TTC plan to cut some stops won't improve service, councillor argues
When it comes to bus and streetcar stops, Councillor Pam McConnell isn’t buying the TTC’s argument that less is more.
The TTC wants to move some of its surface stops so that riders enter and exit transit vehicles at pedestrian crossings. It also wants to eliminate some stops altogether, to speed up journey times.
It’s a safety measure that will also improve service, according to a report that goes before the TTC board on Tuesday.
“The more stops you have along that route, the longer it’s going to take to have that journey,” said spokesman Brad Ross.
“TTC staff have concluded that streetcar and bus stops should be located approximately 300 to 400 metres apart,” says the report, which also recommends eliminating Sunday stops designed to provide easy access to churches.
However, on suburban bus routes where transit is about walkability rather than speed, stops can be located as close to each other as 200 metres, it said.
McConnell (Ward 28, Toronto Centre-Rosedale) doesn’t agree with the imposition of new rules on where stops should be placed.
“If they have individual stops that they don’t think are useful, bring them forward,” she said.
“This is a big step backwards. It’s about TTC convenience rather than customer service. And I think that’s a big mistake,” she told the Star.
“If they never had to stop, they’d get there way quicker. Their service is about picking up passengers and dropping them off,” she said.
Of particular concern is the proposed elimination of a stop at Victoria St., near St. Michael’s Hospital. The TTC says it can be dropped because it’s very close to the Queen streetcar stop at Yonge St.
“Anyone who is familiar with that stop at rush hour knows that a significant number of people debark there in the morning,” McConnell said in an online newsletter.
The report calls on the TTC to consult with city councillors before any decisions are made at the monthly TTC board meeting in February.
McConnell plans to speak with the TTC board on Tuesday and argue for more public consultation.
