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Adjusting service at GO and TTC – Metro US

Adjusting service at GO and TTC

GTA transit riders, avoid surprises and check your bus and train schedules over the next few weeks. In addition to system-wide changes taking effect at GO Transit April 3, the TTC is cutting back some bus service as of March 29.

These are mostly minor adjustments, and more vehicles will actually be added along certain lines. However, some GO riders are losing their routes entirely.

GO buses from Newmarket down Yonge Street and to York University are disappearing in April, prompting online petitions and a large public meeting — held by Newmarket-Aurora Conservative MPP Frank Klees last week.

In 2003, GO moved 14,000 people to and from Finch subway station daily, but was ordered to start cutting service in favour of planned “semi-express” Viva buses. After years of reductions, only about 600 die-hard GO riders now use the corridor.

Let’s be clear — Viva may be superior to local York Region Transit service but the GO bus is a step up from Viva.

We’re losing a piece of our transit network and while I wish Klees luck in trying to stop it, the loss is a predictable result of handing over GO routes to York Region — a process he began in 2003 as Ontario’s transport minister.

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Update on 12-car GO trains: Riders on the crowded Lakeshore corridor may feel extra cars are long overdue, but GO chief Gary McNeil states neither the ordering nor delivery of new equipment has been delayed. Look for half of Lakeshore trains to be 12-car by year’s end, primarily on express runs.

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Quick Tip: The TTC’s day pass rules are usually relaxed during March break, allowing families and groups to travel Monday to Friday. Call 416-393-4636 to confirm, or check at subway collector booths.

– Toronto-based transport writer Ed Drass covers transit issues every Monday; transit@eddrass.com.