TTC rebuked for ending printed bus schedules

Move to apps and phone info seen as slight to poor and seniors, but may save money

The TTC’s decision to remove printed schedules from bus and streetcar stops is being criticized by some riders who say that the move is unfair to older and low-income transit users.

In September, the TTC started replacing its printed schedules with signs listing the transit agency’s social-media web pages and phone numbers, and directing customers to plan their trips using third-party smartphone apps.

East York resident Justin Van Dette said the plan puts many customers at adisadvantage. “I think it’s just really, really bad customer service,” he said.

Van Dette said he became concerned last month after an older woman waiting for a bus outside the East York Civic Centre asked him to look up the bus schedule for her on his phone.

“It was a very cold day,” he said. “She said to me she didn’t own a cellphone. She asked if I could help.

“I thought as I was walking away, that is very short-sighted. There’s a segment of the population that use transit every day — seniors, people living in poverty, those on fixed incomes — who don’t have these things that I have on my hip — cellphones.

“And I think that’s wrong. Transit is supposed to be for everybody.”

Van Dette, who has a background in political work and community organizing, has launched an online petition that includes a demand to bring back the printed schedules.

According to TTC spokesperson Stuart Green, however, the transit agency has no plans to reverse the change, and by next month printed schedules will have been removed from 144 of the city’s 162 bus and streetcar routes.

Prior to the change, the schedules had to be updated any time that the route service was altered, which could happen as frequently as every six weeks. The TTC says not posting printed schedules will save the transit agency $400,000 a year.

“We understand that not everybody has a smartphone, so there are these other options,” Green said.

“If you don’t have access to the web at home, there are other places you can get access to the web. You can call in to a customer service line.”

The TTC will mail out printed schedules at customers’ request, Green said. He argued that the thirdparty apps are superior to printed schedules because “they provide real-time information and allow you to get a better idea of where your vehicle is at while you’re on the road.”

The TTC has also added about 200 LED signs at bus and streetcar shelters that provide estimates of when the next vehicle is arriving. The transit commission plans to deploy 200 more next year.

“These (printed) schedules go back to a time when there weren’t other options,” Green said.

Various apps, including Moovit, RocketMan and Transit, provide upto-the-minute TTC information. They are run by private entities, but the TTC provides GPS data on the buses. Printed schedules will remain at terminus points like subway stations and streetcar loops, according to Green, and at key intersections where several routes intersect.

“These (printed) schedules go back to a time when there weren’t other options.” STUART GREEN TTC SPOKESPERSON