Public transportation in Toronto

Public transportation in Toronto dates back to 1849 with the creation of a horse-drawn stagecoach company. Today, Toronto's mass transit is primarily made up of an extensive system of subways, buses, and streetcars, covering approximately 1,200 km (750 mi) of routes run by the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) and inter-regional commuter rail and bus service is provided by GO Transit.

History

Williams Omnibus Bus Line (1849–1862)

Williams Omnibus Bus Line was the first mass transportation system in the old City of Toronto, Ontario, Canada with four six-passenger buses. Established in 1849 by local cabinetmaker Burt Williams, it consisted of horse-drawn stagecoaches operating from the St. Lawrence Market to the Red Lion Hotel in Yorkville. The bus line was a great success, and four larger vehicles were added in 1850. After a few years, even more buses were in use, and were operating every few minutes. In 1861, the city gave a 30-year franchise to Toronto Street Railway, which built a horse car line, and the gauge of the buses was modified so as to fit between the tracks. The bus system lasted only until 1862, when it was bought out by the TSR.

Toronto Street Railway (1861–1891)

After the Williams Omnibus Bus Line had become heavily loaded in 1861, the city of Toronto issued a transit franchise (Resolution 14, By-law 353) for a horse-drawn street railway. The winner was Alexander Easton's Toronto Street Railway which opened the first street railway line in Canada on September 11, 1861, operating from Yorkville Town Hall to the St. Lawrence Market. The second line was on Queen Street. On other routes, the TSR continued to operate omnibuses. By 1868, the railway passed into the hands of the bondholders, and in 1869 the company was sold. In 1873 a new act of incorporation was obtained under the old name.

In 1874, extensions were made, and new cars were ordered. New lines were added until the 30-year franchise expired on March 26, 1891. The City operated the system briefly, but soon elected to pass on the rights to a new company, the Toronto Railway Company on September 1, 1891 for another thirty years under James Ross and William Mackenzie.

Toronto Railway Company (1891–1921)

The Toronto Railway Company (TRC) was the first operator of horseless streetcars in Toronto.

Formed by a partnership between James Ross and William Mackenzie, a 30-year franchise was granted in 1891 to modernize transit operations after a previous 30 year franchise that saw horse car service from the Toronto Street Railway (TSR). At the end of the TSR franchise, the city ran the railway for eight months, but ended up granting another 30-year franchise to a private operator, the TRC. The first electric car ran on August 15, 1892, and the last horse car ran on August 31, 1894, to meet franchise requirements. When the TRC franchise ended in 1921, the Toronto Transportation Commission was created.

Toronto Civic Railways (1912–1921)

There came to be problems with interpretation of the franchise terms, for the city. A series of annexations, especially in 1908–12, significantly extended the city limits to include such areas as Dovercourt, Earlscourt, East Toronto, Midway (formerly between Toronto and East Toronto), North Toronto, and West Toronto. After many attempts to force the TRC to serve these areas, the city created its own street railway operation, the Toronto Civic Railways, to do so, and built several routes. Repeated court battles did force the TRC to build new cars, but they were of old design. In 1921, with the TRC franchise ending, the city merged TRC and TCR into the Toronto Transportation Commission.

Toronto Transportation Commission (1921–1953)

In 1920, a Provincial Act created the Toronto Transportation Commission (TTC) and, with the expiration of the TRC's franchise in 1921, the Commission took over and amalgamated nine existing fare systems within the city limits. Between 1921 and 1953, the TTC added 35 new routes in the city and extended 20 more. It also operated 23 suburban routes on a service-for-cost basis. It abandoned the unprofitable North Yonge Railways radial railway line.

The Great Depression and World War II both placed heavy burdens on the ability of municipalities to finance themselves. During most of the 1930s, municipal governments had to cope with general welfare costs and assistance to the unemployed. The TTC realized that improvements had to be made, despite the depression, and in 1936, purchased the first of the newly developed PCC streetcars. The war put an end to the depression and increased migration from rural to urban areas. After the war, municipalities faced the problem of extending services to accommodate the increased population. Ironically, the one municipal service that prospered during the war years was public transit; employers had to stagger work hours in order to avoid overcrowding the streetcars. Toronto continued their program of purchasing PCC cars, running the world's largest fleet, including many obtained second-hand from U.S. cities that abandoned streetcar service.

