October 15, 2009

As part of continuing efforts to improve service quality on the 501 Queen streetcar route, the Toronto Transit Commission will test a modified service by splitting the route into eastern and western portions, on a trial basis. 

On weekdays from October 19 to November 20, the west portion of the route will run from Long Branch Loop/Humber Loop to Parliament Street; and the east portion of the route will run from Neville Park Loop to Shaw Street. The east and west services will overlap each other along the busy four-kilometre stretch downtown, between Shaw and Parliament, so that most customers can continue to make their usual trip without having to transfer between streetcars. The temporary route change will be in effect for all 501 Queen and 301 Queen service from Monday to Friday. Saturday, Sunday, and holiday service will not be changed.

TTC staff began testing strategies to evaluate reliability, short turns and overall travel time on the 501 Queen route in 2007.  While operational changes tested over the last year have proved successful, the Commission decided to split the route to further test ways of making the route operate more reliably. Results of the split will be evaluated in January.

The Toronto Transit Commission moves 470 million people every year – about 1.5 million riders every weekday. The TTC is the third largest public transit system in North America servicing some 4.5 million people in the Greater Toronto Area, with a network of subways, streetcars, buses, and a specialized service, Wheel-Trans, for people who require accessible transportation. The TTC is committed to meeting the growing needs of the region with subway and light rail expansion, carrying an additional 175 million riders by 2021.

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