TTC installs large heated bus shelters along busy routes

TTC riders in the city who brave Toronto's freezing winters can now breathe a little easier in some parts of the city.

The TTC has installed 16 enclosed, heated bus shelters on busy routes in the city.

Formally known as access hubs for individuals with accessibility concerns, these bus shelters will provide primarily Wheel-Trans users (and all TTC riders) with a more comfortable spot to wait when temperatures drop.

The bus shelters have heaters that are activated with motion sensors when temperatures drop below 5 C, operating for five minutes at a time. Doors are also equipped with motion sensors that are opened by waving your hand.

These latest shelters come a year following the TTC's decision to roll out up to 100 heating shelters at Toronto’s busiest bus stops in 2019, as part of a five-year plan until 2024. Priority was given to stops with lower frequency bus service with higher ridership.

Currently, 12 working shelters have been installed across the city:

•  Jane and Eglinton (northeast, southwest)
• Victoria Park and Ellesmere (southeast)
• Neilson and Ellesmere (northeast)
• Freshmeadow and Don Mills (northeast)
• Kipling and Dixon (northwest and southwest)
• Victoria Park and Ellesmere (northwest)
• Neilson and Ellesmere (southwest)
• Victoria Park Avenue (Bingham Loop)
• Humber College Loop
• Meadowvale Loop

Four more have been built, but the TTC is waiting for occupancy permits, according to TTC spokesperson Stuart Green. These shelters are coming soon:

• Yonge and Steeles (southwest)
• Overlea and Thorncliffe (northwest and southwest)
• Long Branch Loop

Hopefully, the new shelters will provide some much-needed relief from the frigid cold to make commutes more bearable in the winter.