STAFF REPORT
October 20, 1999
To: Chairman and Members of the Scarborough Community Council
From: Gary H. Welsh, Director, Transportation Services, Works and Emergency
Services, District 4
Subject: 2000 Toronto Transit Commission Service Plan
All Wards
Purpose:
To provide information on the 2000 Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) Service Plan.
Financial Implications and Impact Statement:
Not Applicable.
Recommendations:
It is recommended that Scarborough Community Council forward this report and any additional comments directly to the
Toronto Transit Commission to meet the Commission deadline for comments of November 10, 1999.
Background:
The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) evaluates requests for new and improved transit service, which are received from
customers, city councillors, TTC staff and City of Toronto staff. In this year's evaluation, a total of 32 proposals were
received.
Comments:
The Toronto Transit Commission has completed its evaluation of all outstanding requests for improved transit service. The
results of this analysis and recommendations are contained in a document entitled "2000 Service Plan. This report was
prepared in September 1999 and the TTC is now requesting comments on this Service Plan before November 10, 1999.
The earliest oportunity to bring this issue to Scarborough Community Council is its regularly scheduled meeting of
November 9, 1999, because Transportation Services staff did not receive this report until mid-October 1999. TTC staff will
then report to the Commission on December 8, 1999, and the service changes would begin early in 2000.
The TTC has indicated that the service changes recommended in this Service Plan will improve service for approximately
300,000 customer-trips each year". The TTC also expects to increase ridership by approximately 55,000 customer-trips
each year". Staff of Transportation Services is generally supportive of the proposals put forward herein as they relate to
transit service in the Scarborough Community.
A. RECOMMENDED NEW AND REVISED SERVICES
131 Nugget - Revised Service on Morningview Trail, Scarborough Malvern:
At the request of Councillor Balkissoon and Transportation Services staff, the TTC examined the current looping of the
131 Nugget service. This route currently travels to and from Morningside Avenue via a portion of Morningview Trail,
Littles Road and Old Finch Avenue to an off-street loop that is currently leased by the City of Toronto from the Ministry of
Transportation. To lease this loop costs the City of Toronto, through the Transportation Services budget, $850.00 per
month.
The proposal by the TTC would now eliminate the need for this off-street loop by looping on-street via Littles Road, Old
Finch Avenue and the full length of Morningview Trail. This would loop counter-clockwise before 3:00 p.m. and
clockwise after 3:00 p.m. This change would improve service for an estimated 330 customer-trips each day as customers
on Morningview Trail, who presently walk to 131 Nugget stops on Littles Road or Old Finch Avenue, will have a
decreased walking distance. A total of 235 customer-trips are made in the off-peak direction. These customers will be
inconvenienced by a longer travel time, as they would have to ride around the loop. The change in loop direction at 3:00
p.m. attempts to minimize this inconvenience. Transportation Services staff support this route change.
B. SERVICE CHANGES TO IMPROVE FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE
Service Reductions on Other Routes, All Wards:
The financial performance on the following routes does not meet the TTCs minimum financial standard. These service
changes are being made by the TTC to reduce the cost of operation.
