected and analyzed, the project will be tweaked to improve efficiency.
Yeah, I think the most glaring issue with the King pilot right now is that the TTC isnât providing enough service to fill the newly-available capacity on street. (Some blame goes to Bombardier.)
â Matt Elliott (@GraphicMatt) December 1, 2017
If the project continues to show quantifiable improvements for transit and traffic, there's a possibility it could be made permanent.
The new King street via #TTC is a dream! đđđ
â shauna black (@theshaunablack) December 2, 2017
The TTC is set to release its own set of data later this month that will most likely confirm what we already know: it's great for commuters.
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