TTC to improve service on 33 bus and streetcar routes in the GTA

WATCH ABOVE: Josh Colle announces improvements to TTC service in GTA

TORONTO — Mayor John Tory and TTC Chair Josh Colle announced service improvements to 33 of the city’s busiest bus and streetcar routes during off-peak hours this fall.

The increased service will start in September and is made possible by the $95 million investment in transit in the 2015 Budget.

It comes after similar investments in TTC projects such as expanded overnight service and the 10 minute or better service network announced earlier this year.

The announcement was made on Monday at the south bus platform at the TTC’s Finch Station, where Colle said the improvements would be “outside of the traditional rush hour times,” which is where TTC ridership continues to grow the fastest.

WATCH: John Tory says new round of TTC service improvements shows his commitment to transit

“These routes have specifically been identified as those which would benefit most from reduced crowding and wait times, as they’re among the busier off-peak hours on our network,” he said.

“55 million customer trips each year will benefit from these service improvements and it’s estimated that this will attract almost 2 million new customer trips to the TTC every year.”

Tory said the improvements were “absolutely necessary for the social and economic well being of our city,” and called the investment long overdue.

WATCH: John Tory says city still recovering from transit cuts made by Rob Ford

“These service improvements are a reversal of the off-peak service cuts that were made under the previous administration,” said Tory, adding that the cuts had impacted service and ridership.

“I think this was an incorrect decision that we’re now seeking to correct because if transit connects people to opportunity than you can’t be cutting back on transit at a time when you need to have people have access to a job.”

Tory said he was elected to address a “traffic and transit nightmare” and that improvements to transit were a direct part of the city’s poverty reduction strategy.

The announcement follows improvements to 61 bus routes on overnight and all day service across the city, which were announced earlier this year.

The TTC said in a release that the improvements to the 26 bus and seven streetcar routes across the city will provide a “noticeable improvement in service quality,” which would lead to “shorter wait times, less crowding and a better chance for customers to get a seat.”

A report outlining the improvements titled “Improvements to Off-Peak Services – More Frequent and Less-Crowded” will be presented to the TTC Board at its meeting on July 29.

The service improvements will be implemented on the following routes:

1. 7 Bathurst
2. 22 Coxwell
3. 24 Victoria Park
4. 25 Don Mills
5. 34 Eglinton East
6. 35 Jane
7. 36 Finch West
8. 38 Highland Creek
9. 39 Finch East
10. 42 Cummer
11. 44 Kipling South
12. 52 Lawrence West
13. 53 Steeles East
14. 54 Lawrence East
15. 60 Steeles West
16. 63 Ossington
17. 84 Sheppard West
18. 89 Weston
19. 95 York Mills
20. 100 Flemingdon Park
21. 106 York University
22. 133 Neilson
23. 191 Highway 27 Rocket
24. 192 Airport Rocket
25. 198 U of T Scarborough Rocket
26. 199 Finch Rocket
27. 501 Queen
28. 504 King
29. 505 Dundas
30. 506 Carlton
31. 509 Harbourfront
32. 511 Bathurst
33. 512 St Clair