City and TTC rushing for fix after Toronto's new LRT slammed with complaints

Toronto's Finch West LRT hasn't been able to shake its first-day jitters as more commuter complaints trickle in.

On top of the annoying delays – which began mere minutes into its launch – its speed, or lack thereof, is taking some heat online. 

At a City Hall press conference Tuesday afternoon, Toronto mayor Olivia Chow agreed the train isn't moving fast enough, saying, "I rode the train, and I know it can be faster."

The rush to speed up the TTC's new Line 6 Finch West comes amid early reports that the route debuted with travel times 16 minutes slower than the 36C Finch West bus it replaced.

Overall, the public is disappointed that the $2.5 billion investment delivered such "underwhelming results," as one X user states. 

People are rightfully extremely upset that Line 6 moves so painfully slow. The combination of effectively no signal priority, and the TTC operating it at speeds about 50 per cent slower than promised, are making the public question how we can spend so much for so little.

— Observing The City (@observinthecity) December 9, 2025

One major concern raised even before the line's opening was the decision not to prioritize traffic signals for light rail vehicles. TTC spokesperson Stuart Green tells blogTO the TTC is now working with the City on transit signal priority measures to help the LRT move passengers more efficiently.

"We are three days into actual service, and obviously, we will fine-tune as we go and as we gain more experience with customer volumes at different stations and loading and off-loading at the various stops," he says.

Despite Green telling the CBC that the line was expected to shave ten minutes off travel times by spring, when pressed on a timeline, he told blogTO that "No estimates have been made at this point."

While some commuters are praising the efficiency of the service during rush hour, as Green points out, others aren't seeing the same benefits, with one X user comically comparing the new LRT to a "sightseeing legacy of a trolley train."

@TTChelps Finch west LRT/Line 6 is so slow. People choose to take transit b/c it's fast and reliable not merely because it's faster than walking and a “smooth” ride. Treat it like the rapid transit it is and not a sightseeing legacy of a trolly train

— JonWoooooo (@WooooooJon) December 9, 2025

If indeed the rapid train is moving 16 minutes slower than its predecessor, taking almost an hour to cover 10.3 kilometres, the city should find solutions, residents say. 

Faster? It's crazy slow even slower than buses. @TTChelps @oliviachow and the province needs to work together and find a solution to improves speed of line 6 Finch West. It's a disaster! It's probably one of the slowest LRT in the world.

— S (@MountCascade) December 7, 2025

At the same press conference earlier today, Mayor Chow says the board is meeting Dec. 10 to "look for ways to get the train going faster."