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TTC’s new crappier commute

The TTC is dialing back the clock all the way to 2004, and this is one retro move that customers won’t be pleased with.

Faced with Mayor Rob Ford’s intention to slash the city’s subsidy to the TTC by 10 per cent next year, the TTC board voted in September reduce its crowding standards to 2004 levels, meaning that beginning in January 2012 riders will face slightly longer wait times more crowded vehicles. Instead of aiming for an average of 48 customers on each vehicle during the busiest hours, the commission is now aiming for an average of 53.

Thursday the TTC released a full list of service “changes” (mostly reductions, in truth), which will affect 52 bus routes during rush hour and 36 bus and streetcar routes in off-peak hours. They’re mostly increases in wait time of 30 seconds to a few minutes, but as anybody who’s ever waited for the Dufferin bus knows, these times are what the TTC shoots for rather than accurate measures.

Heavily trafficked routes like the 501 Queen and 510 Spadina streetcars are among those negatively affected. Twenty-one routes will also see decreased wait times, but mostly during off-peak hours or on routes outside the downtown core.

These increased wait times will allow the TTC to put fewer buses on the streets and help make up the $85 million shortfall they’re facing next year. Roughly $39 million of that is a result of Ford’s decision to cut funding to the commission, the rest is increased operating costs brought on by factors like the rising price of gas.

TTC spokesperson Brad Ross says that reducing service standards is a necessary evil.

“In order to balance our budget we needed to find some cost savings, and the biggest cost at the TTC is service,” he said in an interview Thursday. “This is the least painful way for us to balance our budget and not eliminate routes outright.”

For a while the TTC board was considering stopping service on some routes altogether or making riders pay premium rates for the after-hours Blue Night service, but decided against such unpopular measures. While reduced service levels may be the least bad cost-cutting option for the TTC, Ross admits that riders will feel the pinch.

“There will be an impact, there’s no doubt about it. I’m not going to kid anyone,” he said.

Ross says the commission is trying find ways to improve its route management to prevent bunching or gapping of vehicles, but has yet to come up with a concrete strategy. Better route management will be more important than ever when the lower service standards come into effect next year.

Longer, more crowded commutes aren’t the only hardships TTC customers are being asked to swallow in 2012. In exchange for the reduced standard of service, riders will likely end up paying 10 cents more than they are this year. The TTC board is expected to approve a 10-cent fare hike at their December meeting.

Meanwhile, the commission is also cutting its workforce. Two-hundred and fifty frontline positions have been eliminated through layoffs and voluntary separation packages, and the commission is looking at eliminating 500 to 600 more of its workers through outsourcing and privatization.

If you’d like to let the TTC know what you think about their service changes, the commission is holding its first town hall meeting tonight at city hall.

Here are some highlights of the route changes, and the TTC’s full list of the new wait times is below.

INCREASED WAITS:

192 Airport Rocket bus

Morning rush hour, wait times increased from 12 min 15 sec to 16 min

7 Bathurst bus

Morning rush hour, wait times increased 5 min 30 sec to 6 min 30 sec

Evening rush hour, wait times increased 6 min to 6 min 45 sec

29 Dufferin bus

Morning rush hour wait times increased from 2 min 37 sec to 2 min 50 sec on most of route

Saturday morning wait times increased from 3 min 45 sec to 4 min 20 sec

505 Dundas streetcar

Monday to Friday, midday wait times increased from 5 min 30 sec to 6 min 30 sec

26 Dupont bus

Morning rush hour wait times increased from 13 to 16 min

63 Ossington bus

Monday to Friday, midday wait times increased from 6 min 45 sec to 8 min

501 Queen streetcar

Monday to Friday, midday wait times east of the Humber Loop increased 5 min 30 sec to 6 minutes 30 sec

Monday to Friday evening wait times east of the Humber Loop increased 6 min to 7 min

512 St. Clair streetcar

Monday to Friday, midday wait times increased 5 minutes to 6 minutes

510 Spadina streetcar

Monday to Friday early evening, north of King wait times increased from 2 min to 2 min 15 sec

SHORTER WAITS:

511 Bathurst streetcar

Afternoon rush hour, wait times decreased from 5 min 30 sec to 5 min

505 Dundas streetcar

Monday to Friday, late evening wait times decreased from 14 min to 12 min

40 Junction bus

Monday to Friday, midday wait times decreased from 15 min to 10 min

512 St. Clair

Morning rush hour wait times decreased from 2 min 55 sec to 2 min 45 sec

Jan 2012 Board Pd

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