How congested Toronto streets are impacting Union Station Bus Terminal trips 

When the massive Union Station Bus Terminal opened nearly four years ago, it meant a major upgrade for travellers coming in and out of downtown Toronto.

However, as downtown traffic congestion worsens thanks to construction, driving habits and other factors, it has resulted in growing delays and problems for buses accessing the multi-million-dollar Toronto transit hub located on Lake Shore Boulevard West between Yonge and Bay streets.

“I don’t think it’s acceptable at all. I think it’s a huge shortcoming,” Justin Fan, a regular GO Transit commuter, told CityNews.

“To have [passengers and buses] stuck like behind lines of traffic is, frankly, very embarrassing for Toronto. It’s for tourists and for regular citizens of Toronto as well.”

Fan, who lives in downtown Toronto, regularly uses the 65 Barrie route at different times throughout the week to go north for a cooperative education placement. Since he goes against the traffic during peak periods, train service currently isn’t an option.

He said he has to get up at around 5 a.m. on his travel days to catch a 6 a.m. bus. It’s roughly a two-and-a-half-hour journey each way. With the current traffic situation, Fan said sometimes he doesn’t get home until 8 or 9 p.m.

However, he said some of his bus trips have been bogged down by lengthy waits getting off the Gardiner Expressway. During his ride to the Union Station Bus Terminal on July 31, Fan posted updates on X as the bus got off the Gardiner Expressway near the terminal.

“Really frustrating that there is no bus priority to allow buses to get in and out of the station without having to sit in traffic,” he wrote at the time, adding it took almost 45 minutes.

There was another series of posts on Wednesday with the message, “That time of day again.” With a view out the top level of the double-decker bus, several red lights could be seen off again.

He wrote the driver offered to let people off, and rounded out the posts with photos of people walking along a rough strip of land beside Lake Shore Boulevard East underneath the Gardiner Expressway after exiting the bus.

“So 45 minutes out of a two-and-a-half-hour bus trip, it’s almost like a third-longer kind of trip,” Fan said.

“It’s very frustrating for everyone just to be stuck.”

After hearing about Fan’s experience, CityNews went to Stouffville GO station on a recent weekday afternoon to catch a 71 Stouffville bus en route to the Union Station Bus Terminal to see the problem first-hand.

The bus moved through York Region swiftly and on schedule. While the bus was caught in traffic near Highway 401 on small parts of Highway 404 and the Don Valley Parkway (DVP), the bus was able to pass cars on HOV lane segments dedicated to GO Transit buses north of Eglinton Avenue East.

As the bus approached the southern end of the DVP, it diverted onto Don Roadway, Lake Shore Boulevard and Queens Quay East. After hitting a slow down near Yonge Street and 13 minutes after exiting the DVP, the bus pulled over a short distance away from the terminal on Bay Street near Harbour Street. The driver asked passengers to leave the bus, telling many while exiting it would have taken around 45 minutes to get into the terminal due to traffic congestion.

But the traffic issues weren’t restricted to incoming buses.

CityNews followed a Megabus bus destined for Niagara Falls. It pulled out of the Union Station Bus Terminal at around 5:47 p.m. (there was a previously communicated 15-minute departure delay). It took 10 minutes for it to exit the facility and travel half a block to Bay Street. It took a further 13 minutes to get to the Gardiner Expressway off-ramp from Bay Street.

During the time CityNews was present, there were City of Toronto traffic agents at York Street and Lake Shore Boulevard West. There weren’t agents at Bay Street and Lake Shore Boulevard West and it was unclear if there were agents at Yonge Street and Lake Shore Boulevard, the two intersections that immediately surround the bus terminal.

An extended concrete bump out on Lake Shore Boulevard West, west from Yonge to the terminal, prevents buses from accessing the curb lane to carry on through to the terminal. While CityNews was in the area, buses were forced to navigate cars and cut across the second lane on the right-hand side to pull into the terminal. Also, motorists could be seen driving into a small, HOV lane with faded paint at the terminal’s entry and exit points (it doesn’t carry on through to Bay Street).

