TTC

2025 - 1 - 22

TTC: When Your Bus Plays Hide and Seek with Your Patience!

bus delays - commuter experience - on-time performance - Public Transportation - Toronto Transit - TTC

Ever felt like your bus is practicing for the Olympics? Welcome to Toronto's TTC: where 'bunching' and delays are the new norm!

Toronto's Transit Commission (TTC) has recently come under fire for its on-time performance, or rather, the lack thereof. An unsettling report by a transit advocacy group highlights a phenomenon known as "bunching." This fancy term essentially refers to multiple buses or streetcars arriving at the same stop simultaneously, leading to frustrating delays for unsuspecting commuters. Imagine waiting for ages only for a trio of buses to come racing in together—it's enough to make you want to ask them for a group discount.

As if this wasn’t problematic enough, the TTC's own monthly summary of On Time Performance reads like the script for a sad sitcom. Only a pitiful ten out of 179 surface routes are adhering to the agency's own standards for punctuality, especially during the chaotic morning and evening rush hours. Can you picture a bus on a date, arriving fashionably late? The only problem is that many riders want them to ditch the antics and start arriving! This downward trend raises questions about the efficiency of the transit system in one of Canada’s largest cities.

The report's findings reveal that riders on routes plagued by bunching wait an average of four extra minutes longer than planned. That’s right, folks—the frustration of watching the scheduled bus vanish into a puff of smoke while it’s best buddies decide to show up all together is a common experience! The sheer irony of a transit system aiming for reliability yet having its own metrics not harmonized with the rider's experience adds fuel to the fire. It’s like having a patience contest where buses constantly come late just to ruin the fun!

As commuters chuckle through clenched teeth, it’s fascinating to note that transit systems around the world experience similar challenges. In fact, cities that implement segregated bus lanes have seen marked improvements in on-time service. Maybe it’s time for the TTC to take notes! So next time you feel the pang of impatience while awaiting your next bus, just remember: the bunched-up band is probably stuck in traffic too!

And here’s an interesting tidbit: did you know that Toronto is home to over 2,000 buses and streetcars? With all that weight on their wheels, one would assume they’d glide through the streets like a hot knife through butter. In addition, the TTC comes up with its own benchmarks but a mere 5% of their routes seem to hit the mark during the peaks—now that’s a statistic that makes you ponder just what exactly goes on behind the scenes!

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Image courtesy of "CBC.ca"

TTC 'bunching' to blame for widespread service delays on buses ... (CBC.ca)

A new report from a transit advocacy group suggests “bunching” — when multiple buses or streetcars arrive at the same time — is creating delays on dozens of ...

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Image courtesy of "Steve Munro"

Delving Into TTC “On Time” Performance (Steve Munro)

The TTC produces a monthly summary of On Time Performance for its bus and streetcar networks. To call it superficial would be generous, but there are pretty ...

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Image courtesy of "Toronto Star"

TTC service on buses and streetcars can be 'appallingly bad ... (Toronto Star)

Only 10 TTC bus and streetcar routes in the city are meeting the transit agency's own goal for on-time service during rush hour.

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Image courtesy of "CityNews Toronto"

TTC's on-time metrics don't match actual transit rider experience ... (CityNews Toronto)

The report found that riders on routes where "bunching" is common waited an average of four minutes longer than scheduled.

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Image courtesy of "CP24 Toronto's Breaking News"

Only 10 TTC surface routes are meeting the goal for on-time ... (CP24 Toronto's Breaking News)

Only 10 of the TTC's 179 bus and streetcar routes are meeting the transit agency's benchmark for on-time service during rush hour and the so-called ...

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