People Are Sharing Their Thoughts About The TTC Service Cuts & Things Got A Little Heated

The TTC announced in March that it would implement several service adjustments to "match capacity to ridership."

The decision, which altered over 30 daytime buses, streetcars, and Toronto subway routes, as well as two overnight bus routes, received a mixed reaction upon being announced.

For example, a report by researchers at Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) revealed the cuts disproportionately affected marginalized communities in areas with populations that heavily rely on public transit.

On Wednesday, a Reddit thread also sparked a debate on the issue amongst users, with some defending and others criticizing the recent service cuts.

The discussion was prompted after a Redditor posted a photo of a crowded subway platform with the following caption:

"I find it very sad that while the police budget inflates, line 1 is set to get service cuts (even during peak hours according to the TTC recently) when this is how packed things get as is. It's only going to get worse from here!" they wrote.

Other users were quick to chime in with their own thoughts on the matter:

"Why is Toronto the way it is? Because most city councillors wouldn't take the TTC and are landlords," argued one commenter.

"With crowded platforms, and without safety barriers, you run into the risk of more people falling onto the tracks. Dumb decision by the city and TTC all around," added another.

"Sort of seems like the people responsible for funding decisions don't actually use the TTC," pondered one Redditor.

Although the thread's comment section did lean largely negatively, a few users did offer up some more nuanced opinions about the city's public transit:

"A full platform isn't an indication of much of anything. Trains break down, people jump on the tracks, etc. That said, the TTC should be funded," wrote one user.

"Trains are coming 4 minutes apart instead of 3 during rush hour on line one. During a time when ridership is down. Sounds like they're compensating. So my point is, OP is trying to scare people by linking crime to rush hour," another added.

Narcity contacted the TTC to obtain their response to the criticism:

The agency provided the following statement in reply:

"We absolutely understand that our customers want reliable and frequent service which is why we've committed to protecting service on the busiest routes at the busiest times of day, particularly in priority neighbourhoods where we know people are more reliant on transit. And we are doing that in a balanced and equitable way across the entire City," Stuart Green, a TTC spokesperson, wrote.

It also provided the following clarification:

"Just over half of all schedule changes will result in a longer wait time of between 30 seconds and three minutes."

This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.