TTC service has gotten so bad on one line that operators are telling passengers to walk
Social media has been rife with more complaints than usual about one TTC line in particular lately, which has become so bad that transitgoers are being instructed to get off the streetcar and walk if they want to get anywhere.
In recent weeks, it has been revealed that travellers have indeed been dealing with an overly sluggish 504 King Street route, which now takes more time to traverse than it did before the thoroughfare was designated a transit priority corridor.
King streetcar somehow even slower now than before the Transit Priority Corridor 😬https://t.co/g8au99twdo #TTC #Toronto
— blogTO (@blogTO) November 14, 2023
By the time the King Street Pilot was made permanent in 2019, city drivers should have been familiar with the new rules, which restrict motorists from turning left or going straight through key intersections between Bathurst and Jarvis Streets.
The idea of the initiative was to cull the number of cars on the street and expedite streetcar traffic — which it successfully did, at first.
But, things have changed, with commuters regularly posting their frustrations with the ever-stalled corridor, sharing photos and videos of streetcars backed up for blocks.
Complaints about sluggish service on TTC streetcar line continue to roll in😬 https://t.co/HvBKvlnyCm #TTC #Toronto
— blogTO (@blogTO) November 24, 2023
A week after one person shared a video of how it's faster to walk down the stretch of King Street than take the TTC, one rider claimed on X that their streetcar operator told everyone on board that they "would be better off getting out and walking down King."
"He was right," they added along with a picture of their fellow passengers walking past multiple stopped vehicles.
Earlier tonight my streetcar driver told us we’d be better off getting out and walking down King. He was right. pic.twitter.com/SKuNr0wRPK
— Tristan DowneDewdney (@TristanToronto) November 30, 2023
TTC spokesperson Stuart Green says that unfortunately, "the sad reality is that at some times of day on King, that may be true."
But, he does say that things should be improving soon thanks to a multi-pronged strategy that is in the works to cure the line's woes, which the transit agency and the City recently met to discuss.
Part of the problem, as identified by a new report from this month, is that only about 0.3 per cent of drivers who violate the signage instructing them to turn right to keep this swath King open for streetcars face any sort of penalty.
Along with police's hesitation to actually ticket anyone on the street — except for streetcar drivers, apparently — there is also ongoing construction in the area that is pushing people to search for alternate routes.
Then there is the City's outright neglect of the transit corridor infrastructure that once included bollards, coloured paint, seating, and other safety and public realm features that have since fallen into grave disrepair — a visual indication, it seems, of how little people care about the project.
