Behind the scenes: Getting the Scarborough Busway ready for opening day
Learn more about what it takes to prepare a new transit corridor for customers.
On Wednesday, September 30, buses will begin service along four kilometres of the former Line 3 SRT between Kennedy and Ellesmere in Toronto’s east end.
The Scarborough Busway will provide buses with a dedicated route away from regular traffic before continuing along priority bus lanes on Ellesmere Rd. to Scarborough Centre Station. Trips between Kennedy and Scarborough Centre stations will take approximately 15 minutes – about seven minutes faster than the current on-street bus replacement service.
But before the first customers can board, there’s a lot happening behind the scenes to ensure the new busway is ready to welcome tens of thousands of daily riders.
Planning a new way to move through Scarborough
Building the infrastructure is only part of getting the busway ready for service. Teams across the TTC have been planning how buses will move through the corridor, where they will stop, how service will operate, and what needs to happen before September 30.
We spoke with Gary Papas, Senior Manager, Transportation Planning, to find out what it takes to transform part of the former Line 3 SRT into a dedicated busway.
Q: What has your role been on the construction of the busway?
Gary: I started working on this project as we prepared for the decommissioning of Line 3. Our group was originally working on the Line 3 Bus Replacement Plan and then began working on the busway as well.
Early on, I led the Transit and Rail Project Assessment Process (TRPAP) - the provincial environmental assessment required to convert the Line 3 corridor into a busway. While that process typically takes 18 to 24 months, our team completed it in less than a year. It took an incredible amount of coordination, but we had a fantastic project team that prioritized getting the job done.
Q: When customers hear that the busway is being “tested” before opening, what does that mean?
Gary: We’ve tried to leave no stone unturned in our preparation for opening day. We’ve tested nighttime operations and wet-weather conditions, and operators have been familiarizing themselves with the corridor and different movements they’ll need to make.
We also brought emergency services onto the busway to ensure first responders can safely access and navigate the corridor. Accessibility was another core focus; we brought out Wheel-Trans vehicles and deployed ramps at designated locations to guarantee full compliance with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA).
We even conducted a tow-truck simulation to help us understand things like where a tow truck can access the busway, where a bus can be towed directly and where it may first need to be pushed to another location. We need to be prepared for situations where a bus becomes disabled on the busway.
We’re using what we learn from exercises like these to help develop our readiness plans with Bus Transportation and Transit Control.
Q: What will actually change for customers on Sept. 30?
Gary: From a customer’s perspective, using the service will feel familiar. Customers will still board their bus at Kennedy or Scarborough Centre stations as they do today. The difference will be that instead of travelling along Midland Ave. and Kennedy Rd., buses will use the dedicated busway.
Customers will benefit from shorter travel times, and the busway will also provide three stops at Lawrence East, Ellesmere and the new Tara Avenue stop which provides another connection to the surrounding community.
Q: How did you decide where the stops along the busway would be located?
Gary: Lawrence East and Ellesmere were natural choices. They were both former station locations on Line 3, the infrastructure was already there, and they’re located at major cross streets along the busway corridor.
Tara Ave./Mooregate Ave. was different. There’s a multi-use trail and pedestrian bridge there that connects communities on both sides of the corridor, so we saw an opportunity to add a stop between Kennedy and Lawrence East. It gives people in the surrounding community another place to access the busway, whether they’re travelling north to Scarborough Centre Station or south to Kennedy Station.
Q: What are you looking forward to the most on opening day?
Gary: I’m looking forward to seeing customers benefit from it. This is an important connection between Kennedy Station and Scarborough Centre Station that will be used by tens of thousands of customers.
We’ve converted the former Line 3 SRT into a busway on an accelerated schedule, and I’m proud of what the team has accomplished. But ultimately, I’m excited to see customers experience the travel time savings when it opens.