New TTC Line 3 Scarborough RT bus replacement plan begins on Sunday

It’s been three-and-a-half months since the TTC quickly rolled out a premature shuttle bus plan after a Line 3 Scarborough RT train derailment forced an early closure, but a previously approved long-term plan is about to be rolled out.

Included in the new plan are changes to the express route alignments, frequency on routes, and rearranging bus route assignments at station platforms.

Ever since the derailment on July 24, a combination of Line 3 replacement buses (eventually rebranded as 903 Kennedy-Scarborough Centre Express buses) have been operating on Progress Avenue, Midland Avenue, Eglinton Avenue East and Kennedy Road.

Throughout this period, City of Toronto and TTC staff have been scrambling to put in place dedicated traffic lanes, build a new bus platform at Kennedy Station and renovate platforms at Scarborough Centre Station.

Beginning on Sunday, 903 shuttle buses will be taking on a new route. Instead of heading slightly north to Progress Avenue, dedicated lanes have been installed on Ellesmere Road.

As of Sunday, the following routes will be extended and run on the new express lanes between Kennedy and Scarborough Centre Stations:

• 38 Highland Creek
• 129 McCowan North
• 131 Nugget
• 133 Neilson
• 903 Kennedy Station-Scarborough Express
• 938 Highland Creek Express
• 939 Finch Express
• 985 Sheppard East Express

TTC officials said buses on all eight routes are going to be grouped together at Kennedy and Scarborough Centre stations.

They said the frequency of 903 shuttle buses will be reduced slightly and by grouping the routes together, people can board buses on any of these routes to get to or from each station. There are limited stops along the corridor between the stations.

Austin Jafri, a Scarborough resident and a spokesperson with the advocacy group TTCriders, said he regularly takes the 903 shuttle buses. He said the shuttles can take twice as long as the former Line 3 trains.

“We can extend all the bus routes to Kennedy station, that’s great, but it’s still much longer than it was on the Scarborough RT and it’s not good for Scarborough residents who already have long commutes. Scarborough doesn’t stop at Scarborough Town Centre,” Jafri said.

TTC officials said it took trains 10 to 12 minutes on average to get between Kennedy and Scarborough Centre and train intervals were at around five minutes. The current shuttle system has average travel times of 18 to 20 minutes with bus intervals of one to three minutes depending on the time of day. It’s expected travel times could drop by one to two minutes with the new route, and passengers on the extended routes could save some time by staying on the bus versus transferring to shuttles.

Jafri added he’s worried about the reliability of other routes being extended to Kennedy Station.

“If there’s an accident or a delay at any part of that route, you are messing up the line for the entire ridership from the for the entire line,” he said.

CityNews recently put the system to the test during morning and evening rush hours. Two out of four trips fell within the average while two others happened below it. Jafri said he’s seen travel times up to 27 minutes, noting dedicated red lanes for buses aren’t enough.

“We need signal priority to make sure that the buses get priority.”

Jafri reinforced calls from advocates for the City of Toronto and the Ontario government to fund the creation of a busway on the former Scarborough RT corridor. They said it would help decrease travel times and provide a dedicated method of travel for buses until the Scarborough subway extension opens in 2030.

“Olivia Chow, Doug Ford, please make this happen. You need to prioritize Scarborough and this will make the drivers happy once we get rid of the bus lanes and put the buses on the busway. This will make riders and drivers happy, so get that done,” he said.

Eric Chu, the TTC’s head of project development and planning, said the current plan has been in the works for some time as it became clearer the Scarborough RT would need to be shut down due to its age and associated maintenance issues.

“This is the culmination of three years of talking with customers talking with the local community about a bus replacement service that will meet their travel needs, we had always planned that that bus replacement service would be implemented at the end of this year,” he told CityNews.

“We know it’s not a great thing that we’ve had to close down Line 3, but we’re doing our best to put in a bus replacement service that’s good enough for customers.”

CityNews asked about the decision to scale back somewhat on the total number of 903 shuttle buses operating at any time and to extend the other routes.

“The scheduled service levels on all those bus routes that we’re extending stay the same … they’re the busiest ones that travel to Scarborough Centre Station right now. Folks that wait every five minutes or so for the service today even after the 19th their wait times are going to be about the same every five minutes,” Chu said.

“Customers will have a combined average level of service about every one to two minutes. Every one to two minutes, a bus will connect you to Scarborough Centre station.”

He added the 903 route is going to be extended east toward Centennial College.

Regarding the busway, Chu said design work is underway, and if funding is secured, it could be operational in 2026.

Platforms at Kennedy, Scarborough Centre Stations changing

On Oct. 8, TTC staff opened a new platform on the southern end of Kennedy Station at street level called Platform B (farther away from Eglinton Avenue East).

To access that platform, riders need to walk below ground, head toward the passenger-up area and head up a separate set of stairs or the dedicated elevator. Incoming passengers are required to tap the Presto or open payment cards to get into the station.

Since that opening, all 903 shuttle buses have used the space. As of Sunday, the 38, 129, 131, 133, 938, 939A/B, and 985A will be dispersed at various waiting areas on the north and west sides of the platform.

At Scarborough Centre Station, the same routes will all be in bays nine through 13.

The TTC website encouraged people to watch for buses at those bays to get to Kennedy Station, but as of Tuesday, there were no bay numbers indicated at the station. The bays are located on the side of the platform closest to Scarborough Town Centre.

TTC needs to better communicate Scarborough transit network changes: advocacy group

Jafri said communications about the upcoming changes haven’t been fulsome enough.

“Even today as I got on the shuttle bus riders were grumbling that, ‘Oh my gosh, more changes again,'” he said.

While on his way to an interview with CityNews, Jafri said he was given a pamphlet outlining changes coming to the network.

“Nobody knows what bays nine to 13 are. You didn’t tell us what that is … there are no posters at Scarborough Town (Centre) or at Kennedy,” he said while referring to the advice posted on the TTC website.

“Not all of your riders are on [X] or on social media or checking the TTC website for these updates. This should have been communicated ahead of time.”

During our evening and morning trips on the 903 shuttle bus route later on Monday and early on Tuesday, CityNews didn’t observe any written signage outlining the upcoming change. On one of the four trips, CityNews received the same pamphlet Jafri received.

While walking through Scarborough Centre station, signs advertising platform boarding changes from mid-June were still at certain bay entry doors.