How are GO Transit, bus companies that operate out of Union Station Bus Terminal feeling the effects?

CityNews contacted GO Transit, Flixbus and Megabus — three major carriers that operate out of the bus terminal — to ask how each one is being impacted by the current traffic situation.

A statement issued by the media relations office for Metrolinx, the provincial government agency that oversees GO Transit, said staff are “continuously working to mitigate delays caused by traffic congestion and construction.” It went on to say staff have asked for assistance from the City of Toronto’s transportation services division.

“We regularly and proactively request the deployment of traffic agents or paid-duty officers to key intersections to help manage traffic flow and minimize delays for GO Transit Bus operations and other bus carriers that serve Union Station Bus Terminal,” the statement said.

Officials with the agency said five bus routes in particular continue to see impacts: 16 Hamilton/Toronto Express, 21 Milton, 61 Richmond Hill, 65 Barrie/Newmarket/Toronto and 71 Stouffville.

“(Impacts have) necessitat[ed] occasional rerouting to GO rail or TTC subway stations, or schedule updates,” the statement said.

As documented in this story, some drivers have tried to assist by carrying on to get passengers close to the terminal before asking them to exit nearby or offering an early exit as an option.

The statement said buses that operate during early mornings or late nights, such as the 18 Lakeshore West, 31 Guelph/Toronto and 90 Lakeshore East, have been “less affected” due to lower traffic volumes.

“Metrolinx will continue to be in regular communication with our partners at the City of Toronto to ensure our GO buses are able to follow their schedules as closely as possible,” the statement said.

“We are constantly monitoring travel times and regularly updating our schedules to better align vehicle travel times with traffic conditions.

A spokesperson for Flixbus said they had “no information to share at this time.”

Despite multiple requests, a response wasn’t received from Megabus by the time of publication.

Calls for the City of Toronto to do better

Fan, who moved to Toronto in 2020 from Vancouver, said he has visited several other cities. He praised the Union Station Bus Terminal itself, noting it has ample space for buses and various amenities for passengers. Fan also had kind words for the “extensive” regional bus and rail network even as it struggles to keep up with growth

However, he said the current problem falls to the municipality.

“It’s the City of Toronto that has shown disrespect to people traveling in and out of the downtown core on public transit,” Fan said.

“I do think it’s solvable. There are many downtown bus terminals around the world. It’s very simple to fix this problem if the City is willing to act on it.”

He said he wants to see the City look into enacting proper transit-priority initiatives in the area aimed at helping buses, such as better traffic control and light configurations and dedicated transit lanes.

“I want to see the City genuinely put transit priority at the top of their list when they’re looking at traffic controls,” Fan said.

“People are always complaining about traffic congestion in downtown Toronto, but they are failing to see that these buses and streetcars and other transit vehicles carrying dozens of people … are just being stuck in traffic, and if those vehicles are let through every time first it is probably going to reduce the number of people on the roads.”

CityNews contacted the City of Toronto on Friday to ask for an on-camera interview to discuss the observations seen at and around the Union Station Bus Terminal, but on Monday a media relations office staff member said a representative wasn’t available.

In a statement sent Monday afternoon, the City of Toronto’s manager of traffic operations said staff are “continuously looking for new ways to mitigate delays caused by traffic congestion and construction.”

Stuart McGhie said the municipality’s congestion management plan “entails a major revamping” of construction planning. He said it also involves a “concerted push towards supporting transit both with traffic agents and technology” on key corridors.

“At the GO bus terminal specifically, the City has implemented measures to enable better traffic flow, including the use of traffic agents and signal timing modifications, particularly on weekends to try to support GO Transit operations,” McGhie wrote.

“These efforts are being reviewed as part of enhanced efforts to mitigate the congestion impacts of the Gardiner Expressway closure on Lake Shore in general.”

It took nearly 45 mins from the start of the off ramp until we docked at the terminal platform… absolutely embarrassing

— Justin (@not_taylorx) July 31, 2024

update, driver asked who wants to walk lol (everyone said yes) pic.twitter.com/f655Nkq3pC

— Justin (@not_taylorx) August 14, 2024