City Views

Print

E-mail

Text

The occasional appearance of convoys of streetcars on freezing cold days doesn't do anything to calm commuters' rising tempers - any more than does the explanation by TTC officials that many of these problems are simply beyond the commission's control.

The biggest of those problems comes down to the nature of the service. The Queen 501 streetcar operates in mixed traffic along a busy east-west artery that passes through the stultifying clog of downtown Toronto. There's street parking on either side of that clog, and left turns by regular traffic - which use the streetcar lane to make those turns - are permitted pretty much along its entire length.

And that length is a long one. The Queen 501 has 24 kilometres of left turns, parked cars and congested city centres to slow down cars. And when a car slows down in Corktown, riders in Parkdale are left waiting.

Things would move more swiftly if the city could be persuaded to give up more of Queen Street to the streetcar - banning, for instance, left turns along its entire length - but that, of course, gives rise to other problems.

The commission did approve looking at some solutions. It turns out that those short-turning streetcars have more to do with the vagaries of overtime and budgetary constraints: TTC drivers start collecting overtime 10 minutes after their shifts end, so their supervisors change schedules to make sure drivers get back to homebase in plenty of time. The result, of course, being that commuters get home...whenever.

So this year, the TTC will be hiring some relief crews to spell off drivers whose shift is at an end, and streetcars will finish their routes.

Hopefully, it marks an improvement that all those new riders will come to appreciate. The bold future of the TTC as envisioned in the Transit City light rail plan is on the horizon, but it's still a few years off. And while those lines won't have the problems of the Queen line, because they're all on dedicated lanes, the commission will have to make a more concerted effort to make sure the existing service is also viable.

The fact that they're taking small steps to do so now? Well, maybe that's a bit more good news for the TTC.