[cryogen]

Line 6 Finch West weekend closure for system upgrades​

May 8 - Metrolinx, in coordination with the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC), will undertake a multi-day service closure of Line 6 Finch West beginning on Friday, May 15 at 2:30 a.m. through Tuesday, May 19 at 4 a.m. over the Victoria Day long-weekend. Regular service is scheduled to resume at the start of the day on Tuesday.

During the closure, replacement shuttle buses will operate along Finch Avenue West, ensuring customers can continue to travel across the corridor. Customers should visit TTC.ca for alternate transit planning and more information related to service adjustments.


The closure will temporarily suspend all service across the entire line to complete important upgrades and enhancements to further improve system reliability and performance. Completing this work in a single, coordinated closure reduces the need for multiple repeated service interruptions later.

Since the beginning of the project, Metrolinx and the TTC have worked in close collaboration to ensure the effectiveness of the project, with Metrolinx as the owner and constructor of the line and the TTC as the operator. This coordinated closure also provides TTC with the opportunity to train additional staff for key positions, using this window for hands-on training not possible while trains are running.

Since opening, Line 6 Finch West has demonstrated steady operational improvements. On-time performance has increased every month, with a 25 per cent improvement since launch, while round-trip travel times have been reduced by 16 minutes. The work completed during this closure will help support further reductions in scheduled travel times.

The work has been strategically scheduled to prepare the line for increased ridership demand during upcoming major events, including 2026 FIFA World Cup™, while also strengthening infrastructure to support consistent service for future winter weather conditions. Early ridership figures indicate approximately 475,000 riders use Line 6 each month, including about 20,000 daily weekday riders and 9,500 daily weekend riders.

Source

 

[urbanclient]

Early ridership figures indicate approximately 475,000 riders use Line 6 each month, including about 20,000 daily weekday riders and 9,500 daily weekend riders.

YIKES.

2024 TTC Daily Bus Boardings (Fall weekday):
Finch East (39 + 939) — 43,048
Lawrence West (52 + 952) — 42,077
Dufferin (29 + 929) — 40,750
Finch West (36) — 39,541
Jane (35 + 935) — 37,464
Wilson (96 + 996) — 34,469
Lawrence East (54 + 954) — 33,594
Don Mills (25 + 925) — 32,705
Eglinton West (32) — 32,221
Markham Road (102 + 902) — 31,659
Steeles West (60 + 960) — 30,141
York Mills (95 + 995) — 25,832
Sheppard West (84 + 984) — 23,509
Sheppard East (85 + 985) — 22,490
Steeles East (53 + 953) — 20,859

Safe to say Line 6 Finch West doesn't even beat the top 10 bus routes. Yes the 36 bus is not apples to apples, but still...

And the province was confident enough to say this on December 5, 2025:

The new transit line will begin operating under the TTC on December 7, 2025, bringing 230,000 more people within walking distance of fast and reliable transit and moving more than 51,000 riders each weekday.

Ontario Newsroom

news.ontario.ca

 

[duffo]

I wonder how much of that drop (50%!!) is related to declines in student enrollment at Humber.

Edit: ah, didn't realize the 36 still runs between Keele and Yonge - gotta account for those trips as well

 

[urbanclient]

I wonder how much of that drop (50%!!) is related to declines in student enrollment at Humber.

Edit: ah, didn't realize the 36 still runs between Keele and Yonge - gotta account for those trips as well

I've predicted this in previous posts: Line 6 Finch West, as it stands today, is a net negative on virtually every front. But I do have hope that ridership will grow eventually to make better use of the LRT's potential. The line is obviously futureproofed.

The student decline is overblown IMO (looking for more recent sources right now).

Previous source did not seem to be accurate:

This is from 2019/2020 to 2023/2024, we'll have to wait for StatsCan later this year to show 2024/2025:

https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=3710023201&pickMembers%5B0%5D=4.1&pickMembers%5B1%5D=5.1&pickMembers%5B2%5D=6.1&pickMembers%5B3%5D=7.1&cubeTimeFrame.startYear=2019+%2F+2020&cubeTimeFrame.endYear=2023+%2F+2024&referencePeriods=20190101%2C20230101

Here is the most apples-to-apples comparison between years (OCLS methodology is different from StatsCan):

The FTEs on this page were last updated 4 May 2023 and will apply from April 2023 through March 2024.