Toronto Transit Commission (1954–present)

Public transit was one of the essential services identified by Metropolitan Toronto's founders in 1953. On January 1, 1954, the Toronto Transportation Commission was renamed the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) and public transit was placed under the jurisdiction of the new Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto. The assets and liabilities of the TTC and four independent bus lines operating in the suburbs were acquired by the Commission. In 1954, the TTC became the sole provider of public transportation services in Metro Toronto until the creation of GO Transit in 1968.

GO Transit (1968–present)

GO Transit is an inter-regional public transit system in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA) conurbation, with operations extending to several communities in the Greater Golden Horseshoe. The GO network employs diesel trains and coach buses; it connects with other regional transit providers such as the TTC and Via Rail.

Current system

Subway system

Platform level at Don Mills Station on the TTC's Line 4 Sheppard

The backbone of the TTC is a basic subway system with two main lines, the U-shaped Line 1 Yonge–University and the east–west Line 2 Bloor–Danforth, running along principal streets and connecting Toronto's outlying areas with its downtown core. Each line also connects to a secondary feeder near one of its outer ends: Line 4 Sheppard in the north and Line 3 Scarborough in the east; the latter uses a different technology (Intermediate Capacity Transit System suing the S-series rolling stock) from the rest of the subway lines.

Buses and streetcars

A TTC ALRV at the east end of the 501 Queen streetcar route

The rest of the city is primarily served by a network of about 150 bus routes, many of them forming a grid along main streets, and all of them (except for routes 99 and 171, both of which connect to bus garages) connecting to one or more rapid transit stations. A more distinctive feature of the TTC is the streetcar system, one of the few remaining in North America with a substantial amount of in-street operation. The city of Toronto has the largest streetcar system in the Americas. Most of the eleven streetcar routes are concentrated in the downtown core and all connect to the subway. The TTC also operates a night bus service called the Blue Night Network. Four routes of the Blue Night Network are operated using streetcars as well.

Commuter rail and buses

Inter-regional commuter rail and bus service is provided by GO Transit. GO trains and buses connect the city to the rest of the Greater Toronto Area. Ontario Northland Motor Coach Services operates buses to destinations in northern Ontario.

Paratransit

Wheel-Trans is a specialized accessible transit service in Toronto, provided by the TTC. It involves door-to-door accessible transit service for persons with physical disabilities using its fleet of accessible minibuses. The TTC also operates designated 400-series community routes.

Airport rail link

The Union Pearson Express (UP Express)^[1] is an airport rail link service. It runs between Canada's two busiest transportation hubs: Union Station in Downtown Toronto and Toronto Pearson International Airport along GO Transit's Kitchener line. It also stops at Weston and Bloor GO Transit stations.

Ferry system

The Toronto Island Ferry connects the Toronto Islands in Lake Ontario to the mainland of Toronto. The ferry provides access to the islands for recreational visitors and access to the mainland for island residents from the Jack Layton Ferry Terminal A ferry and tunnel provide access to the Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport (island airport) from the foot of Bathurst Street.

Future system

Line 5 Eglinton

The Eglinton Crosstown is a 19-kilometre (12 mi) light rail transit (LRT) line being constructed along Eglinton Avenue from Mount Dennis in York to Kennedy station. The Eglinton Crosstown line will run underground for 10 km (6.2 mi) from Mount Dennis to just east of Brentcliffe Road before rising to the surface to continue another 9 km (5.6 mi) to end at Kennedy Station. The first phase of the Crosstown LRT will have 25 stations and is expected to be completed by 2021. The line will have eastern and western extensions as well, the former to University of Toronto Scarborough and the latter to Toronto Pearson International Airport. The line was originally a part of David Miller's Transit City.

Finch West LRT

References