It’s official – dedicated transit lanes are headed to Dufferin and Bathurst streets after Toronto City Council approved the move this week.
The project, which has divided Torontonians over the past few months, will add priority bus-only lanes on Dufferin Street and priority streetcar lanes on Bathurst Street, both south of Bloor.
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Mayor Olivia Chow showed her support for the plan in council’s meeting on Wednesday, calling it a long-overdue step toward improving surface transit through the city’s RapidTO network, launched in 2019.
Many Toronto transit commuters are rejoicing online at the approval.
“Good news,” one X user said. “Lived at Dufferin and St Clair for years and honestly on street parking and constantly being stuck in traffic is what made the Dufferin bus terrible to use.”
“It should be a no-brainer to prioritize a bus with 60 people on it over single-occupant vehicles and car storage on a main street,” a Reddit user wrote. “If we want more people to use transit, we have to make it the fastest and best option, and we have a long way to go for that.”
Transit advocacy group TTCriders also celebrated the approval, calling it a “huge step forward” for 75,000 daily riders.
“Implementing these lanes will make transit more reliable and encourage more people to take a bus or streetcar instead of driving,” TTCriders Executive Director Andrew Pulsifer said in a press release.
The original RapidTO proposal for the lanes extended to Eglinton Avenue, but was scaled back due to concerns from local businesses and residents raising issues with parking and loading zones. TTCriders referred to the approved plan as “watered down,” but still applauded council for its reaffirming support.
The group also called out Councillors Brad Bradford, Stephen Holyday and James Pasternak for voting “against priority for transit riders,” as being the only ones to oppose the move in the 20-3 vote.
Bradford hopped on X after the meeting, calling the approval “rushed, unrealistic, and out of touch.”
Rushed, unrealistic, and out of touch.
— Brad Bradford✌️ (@BradMBradford) July 23, 2025
RapidTO is being pushed through under the guise of the World Cup — but even transit experts say the projected time savings are “unrealistic”, and it’s local residents, drivers, and small businesses who will bear the brunt of the impact. pic.twitter.com/qy1RjgOgUm
Construction on the lanes is set to begin this fall and finish before the 2026 World Cup, with an estimated cost of $8 million.
