February 6, 2024 (Toronto, ON)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Plan accelerates implementation of bus and streetcar priority network first promised in 2020.

February 6, 2024 (Toronto, ON) - TTCriders and Toronto Environmental Alliance congratulate Mayor Olivia Chow and Toronto City Council for passing the RapidTO Surface Transit Network Plan. The motion [1] that passed today will accelerate the implementation of bus and streetcar priority routes across the City, improving the lives of transit users and helping Toronto reach its climate and environmental goals.

“Hundreds of thousands of riders rely on bus and streetcar routes every day to get to work, to school, and home to their families on time,” said Shelagh Pizay-Allen, Executive Director of TTCriders. “Transit users have been promised more surface priority lanes for years. City Council’s decision to speed up this plan is welcome news.”

According to staff reports, 70 percent of all rides on the TTC include at least one surface transit route.[2] Yet, bus and streetcar routes are the least reliable of the city’s entire transit system, according to the TTC’s 2023 budget submission report.[3]

“Toronto is literally miles behind cities like London, New York, and Montreal when it comes to priority surface transit lanes,” said How-Sen Chong from the Toronto Environmental Alliance. “This decision will help Toronto catch up with cities that are already moving more people faster while also being both cost-effective and good for the climate.

Toronto currently has just a few dozen kilometers of priority bus lanes, compared to London, New York, and Montreal, which all have more than 200 km.[4]

The plan passed by Toronto City Council moves the city forward on a network of priority surface transit routes, while accelerating work on priority routes on Finch East, Dufferin, Lawrence East, and Steeles West.

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[1] https://secure.toronto.ca/council/agenda-item.do?item=2024.EX11.8

[2] https://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2024/ex/bgrd/backgroundfile-242221.pdf, page 1

[3] https://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2024/bu/bgrd/backgroundfile-242096.pdf page 5

[4]  London has 290 km (Source: https://www.racfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/Bus_Lane_and_Moving_Traffic_Enforcement_in_London_2016-17_Leibling_final.pdf);
New York has 241 km (Source: https://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/downloads/pdf/bus-lane-camera-report.pdf);

Montreal has 306 km (Source: https://montrealgazette.com/news/montreal-adds-three-new-reserved-bus-lanes-modifies-others