Route |
Start Date |
Time Period |
Change in
Interval Between Buses |
21 Brimley |
Jan. 2000 |
After 10:00 p.m.,
Monday to Friday |
Every 20 minutes to every 30
minutes |
20 Cliffside (west of Kennedy
Rd.) |
Jan. 2000 |
Morning and
Afternoon Peaks |
Every 11 minutes to every 22
minutes |
139 Huntingwood |
Jan. 2000 |
Morning and Afternoon
Peaks, Monday to Friday |
Every 15 - 18 minutes to
every 30 minutes |
43 Kennedy |
Sep. 1999 |
Morning Peak
Monday to Friday |
Every 6 minutes to every 7
minutes |
132 Milner |
Jan. 2000 |
Morning Peak
Monday to Friday |
Every 12 minutes to every 16
minutes |
132 Milner |
Jan
2000 |
After 7:00 p.m.,
Monday to Friday |
Every 23 minutes to every 30
minutes |
133 Neilson |
Jan. 2000 |
After 10:00 p.m. on Sundays |
Every 15 minutes to every 23
minutes |
67 Pharmacy (north of 401) |
Jan. 2000 |
9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Monday to Friday |
Every 30 minutes to every 60
minutes |
67 Pharmacy (north of 401) |
Jan
2000 |
Saturday |
Every 20 minutes to every 40
minutes |
86 Scarborough (east of
Kingston) |
Jan. 2000 |
Morning and Afternoon
Peaks, Monday to Friday |
Every 20 minutes to every 30
minutes |
86 Scarborough (east of
Kingston) |
Jan. 2000 |
Btw. 9:00 a.m. & 3:00 p.m.,
Monday to Friday |
Every 30 minutes to every 60
minutes |
86 Scarborough (north of
Sheppard) |
Jan. 2000 |
Morning Peak, Monday to
Friday |
Every 20 minutes to every 30
minutes (to Zoo) |
134 Tapscott (north of
Centennial Col.) |
Jan. 2000 |
9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.,
Monday to Friday |
Every 17 minutes to every 30
minutes |
69 Warden South |
Jan. 2000 |
9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Monday to Friday |
Every 15 minutes to every 22
minutes |
69 Warden South |
Jan. 2000 |
7:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m..
Monday to Friday |
Every 15 minutes to every 22
minutes |
69 Warden South |
Jan. 2000 |
Saturdays |
Buses only south on Warden
and north on Birchmount |
95 York Mills (east of Scarb.
College to Rouge Hill GO) |
Jan. 2000 |
Morning and Afternoon
Peaks, Monday to Friday |
Every 9 - 13 minutes to every
18 - 26 minutes |
95 York Mills (east of Scarb.
College to Kingston Rd.) |
Jan. 2000 |
Morning and Afternoon
Peaks, Monday to Friday |
Every 9 - 13 minutes to every
18 - 26 minutes |
C. CHANGES ALREADY APPROVED BUT NOT YET INTRODUCED
68 Warden - Extension to Steeles Avenue, Scarborough Agincourt:
As a result of a suggestion from their staff, the TTC approved extension of the 68 Warden bus route from its present
on-street loop via Bamburgh Circle to a new off-street loop just north of Steeles Avenue in the 1999 Service Plan. The
advantage of this new loop is that it will provide a convenient transfer to the 53 Steeles East bus and reduce the walking
distance for some customers.
This extension has not yet taken place because it is contingent on an off-street loop being created. The TTC and Markham
Transit are co-operating to build a new loop, which is intended to be complete and operating by mid-2000.
D. OTHER PROPOSALS EXAMINED AND NOT RECOMMENDED
Ellesmere Road - Direct Service to Scarborough Centre Station, Scarborough City Centre, Scarborough Highland Creek,
Scarborough Malvern:
As a result of a request from Councillor Balkissoon, TTC staff examined connecting service on the eastern part of
Ellesmere Road with Scarborough Centre Station.
TTC staff examined an option that would create a new route that would run east on Ellesmere Road to Scarborough
College, then east on Military Trail and Lawson Road, and south on Port Union Road to Rouge Hill GO Station. This route
would replace part of the present 95 York Mills route. A second branch would run in the week day peak periods to Conlins
Road, Canmore Boulevard and Morrish Road, replacing part of the 116 Morningside route.
The change in weighted travel time suggests that the inconvenience of this service change would be more important to
customers than the benefits of the change. For this reason, the TTC does not recommend this service in the 2000 Service
Plan.
12 Kingston Rd - Direct Service east of St. Clair Avenue, Scarborough Bluffs, Scarborough Highland Creek:
In the 1999 Service Plan, the TTC recommended that the service provided by the 12 Kingston Rd route be removed east of
St. Clair Avenue to Morningside Avenue to reduce operating costs. At the time, the TTC was asked to reconsider removal
of this service by Transportation Services staff. Although this section of road is currently served by both the 102 Markham
Rd and 86 Scarborough routes, to travel on Kingston Road between Morningside Avenue and points west of Brimley Road
requires a transfer of three buses. Residents living even further east of Morningside Avenue have expressed frustration as
they can not conveniently access service to travel on Kingston Road because the existing bus service is all destined to and
from the subway and RT stations.
