It’s summertime, when the living is supposed to be easy, but there
is a downside -- buses can come less frequently. Transit use drops
about 10% compared to wintertime, as schools close and riders take
time off for holidays.
Judy Cooper of
Toronto writes, “Monday morning, much to the surprise of the regular
riders, it seems the TTC has reduced the service on the Birchmount
bus. We weren't sure if the buses were running late -- because the
TTC didn't bother to replace the schedule posted on the bus bay, nor
did any of the drivers seem to know.”
“The real
frustration in all of this is that every third 17A bus is now
running past Steeles. Those going past Steeles now have to wait 26
minutes between buses in rush hour. Unbelievable!”
For riders who
don’t have to worry about buses with letters attached to their route
numbers, the “A” branch of the 17 Birchmount service extends north
of Steeles Avenue into Markham. York Region pays the TTC to ferry
riders across the City of Toronto boundary, many of whom work in the
industries and offices that line the municipal border. As a rule,
the TTC runs relatively frequent service during rush hours to the
edge of the city, and along more than a dozen routes, York Region
pays the TTC to extend a limited number of buses into its territory.
Riders across
the city found this week that service was scaled back, and although
they may have been caught off guard, reductions happen every year at
this time. This usually amounts to one less bus travelling the
route during rush hours, but cross-border users like Ms. Cooper may
be affected even more.
The TTC’s Bill
Dawson says that this year, 74 of 140 TTC routes have been adjusted
for lower transit patronage during summer months. “It’s based on
ridership counts. We know from last summer what the ridership was on
Birchmount, so we adjust the service based on that count. We’re
still maintaining our ‘Service Standards’ -- the crowding on the bus
in not over-standard.” Rules govern how many people can be
comfortably fit onto a bus or streetcar, on average. Of course,
riders who are stuck to each other in rush hour might not care too
much about mathematical averages.
When TTC
planners decide how many buses will be pared back in Toronto, they
inform their counterparts in York Region. Says Mr. Dawson, “They
tell us how much service they are willing to pay for, north of
Steeles.” In the case of Birchmount, buses will go from every 21
minutes to every 26, until Labour Day. York had the option of paying
for every second bus to continue into Markham, actually increasing
the frequency, but decided to keep the status quo at one bus out of
three.
As for the new
schedules at bus stops -- with so many changes, around 2,300 of
2,800 “InfoPosts” have to be changed at the beginning and end of
summer. In Transit is working on another story about missing
schedules, so I will have more to report on this issue.
There are a few
changes to routes that are substantial enough to be mentioned in TTC
advertisements and on its website, www.ttc.ca. A special warning to
riders of the 9 Bellamy bus -- Saturday early evening service will
be removed as of tomorrow, because of low ridership. Says, Mr.
Dawson. “That’s a service elimination that was approved by the
commission as permanent -- so that won’t be coming back in
September. And it’s because it didn't meet the financial performance
criteria of the TTC.”
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