Toronto’s mayor says subway times will get faster this weekend. Here’s by how much

People wait on the platform to enter a subway train inside a Toronto Transit Commission station in downtown Toronto, Saturday, April 1, 2023. (Cole Burston/The Canadian Press)

Faster travel options throughout the city are coming this weekend, Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow announced at a news conference Friday morning.

Chow said starting Saturday, trains on Line 1 will arrive every two and half minutes. There will also be 10 additional trains running during the morning rush and 15 more during the evening.

Some streetcar routes will also see an increase in service, with the 505 Dundas and the 511 Bathurst running every six minutes at peak times during the week.

“That means less waiting, less crowding, more room to breathe,” Chow said at the news conference at Osgoode Station. “10 more trains in the morning rush, 15 more in the evening rush. And that’s not just Line 1. Line 2, as you know, is coming one minute faster, arriving every two and a half minutes instead of the old three and a half minute wait.”

“Transit riders deserve reliable, frequent transit, and with more people coming back to the office and getting to school, daily commutes will be faster and less crowded.”

Chow added that the changes in service frequency and amount will not cause fares to increase.

At the same news conference, TTC CEO Mandeep Lali said feedback from TTC customers as well as “support, guidance, and investment” that Chow has “provided the TTC” is what allowed them to make the adjustments.

“This will make a real impact and is the first time since COVID that we’re getting back up to these levels to meet the demands of our customers,” said Lali.

Also starting this weekend, Toronto Community Crisis Service (TCCS) staff will be deployed 24/7 at Spadina, Union, and Bloor-Yonge stations.

It’s part of a safety pilot that was announced earlier this fall.

Transit users can report an incident through the SafeTTC app, speaking to TTC staff, or by calling 211.