A few years of progress for Toronto
Toronto has a long way to go on public transport, but it's come a long way.
Having moved out of Toronto semi-recently, I’m feeling a tad nostalgic, so I thought it would be interesting to review some of the things that changed in the period from roughly 2015 to present. That’s only 8 years, but a huge amount of things have changed in a positive way — and of course it’s much easier to get a sense of progress looking back in retrospect rather than day-to-day.
Since many of these things are not huge infrastructure projects, I think it’s also worth considering just how much things can get better without billions of dollars being spent and earth turned.
The first area where there’s been a shocking amount of change is with fares.
Fare System
It used to very much be the case that Presto was not accepted at every entrance to the subway and even every station. I remember more than once having to walk a considerable distance to get to an entrance that accepted Presto when I arrived at one that did not! I also remember the days of swiping a Metropass that tended to have unique art on it every single month, so times have changed a lot on this front.
Toronto has also more or less gotten rid of all turnstiles on the subway, and while this might feel like a small issue, I think fare gates are just generally less likely to injure you, and are much easier when you have bags. You also use them literally every time you enter the system (unless transferring from a surface vehicle) so you actually interact with them a ton. Turnstiles and the full height rotating variety also just don’t feel very modern.
When I first came to Toronto, getting a Presto card was surprisingly difficult: You had to go to select retailers or Union station. But nowadays, you can get a Presto card at any subway station from a vending machine, and there are also contactless tickets for purchase, which did not exist when I first moved to Toronto.
Relatively recently, you also started to be able to pay using credit or debit on regional rail, and local buses outside of the city of Toronto. This was a long-needed change and should make irregular use much easier.
Fare integration has also slowly moved forward, with free local transit for GO users outside of Toronto. The government also seems committed to expand this approach to the City of Toronto itself.
Rail System
One of the biggest projects that has been ongoing on the Toronto subway over the past number of years has been the installation of communications-based train control on Line 1. Now that works are substantially complete, service should be more reliable and the frequent weekend shutdowns should fade into the past. The benefits of this new signalling are already noticeable, with smoother train operation and trains noticeably pulling into stations closer together.
There have also been a number of new subway station entrances and newly accessible subway stations over the last few years. These have come fast and furious and pretty soon the entire network will be fully accessible, which is quite exciting.
Of course, Line 1 was also extended to Vaughan, and while the state of the stations is not amazing, York University station is seeing a lot of use, there’s impressive transit-oriented development at Vaughan, and a surprising number of people using Highway 407 to connect to GO buses. The impact of the extension, which has been open for more than half a decade, will only increase with the opening of the Finch West LRT and expanded train service on the Barrie Line.
While not exactly in Toronto, ION was the first independent electric rail system to open in Ontario, and an exciting trailblazer for smaller cities across the country. Perhaps what excites me the most is the potential for systems like ION to bookend longer rail journeys on GO and Via.
Streetcars
When I first arrived in Toronto, the “new” streetcars were still quite uncommon, but they now make up 100% of the active fleet, which is pretty cool when you consider that I used to find the idea of one operating on a non-right of way route quite novel. And the system has also ordered 60 more of these, which is quite exciting!
The King Street Pilot Project also opened, and while its current state is rather embarrassing, it does appear to have shown Toronto just how powerful and easy transit priority can be.
It’s exciting to note that just like with the subway, the new low-floor streetcars mean that the whole network is now accessible.
Buses
The bus fleet has also become a lot more modern, with Nova buses left and right, including the very nice new hybrids. These are the first hybrid buses in Toronto for a long time, and they improve the rider experience, which is much needed.
On top of the standard buses, the system has also added a large number of articulated buses, and they’ve even ordered articulated hybrids, which should be arriving soon.
Toronto is also a North American leader in battery-electric buses (though this is a somewhat low bar). Toronto, quite usefully, ordered a large number of buses from 3 different manufacturers, and while most of them turned out not to be great, the New Flyer electric buses have been doing quite well, and the TTC has made a big additional order.
The TTC’s newest buses also feature more modern wayfinding screens, which will be great when the TTC finally decides to make use of them and finally remove the embarrassing current design.
During this period, GO Transit has also acquired far more double-decker buses. These buses are great, but they really ought to have a second door to speed up boarding and alighting.
In terms of new bus facilities, a number of new large bus terminals have also opened, which are an under-appreciated way that Toronto really improves the bus riding experience. New terminals at Cornell, Vaughan Metropolitan Centre, Kipling, and Union are spacious, and provide warm, dry indoor waiting areas as well as washrooms — sorely needed across the transit system. They also make for much more convenient and comfortable bus-to-bus transfers.
The brand new Union Station bus terminal really upgrades the passenger experience, bringing the bus experience in line with the train experience, and unifies long-distance buses at a single site in Downtown Toronto, allowing you to access buses to places like Montreal and New York from Union station.
A lot of new bus lanes have also been added across the region, including painted bus lanes in Toronto, and a number of new sections of VIVA BRT route in York Region. While service levels in York are unsatisfactory, the infrastructure at least makes a statement about transit, and leaves the door open for future increases.
Regional Rail
The transformation of regional rail has in some ways been the largest, but least noticed change. A number of stations have been completely rebuilt, and while they aren’t necessarily quite as different as I would have liked them to be, the new stations tend to provide much better weather protection and facilities for passengers, many other quality of life improvements, and much better, less temporary-looking aesthetic designs.
GO regional trains now almost all use modern cab cars, and while this has virtually no impact on the rider experience, I do think it helps to project a modern vision of regional train service.
Much as with the bus terminal, Union Station’s rail concourses have been completely overhauled, and while the results are disappointing in some places, the GO concourses are very nice, and the significant new amenities, retail, and restaurants are immensely popular, which is sure to make Union Station a destination in its own right, in a way it has not been historically.
GO service has also completely transformed. Most lines have all-day service, and the 5 lines that will form the core of GO’s network have all had hourly weekend service, a first step towards a high-frequency regional rail future. What’s even more exciting is that the services are very well used, and can enable trips into the city for all kinds of events and other appointments. Track expansion on the Barrie, Stouffville, and Kitchener corridors is ongoing, as well as numerous grade separations, and this should enable significant service increases in the future.
GO even introduced 15-minute all-day service for a period of time on the Lakeshore lines before the pandemic, and this is just a sign of things to come for the future.
The UP Express, which also has frequent service, has been extremely successful ever since its fares have been lowered, and trains are also busy late into the evening.
Hamilton also finally has hourly regular train service into Toronto, making day trips on rail a convenient reality, and ushering in a much more connected regional transit network.
GO has also started to introduce more service aimed at recreational trips, such as to Niagara and Barrie, and the introduction of a new weekend pass has likely helped grow the non-commuter ridership of the service, which now exceeds pre-pandemic levels.
Conclusion
All in all, the last 8 years have been nothing but transformational for Toronto, and I’d argue there are a number of clear vectors for which major additional changes will be realized in the next 8 years.
Thanks for the retrospective, Reece. It is easy to forget what used to be. I was not aware of all the hourly service on GO lines that I don't use, but maybe now I will find a reason to use them.
With all the projects underway, just imagine all the progress you can look back on eight years from now!
A good read, I like the chance substance gives to talk about things in more depth and more exhaustively than YouTube. I really like reading about the transformation of the GTHA, it is inspiring to hear of all the progress that has been made from when I lived in the GTA a decade ago.
Articles are nice, keep it up!