What to know
- The Scarborough Busway opens Sept. 30, providing a dedicated four-kilometre route between Kennedy and Scarborough Centre.
- TTC says trips between the two stations will be about seven minutes faster.
- The busway will have three stops: Tara Avenue, Lawrence East and Ellesmere.
- Several Line 3 replacement routes will move onto the busway, while service levels and boarding locations at Kennedy and Scarborough Centre remain unchanged.
After three years of waiting, Scarborough is finally getting a dedicated busway along the former Line 3 corridor.
The Scarborough Busway opens Wednesday, Sept. 30, giving TTC buses a dedicated four-kilometre route between Scarborough Centre and Kennedy stations.
The new corridor is expected to cut the trip between the two stations by about seven minutes, with buses no longer travelling along Midland Avenue and Kennedy Road for the journey.
The busway is the latest chapter in the long-running saga of Scarborough’s former rapid transit line. After Line 3 was permanently shut down in 2023 following a derailment, replacement buses took over service between Kennedy and Scarborough Centre, with riders travelling on city streets.
Now, those buses will have their own dedicated corridor.
Three stops will serve the busway: Tara Avenue, Lawrence East and Ellesmere. Tara Avenue is a new stop at Tara and Moorgate avenues, while the Lawrence East and Ellesmere stops will connect riders with communities along the former SRT corridor.
For most riders, the boarding locations at Kennedy and Scarborough Centre stations will stay the same.
There is one important change for people who currently use replacement-bus stops along the corridor. Riders who board at Lawrence Avenue East and Kennedy Road, Midland Avenue or Ellesmere Road and Kennedy Road will need to use the new busway stops instead.
The TTC says regular service levels will remain unchanged.
Several routes will use the busway, including the 38 Highland Creek, 129 McCowan North, 131 Nugget, 133 Neilson, 154 Curran Hall, 903 Kennedy Station-Scarborough Express, 904 Sheppard-Kennedy Express, 938 Highland Creek Express and 939AB Finch Express.
The 43 Kennedy and 57 Midland routes will continue providing service for people travelling along those roads.
The project involved transforming the former SRT corridor from a rail line into a dedicated roadway. Tracks, signals and fencing were removed, while sidewalks, lighting, shelters and seating were added.
The TTC says the corridor has undergone extensive testing ahead of Wednesday’s opening.
