Finch West LRT to be 10 minutes faster by spring, TTC says
CBC
The newly opened Finch West LRT is moving at an expected pace despite complaints from riders, according to transit officials, but some experts say changes to traffic signals could help it move faster.
Among the many riders who took the new Line 6 Monday morning was Fariyal Jameel, who rode the Finch West LRT to get to her college.
“It's still the same speed,” she told CBC Toronto while on the train. “I've been on it for as long as I would be on the bus for.”
“I'm giving it grace because it's just the first few days, but I do hope it gets better,” she said.
Several riders said the previous bus route on Finch Avenue W. was faster, speaking to CBC Radio's Metro Morning on Monday.
It took about 55 minutes for the train to complete its 10.3-kilometre route from east to west during rush hour Monday morning, according to a CBC reporter who rode the entire line. The reporter’s eastbound return trip was closer to 47 minutes.
The speed on the Finch West LRT is as fast as expected and planned, said TTC spokesperson Stuart Green. Though open to the public, the Finch West LRT is still being tested, he said.
“We do what's called a soft opening,” he told CBC Toronto. “It allows us to work out some further bugs and kinks in real time.”
The line is expected to shave off about 10 minutes of travel time by spring, Green said.
The Finch West LRT loses a lot of time at intersections, according to transit researcher, writer and consultant with Infrastory Insights, Jonathan English, who took the train on Monday.
That could be improved by implementing transit signal priority (TSP), a strategy that would allow trains to get through intersections without having to wait for lights to change or for cars to turn, English said.
“It's something that can be fixed relatively easy,” he told Metro Morning on Monday. “It's a software fix, not a hardware fix, now that the infrastructure is here.”
The technology is used on some transit corridors in Toronto, where green lights are extended so the TTC is less likely to be held up, according to Roger Browne, director of traffic management with the City of Toronto.
But English said it’s not being used to its full potential on the Finch West LRT.
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