Also, they're building quite a bit there but it's not done yet, so I'm not speaking to that either.
1. It'll Get Ya There
I discussed as part of a larger post last week the issues with traffic and delays that can come with Toronto transit, but the biggest point for me about Toronto transit has always been that within the urban core there is good solid coverage along the major streets. It may be slow sometimes, it may be less cheap than it used to be, but between the ¥ shaped subway and frequent buses/streetcars on major streets, you can basically treat Toronto as a grid and go up one major street, over another, and make it anywhere.
King Street streetcars: an east-west link.
To me, this was the biggest thing about Toronto when I first visited over two decades ago: I could get basically everywhere and I could figure out how to do it, because the transit really did cover it all.
2. Strange Accessories
The GO regional transit system overlaid on the TTC is a bit eccentric. Now, they're planning to significantly upgrade it. But they have not finished that yet. They did finally connect the Union-Pearson Express to the airport, so there has been progress! But right now you have this:
So much rail! Right downtown! And yet: do you see any actual trains?
How about here?
It's got wonderful potential, and I'm so glad they're planning to do more with it, but right now, it's a regional transit system that has maximal promise but isn't there quite yet.
3. Multimodal and Proud
Toronto has a great number of transit modes that work together.
Ferry!
And all of these work together to bring you across the city.
Is Toronto transit perfect? No. Certainly not. But it's a pleasure to visit, and it compares positively with basically every American or Canadian city I've visited.
