T.O. Streetcar Line Named One Of World’s Top 10 Trolley Rides
Posted December 29, 2007 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
One of Toronto’s most iconic – and slowest – portions of public transportation history has been named one of the world’s top 10 trolley rides.
The 501 or “Queen” Streetcar made the National Geographic list, as part of an upcoming coffee-table book ” Journeys of a Lifetime: 500 of the World’s Greatest Trips,” set to come out in October.
According to the book, the car got the nod for being one of the longest in North America, and also because it traverses such a wide swath of the city, including more than a dozen neighbourhoods.
“You see a lot of activity and a lot of colour on the streets and a lot of interesting things as you go from one end of Queen Street to another,” commented TTC rider David Stevenson.
At just under 49 kilometres, the stretch runs from Long Branch at the city’s border with Mississauga all the way along Queen Street to where it loops at Neville Park and Scarborough emerges.
To be sure it’s a nice honour for the TTC, but the 501 has also been one of the city’s most troubled lines. Ridership is way down in recent years and just this month an advocacy group held a “Fix the 501” forum at Metro Hall, complaining of overcrowding and lengthy delays.
“There are good days and bad days,” Stevenson added. “I think the TTC needs to shape up and there’s a real inconsistency with the 501.”
Many of the other top trolley rides hailed from places including Seattle, New Orleans and Melbourne, Australia, but most other selections were tourist rides, less vital to the daily operation of a city’s transit system.
From Journeys of a Lifetime:
“Route 501 boasts one of the longest streetcar routes in North America. Starting on Lake Shore Blvd., it whisks through lively downtown Toronto and into the Beach district with its distinctive red-and-white Articulated Light Rail Vehicles.”
The full list of tram rides, in no particular order:
Toronto’s 501 Queen Street car
Seattle’s George Benson waterfront streetcar
New Orleans’ St. Charles streetcar tour
San Francisco’s Streetcar F
Hong Kong’s trams
Melbourne’s Tram 96
Budapest No. 2 tram
Berlin’s Tram 68
Amsterdam’s No. 2 tram
Lisbon’s No. 28 tram