Commuters feel stranded by decision to replace decommissioned Scarborough RT with buses until 2030

The Green Line team looks at alternative solutions that will help local commuters get around after the RT is decommissioned later this year.

By Aloysius Wong, Mahdis Habibinia, and Anita Li of The Green Line

Posted March 17, 2023 1:52 pm.

Last Updated April 11, 2023 12:47 pm.

For nearly four decades, thousands of Torontonians have relied on the Scarborough RT as an essential part of their commute.

But when the transit line is decommissioned later this year, it will be replaced with shuttle buses until the Line 2 East Extension opens in 2030 — seven years from now.

“Seven years! That’s horrible. I used to drive for the TTC and the shuttle buses, I tell you, is not the answer. Not the answer at all,” said John Petch, a commuter who uses the Scarborough RT.

“They waited way too long,” Petch continued. “We still haven’t got a subway all the way out to Scarborough. And it’s been, what, 50 years now? 50 years is a long time. I mean, the last time the Maple Leafs won the Stanley Cup was in 1967.”

“I have to travel to Kipling and coming to Scarborough Centre every day and taking [the] blue line,” said another commuter, Monica. “If I don’t have this, it will become longer for me.”

In 2022 alone, nearly five million trips were taken on the RT, which is already 10 years past its intended lifespan and often breaks down during cold weather and heavy snowfalls.

Replacement shuttle buses will have a right-of-way roadway between Kennedy Station and Ellesmere Station, then travel on Ellesmere Road and Brimley Road to connect to Scarborough Centre Station.

The TTC plans to replace the Scarborough RT with shuttle buses until the Line 2 extension is completed in 2030. The shuttle buses will travel on a right-of-way bus roadway from Kennedy Station to Ellesmere Station, then join regular traffic from Ellesmere Station from Scarborough Centre Station.

However, the TTC reports that there’s still a funding gap of $58.6 million required to build the bus roadway from the existing RT infrastructure.

“We already have the longest commutes in the city. They’re set to get even longer because of the SRT closure,” said Jamaal Myers, city councillor for Scarborough North and longtime transit advocate. “But on top of that, 10 of the 13 bus routes announced by the TTC for reduced service levels are in Scarborough. So it really feels like a direct attack on the community, particularly our transit riders.”

“If it’s going to be closed, I just want the government to make it easy for people who are taking the bus,” said commuter Funke Bolatito Ajani.

Despite these service cuts, the TTC will increase fares by 10 cents on April 3. The transit agency says this will generate over $16 million in revenue to cover operating costs.

But commuters in Scarborough say it’s unfair to pay more when they’re getting less.

“It’s really not fair because we are international students here, and we are hardly familiar with the routes around here,” said Ankita Kamboj, who regularly commutes on two bus routes and one train. “Now they’re cutting half of the routes and also the fares are getting up — inflation as well.”

Transit advocacy group TTC Riders opposes the cuts, and instead wants more funding for transit from the provincial and federal governments.

“After years of transit promises, we’re forced onto shuttle buses and it’s just devastating,” said Zain Khurram, spokesperson for TTC Riders. “Because these riders, they depend on the service. And so, buses are going to add 30 minutes to a commute, potentially an hour both ways. So, it’s just really frustrating.”

On Mar. 26, 2023, the following buses to Scarborough will experience reduced service: 9 Bellamy, 21 Brimley, 24 Victoria Park, 70 O’Connor, 86 Scarborough, 986 Scarborough Express, 133 Neilson, 905 Eglinton East Express, 943 Kennedy Express, and 953 Steeles East Express.

Instead of fare hikes, TTC Riders is pushing for a commercial parking levy — something that’s been introduced in other major cities, including Vancouver and Montreal. They say that the levy would enable Toronto to raise up to $575 million a year from landlords of non-residential parking lots, which would raise enough revenue to cover the $366.4 million the TTC needs in COVID-19 relief funding this year.

They say that the cuts to service are also a safety issue.

“Less service equals less safety,” said Khurram. “Let’s say you’re waiting outside in the dark for a bus that should be coming every three minutes. But now it’s coming every eight minutes, right? So riders are going to be waiting longer for their service, either a bus, streetcar or a subway.”

The Scarborough RT still has a few more months before it makes its final trip. Commuters have until this fall to say goodbye to the trains that have served them since 1985.