Student Populations

web.archive.org

The FTEs on this page were last updated 2 April 2024 and will apply from April 2024 through March 2025.

Student Populations

web.archive.org

The FTEs on this page were last updated 1 April 2025 and will apply from April 2025 through March 2026.

Student Populations

web.archive.org

Student Populations | Ontario Colleges Library Service

ocls.ca

2024 TTC Daily Bus Boardings (weekday): is from the Fall / Autumn of each year.

 

[wheelloader]

YIKES.

2024 TTC Daily Bus Boardings (Fall weekday):
Finch East (39 + 939) — 43,048
Lawrence West (52 + 952) — 42,077
Dufferin (29 + 929) — 40,750
Finch West (36) — 39,541
Jane (35 + 935) — 37,464
Wilson (96 + 996) — 34,469
Lawrence East (54 + 954) — 33,594
Don Mills (25 + 925) — 32,705
Eglinton West (32) — 32,221
Markham Road (102 + 902) — 31,659
Steeles West (60 + 960) — 30,141
York Mills (95 + 995) — 25,832
Sheppard West (84 + 984) — 23,509
Sheppard East (85 + 985) — 22,490
Steeles East (53 + 953) — 20,859

Safe to say Line 6 Finch West doesn't even beat the top 10 bus routes. Yes the 36 bus is not apples to apples, but still...

And the province was confident enough to say this on December 5, 2025:

Ontario Newsroom

news.ontario.ca

I wonder where does the 20,000 daily weekday ridership come from. Are these the number Presto card swipes? Based on my observation, every time I drove by a LRT stop. I would have to say, a lot, I mean a lot, of rider doesn't tap the presto all at. So maybe the ridership is still their, just not the revenue.

 

[urbanclient]

Wilson-Rexdale-Derry, Lawrence East, and Kingston-Highway 2

In going back to find the 2019 bus ridership numbers, I saw this^

Wilson-Rexdale-Derry and Lawrence East LRT: not going to happen, the ROW is too narrow. And as Northern Light previously said, "not even remotely contemplated". Kingston-Highway 2 is the only one that would fit an LRT, at which point I question the latent demand / potential ridership for such a route. Circled in black. (Maybe you meant Line 7?)

The only LRT I can see happening besides Line 7 and the two Waterfront LRTs is Steeles Avenue. Vast majority of other corridors would not fit a new LRT. Others are too steep to support a streetcar extension, or would not have adequate ridership.

European tram cities usually don't have borderline standalone lines in the deep suburb/exurbs. Kingston Rd at Lawrence is more than 18 km from the edge of "downtown" and 20 km from the financial district. That same distance in Western Europe could put you in farm lands.

It would be more optimal to serve outer suburbs with RER-like rail, or regional metros/subways, not trams. Think Marchetti's 30 minute cities. A tram to link to the subway, leading to 1.5 hour+ one way commutes is a gross violation of that.

I wonder where does the 20,000 daily weekday ridership come from. Are these the number Presto card swipes? Based on my observation, every time I drove by a LRT stop. I would have to say, a lot, I mean a lot, of rider doesn't tap the presto all at. So maybe the ridership is still their, just not the revenue.

They really should've thought of that before making the new surface LRTs an honour system with little to no fare enforcement.

 

[Bordercollie]

In going back to find the 2019 bus ridership numbers, I saw this^

Wilson-Rexdale-Derry and Lawrence East LRT: not going to happen, the ROW is too narrow. And as Northern Light previously said, "not even remotely contemplated". Kingston-Highway 2 is the only one that would fit an LRT, at which point I question the latent demand / potential ridership for such a route. Circled in black. (Maybe you meant Line 7?)
View attachment 735161


The only LRT I can see happening besides Line 7 and the two Waterfront LRTs is Steeles Avenue. Vast majority of other corridors would not fit a new LRT. Others are too steep to support a streetcar extension, or would not have adequate ridership.

