Only 10 TTC surface routes are meeting the goal for on-time performance and ‘bunching’ may be to blame: report

TTCRiders Executive Director Shelagh Pizey-Allen discusses the report that finds the so-called ‘bunching’ of vehicles may be to blame for transit delays.

Only 10 of the TTC’s 179 bus and streetcar routes are meeting the transit agency’s benchmark for on-time service during rush hour and the so-called “bunching” of vehicles may be to blame, a new report has found.

The report, prepared by the transit advocacy organization TTCRiders, is based on internal TTC data that was obtained through a freedom of information request and covers a period between Sept. 1 and Nov. 16 of last year.

The report also looked at TTC vehicle location data that was compiled by the group TransSee.

It found that on 10 routes riders waited 50 per cent longer than scheduled on average due to “bunching,” which is when a bus or streetcar is late and reaches a stop at the same time as the next one due.

There were also another 41 routes where riders waited 30 per cent longer on average.

The report found that there were only 10 routes where the TTC was able to deliver on its own goal of 90 per cent on time performance during rush hour.

“It is time for an honest conversation about how bad bunching is out there,” TTCRiders Executive Director Shelagh Pizey-Allen told CTV News Toronto on Thursday. “Transit riders should be able to trust that when they go out and expect to see their bus that it does show up when it is supposed to.”

The report argues that because of the way the TTC reports on time performance as an average it “hides how poorly some routes perform.”

Here’s how the city is tackling this issue

The new TTC budget for 2025 included money to fund a new pilot project that will work to reduce “bunching” along 10 problematic routes.

Those include the 7 Bathurst, 24 Victoria Park, 25 Don Mills, 29 Dufferin, 100 Flemingdon Park, 165 Weston, 924 Victoria Park Express, 925 Don Mills Express and 929 Dufferin Express bus routes as well as the 506 Carlton and 512 St. Clair streetcar routes.

In a statement, TTC spokesperson Stuart Green said that while he can’t speak to the data provided by TTCRiders specifically, he does “understand there are periods and days where service reliability is challenged across the network.”

Green went on to express optimism that the pilot project will make a difference for riders.

“The pilot aims to improve service reliability on 9 bus routes and 2 streetcar routes. These routes were selected based on their existing bunching and gapping rates as well as their frequency,” he said, “To reduce bunching and gapping, supervisors will be placed on-street along these routes throughout the day at observed bunching and gapping hotspots to monitor service and ensure that vehicles are evenly spaced. By ensuring vehicles remain evenly spaced – and working to adjust them when they aren’t - bunching and gapping should be reduced.”

The report argues that the TTC’s on-time performance metrics that are shared in monthly CEO reports to the board do not reveal enough about “the state of service and reliability that transit riders experience,” owing in part to the fact that the TTC only measures on-time performance at the end of its routes.

However, Green said that although there are limitations with measuring on-time performance at the end terminals, this measuring point is important because it ensures that the service departs evenly.

“Our data shows poor on-time performance from end terminals results in bunching and gapping at points further down the route,” he said.

10 routes that met the TTC’s goal: 90 per cent on time

• 905 Eglinton East
• 127 Davenport924 Victoria Park Express
• 104 Faywood
• 17 Birchmount
• 903 Kennedy Station-Scarborough Express
• 48 Rathburn
• 507 Long Branch
• 126 Christie
• 131 Nugget

17 routes: less than 50 per cent on time during rush hour

• 185 Sheppard Central
• 171 Mount Dennis
• 50 Burnhamthorpe
• 61 Avenue Road North
• 202 Cherry Beach
• 100 Flemingdon Park
• 91 Woodbine
• 925 Don Mills Express
• 508 Lake Shore
• 941 Keele Express
• 952 Lawrence West Express
• 79 Scarlett Road
• 154 Curran Hall
• 43 Kennedy
• 505 Dundas
• 15 Evans
• 118 Thistle Down

41 routes: riders waited 30 per cent longer due to bunching

• 320 Yonge Night Bus
• 509 Harbourfront
• 945 Kipling Express
• 300 Bloor-Danforth Night Bus
• 504 King
• 100 Flemingdon Park
• 54 Lawrence East
• 510 Spadina
• 35 Jane
• 32 Eglinton West
• 25 Don Mills
• 29 Dufferin
• 506 Carlton
• 952 Lawrence West Express
• 505 Dundas
• 52-Lawrence West
• 941 Keele Express
• 53-Steeles East
• 114 Queens Quay East
• 36-Finch West
• 202 ​​Cherry Beach
• 929 Dufferin Express
• 996 Wilson Express
• 301 Queen
• 960 Steeles West Express
• 306 Carlton
• 24 Victoria Park
• 925 Don Mills Express
• 7 Bathurst
• 165 Weston Rd. North
• 501 Queen
• 63 Ossington
• 503 Kingston Rd
• 43 Kennedy
• 304 King
• 96 Wilson
• 95 York Mills
• 116 Morningside
• 508 Lake Shore
• 41 Keele
• 89 Weston