Some Toronto subway riders will wait up to eight minutes for their train starting next week, while service on some bus routes will be cut in half and completely suspended on others.
The changes are among a host of service cuts that the TTC is rolling out starting Sunday, which the transit agency says are unavoidable due to staff shortages caused by the entry into force of its vaccination mandate. of employees.
In accordance with the policy, any employee who has not provided proof of the COVID-19 vaccine by the end of the day on Saturday, November 20, will be placed on leave without pay. Those who do not comply by December 31 will be fired.
The cuts will affect subway line 2 (Bloor-Danforth), 57 bus routes and one streetcar line.
“Provisions have been made to protect service in the busiest corridors of the system during the busiest periods,” the TTC said in a post on its website.
The agency says the cuts are temporary, but the schedules introduced this month will take place in December with only minor adjustments.
Based on the details of the changes posted online, Line 2 service will be reduced during all periods of the week. During the day, waits will increase from every 3 to 4 minutes to every 4 minutes, and at night they will increase from every 6 to 7 minutes to every 8 minutes, an infrequent level rarely seen on the metro network of Toronto
Among the affected bus routes will be the 10 Van Horne, which will see wait times tripling in the afternoon peak period, from every 10 minutes to every 30 minutes. Waits during the day for 28 Bayview will double to 30 minutes, while service on 41 Keele will be reduced during all periods of the week.
Service on eight express bus routes will be temporarily suspended during certain periods of the week and will be canceled entirely at 938 Highland Creek Express.
At 512 St. Clair, the only streetcar route affected by the changes, weekday service will be reduced to every 6 to 7 minutes during the day, instead of every 5 minutes, and up to every 9 minutes at night. instead of 7 to 8 minutes.
TTCriders, a traffic advocacy group, said in a statement that the service cuts represent “a total failure of leadership at all levels of government” and “will cause chaos for workers who depend on TTC every day to get to the city. work, school, and groceries. ”
“The TTC should try to recover passengers. Cutting service now will have long-term negative consequences for the climate and for all Toronto residents, because those who can afford it will switch to cars. Passengers need reliable, frequent service and lower fares now, not cuts, ”the group said.
TTCriders said TTC had months to prepare for a possible labor shortage, but has not hired enough operators to fill the gap. The agency announced its vaccine mandate in September and has pushed back the original deadline for workers to receive their vaccinations.
TTCriders called on all levels of government to extend emergency transit operational funding and demanded that Mayor John Tory intervene to force TTC to push back the vaccine deadline so it can launch a hiring barrage. In the meantime, the agency could implement interim measures such as regular COVID-19 testing for workers who do not receive their vaccinations.
According to the latest figures provided by the TTC, as of the week ending October 1, daily passenger numbers were roughly 43 percent of pre-pandemic levels, and the agency was deploying about 98 percent. regular service.
The agency has previously said that upcoming cuts will cut service by about 10 percent compared to October.
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Reference-www.thestar.com