European tram cities usually don't have borderline standalone lines in the deep suburb/exurbs. Kingston Rd at Lawrence is more than 18 km from the edge of "downtown" and 20 km from the financial district. That same distance in Western Europe could put you in farm lands.

It would be more optimal to serve outer suburbs with RER-like rail, or regional metros/subways, not trams. Think Marchetti's 30 minute cities. A tram to link to the subway, leading to 1.5 hour+ one way commutes is a gross violation of that.


They really should've thought of that before making the new surface LRTs an honour system with little to no fare enforcement.

There is a lot of enforcement on this line.

 

[urbanclient]

There is a lot of enforcement on this line.

How about not enough? POP is worse than fare gates IMO. We're not Germans.

I believe Vancouver switched to fare gates about 10 years ago.

 

[nfitz]

I believe Vancouver switched to fare gates about 10 years ago.

How do you put far gates at a surface stop.

Vancouver indeed added the long-planned fare gates for their SRT-like system. But I've not once seen any on the rear-loading articulated buses; have you?

Mind, I've gone long periods without seeing it on TTC, especially in the 2000s and early 2010s.

 

[urbanclient]

How do you put far gates at a surface stop.

Vancouver indeed added the long-planned fare gates for their SRT-like system. But I've not once seen any on the rear-loading articulated buses; have you?

Mind, I've gone long periods without seeing it on TTC, especially in the 2000s and early 2010s.

I totally get what you're saying.

The slightly better, but imperfect solution is to tap on like the streetcars. There's more social stigma to not tapping in full view of everyone to not tapping at the side of the median platform 5-10 minutes ago. POP GO train-style is suboptimal for LRTs. It's no wonder that people are saying fare evasion is rampant on Line 6. And they have been for a long time.

 

[nfitz]

The slightly better, but imperfect solution is to tap on like the streetcars. There's more social stigma to not tapping in full view of everyone to not tapping at the side of the median platform 5-10 minutes ago. POP GO train-style is suboptimal for LRTs. It's no wonder that people are saying fare evasion is rampant on Line 6.

Having to tap on at the platform instead of on the vehicle is indeed weird - and only encourages fare invasion.

I can only assume that no one at Metrolinx has ever ridden a streetcar before.

 

[urbanclient]

Having to tap on at the platform instead of on the vehicle is indeed weird - and only encourages fare invasion.

I can only assume that no one at Metrolinx has ever ridden a streetcar before.

It doesn't just encourage intentional fare evasion, it makes it easier for people to forget to tap on. When the door opens and you see a big fare reader right there, you don't forget to tap. If the Line 6 train just arrived and you're running to catch it, what are the chances you'll slow down to pay before squeezing in the closest door?

 

[nfitz]

When the door opens and you see a big fare reader right there, you don't forget to tap. If the Line 6 train just arrived and you're running to catch it, what are the chances you'll slow down to pay before squeezing in the closest door?

Probably depends where the fare reader is. But yeah - it's going to increase non-tapping.

It will be interesting to see some real numbers. And surely not the most difficult thing to retrofit onto the vehicles.

 

[Thaboss]

How do you put far gates at a surface stop

My memory is wonky but i believe in amsterdam some trams have fare gates built into the entrance.

You also have a 2nd person sitting in the middle of the train for enforcement purposes.

In general I think POP honour system is a dumb system that should be avoided in most places on earth.

 

[taylortbb]

Having to tap on at the platform instead of on the vehicle is indeed weird - and only encourages fare invasion.

I can only assume that no one at Metrolinx has ever ridden a streetcar before.

Payment before boarding makes boarding faster, there's a reason it's quite common for LRT systems globally (and even in Ontario for ION).

IMO fare enforcement doesn't have to be absolute, it just has to be good enough. Not paying has to come with enough risk/frustration/etc that 99% of people pay. I think a partial solution would be fare gates at the subway entrances, not just for Line 6 at Finch West but for places like the 510 Streetcar at Spadina. With Presto it's a free transfer, so if you've already tapped at the Line 6 station it doesn't cost anything, but given lots of trips involve the subway I think it would force lots of people that would otherwise evade to pay.