Following the TTC's removal of this service in February 1999, Councillor Altobello and the late Councillor Faubert both
again objected to removal of this service. The TTC has re-evaluated this removal of the 12 Kingston service in the 2000
Service Plan. By re-installing this service, approximately 380 customer-trips each day would be made with one fewer
transfer. However, an evaluation of restoring this service indicates that the service would not meet the TTC's financial
standard because an additional bus would be required in the peak periods. Therefore reinstatement of the 12 Kingston Road
route east of St. Clair Avenue is not recommended in the 2000 Service Plan.
95 York Mills - Re-route Service to Rouge Hill GO Station via Ellesmere/Kingston Road, Scarborough Highland Creek:
This request, from TTC staff, was intended to simplify service on the 95 York Mills route, which currently has four
different route arrangements. Instead of having the buses route to the intersection of Kingston Road and Ellesmere Road,
this route would terminate at Scarborough College. Buses then operating to and from Rouge Hill GO Station would run
east on Ellesmere Road, west on Kingston Road, over the Highland Creek Overpass, and east on Lawrence Avenue. This
change would remove service from Military Trail, between Scarborough College and Lawson Road. This change would
cause an overall inconvenience for customers and is not recommended by TTC staff in the 2000 Service Plan.
Consideration of Additional Periods of Service on Present Routes
130 Middlefield - Limited Sunday Service, Scarborough Malvern:
At the request of TTC staff, providing Sunday daytime service (8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.) on the 130 Middlefield route was
examined. The TTC has determined that this service does not meet the minimum financial standard. The TTC's final
standard is applied this way: new services will not be introduced if the number of customers gained per dollar spent
(customer/$) is below 0.23. This service is calculated to have a ratio of 0.16 customer/$.
132 Milner - Saturday Daytime Service, Scarborough Malvern:
At the request of Councillor Balkissoon, the TTC examined providing Saturday daytime service on the 132 Milner route.
The does not meet the minimum economic standard of 0.23 customers gained per dollar spent. This service is calculated to
have a ratio of 0.13 customer/$.
E. POST-IMPLEMENTATION REVIEWS OF SERVICE CHANGES
134 Tapscott - Revisited Routing on Progress Avenue, Scarborough City Centre, Scarborough Highland Creek,
Scarborough Malvern:
In February 1998, the TTC began operating the 134 Tapscott route on Progress Avenue between Markham Road and
Sheppard Avenue, on the new Highway 401 overpass.
Since this change has attracted new customers to the TTC without an increase in costs, and since the change has resulted in
an overall improvement in service for customers, it is recommended as part of the 2000 Service Plan.
Councillor Balkissoon did express concern that the customers who live between McCowan Road and Markham Road,
south of Sheppard Avenue, now either have to walk further or transfer buses to arrive at Scarborough Centre Station since
this re-routing. They normally could use the 132 Milner route to have direct access to the Scarborough Centre Station,
however, it does not operate during the midday on weekdays or the daytime on Saturday. The TTC examined possibly
routing the 134 Tapscott so that these customers would not have to transfer. This option involved operating from Sheppard
Avenue, left on Progress Avenue, right on Milner Avenue and left on Markham Road and right onto Progress Avenue to
Scarborough Centre Station. The route would reverse on the return route. TTC staff determined that this option would
result in an overall inconvenience to customers, and is not recommended by the TTC in the 2000 Service Plan.
Conclusions:
This report provides a summary of issues discussed in the 2000 Service Plan within the Scarborough Community Area, as
prepared by the TTC. Additional information on these changes can be found in the Service Plan which the TTC sent to
each member of the Toronto City Council.
Contact:
Bruce D. Clayton
Supervisor, Traffic Engineering, Works and Emergency Services
Tel: 396-7844
Fax: 396-5681
E-mail: clayton@city.scarborough.on.ca
Gary H. Welsh
Director
Transportation Services
Works and Emergency Services
District 4
BDC:ca:
c:\work\reports\scc\2000ttc.doc
D99-003
List of Attachments:
1. Plan (131 Nugget Revised Service on Morningview Trail)