TTC’s On-Time Metrics Fail to Reflect Real Transit Rider Experience, Report Says

Toronto: A recent report from TTCriders highlights a big gap between the TTC’s on-time metrics and what riders really face. It turns out that people are waiting way longer than expected on many routes.

The report shows that on ten routes, riders wait about 50% longer than scheduled. On 41 routes, the wait is around 30% longer. This delay is mainly due to something called “bunching.” That’s when one bus falls behind, and the next one catches up, causing a mess.

On routes where bunching happens a lot, riders are stuck waiting an average of four extra minutes. TTCriders got their data through a Freedom of Information request and some calculations from TransSee, which tracks TTC vehicles in real-time.

Shleagh Pizey-Allen, the executive director of TTCriders, said, “Transit riders should be able to trust the TTC to show up when we expect it to.” She believes it’s time for the TTC to create new, clear service metrics to improve the situation.

Currently, the TTC only measures if a bus is on time at the starting point. If it’s late at stops along the way, it still counts as on-time. That doesn’t seem fair, right?

Looking ahead, the 2025 TTC budget includes a pilot program to tackle these bunching issues on the ten worst routes. They plan to boost their presence on the streets to help fix this problem.