rfmcdonald | [LINK] "Splitting the 501 Queen Streetcar Route in Two" (Reply)

The 501 Queen streetcar route is one of those TTC routes, like the Dufferin bus and the various subway routes, that I think of automatically when I think of Toronto. Following the length of Queen Street and then some, the 501 Queen streetcar route is iconic. It's also incredibly, incredibly, erratic, and there has been debate as to whether the route should be cut in two. blogTo's Dennis Marciniak explores this question.

Now that there's a resurgence of the idea of splitting the route into two, I'm not complaining. Although the trip is visually stimulating, there can be severe delays. If you've ever tried to use a schedule on the 501, you'll quickly realize how unreliable it actually is.

Traffic, detours, and construction are among just a few reasons why the 501 streetcars are almost never on time. In October, the TTC is planning to split the route into two - a trial that will be in effect until the end of the year. One route will depart from Long Branch and come back around at Parliament; while the other will start at Neville Park and find loop back from Shaw St. The goal of the project is to see if overlapping routes will alleviate congestion.

Riding the 501 many times, I've witnessed the traffic horrors first hand, but never fully understood how bad traffic can get backed up. I usually jump on the first streetcar that comes - never truly knowing how far back the next car is. This is why last night I decided to sit at the Humber Loop to see how often each vehicle came. I was looking at streetcars going westbound specifically because they would most likely accumulate the most problems.

So during rush hour I waited, and waited some more. After nearly 25 minutes, the first car finally came. As that vehicle was leaving to continue on route, another one came to let passengers off. This second streetcar pulled into the loop as a third pulled in, then to my surprise a fourth. Within 10 minutes, four vehicles had come and gone and for the next 35 minutes Humber Loop was a streetcar ghost town. This pattern would repeat itself for three hours until I called it quits.

Read the whole thing and look at the pictures.