Allowing 60,000 daily King streetcar riders the option to board from any door will have a significant impact on reducing transit delays, promised the mayor.
Appearing alongside TTC brass to announce all-door boarding as of the new year, Mayor John Tory, who last week announced a city-wide plan to reduce traffic congestion, said switching to a proof-of-payment (POP) system – allowing for boarding from any entrance with a valid transfer or transit pass – will reduce by half the time currently required for a streetcar to service a stop.
He said the result will be faster trips for King Street transit users.
"Starting January 1st, their commute will be shorter and easier. They will get to work sooner, and they will get home to their families faster," said Tory during a media conference Monday near the intersection of King Street West and Strachan Avenue accompanied by new TTC chair Josh Colle, CEO Andy Byford and local city councillor Mike Layton.
POP will be in effect on King from Mondays to Fridays between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. By the end of next year that could expand to all hours of the day, seven days a week and on all 11 streetcar routes – but only if council ultimately approves the TTC’s budget request to hire 80 additional fare inspectors who board transit vehicles at random stops to check if riders have paid their fares.
Currently that practice is in place on the 501 Queen and 510 Spadina routes.
The decision to allow POP makes legitimate a practice TTC streetcar operators already allow on King, admitted Byford.
"This way it’s much clearer and not ad-hoc, and customers know what to expect," Byford said.
Layton, who was lauded by Tory for advocating for better 504 service, welcomed the switch to all-door boarding. But the Trinity-Spadina councillor said King’s traffic problems won’t be fundamentally addressed until the number of cars is reduced.
"Any way to limit cars on this route is important to look at," Layton said. "We should be looking at a mix of things to limit vehicle flow. If you look at the way King is backed up we’ve got to find a way to get transit vehicles moving faster."
Since the morning announcement transit observers have questioned how effective all-door boarding will be in dealing with streetcar delays. Line Six co-founder Brett Chang is not one of them.
"Any kind of improvement on King is a good thing, and we encourage it," said Chang, who in the fall helped launch the crowd-funded bus service for Liberty Village commuters fed-up with overcrowded and oft-delayed King streetcars.
Chang said Line Six will re-launch in mid-January an expanded version of its shuttle service, which will allow riders to book trips to and from Union Station using their smartphones.
During the press conference a man stood directly behind the podium holding up a hand-lettered sign and repeatedly chanted "accessibility now". He later identified himself as Mark Dukes, a disability activist and former volunteer for Tory’s mayoral campaign.
Dukes said he planned to launch a hunger strike to get the mayor and the TTC to address mobility issues.