The above image, at Bloor and Jane circa 1937, was used in Spacing‘s Spring/Summer 2006 issue as part of a feature on bus and streetcar shelters. But what I like about the pic, upon further inspection, is the sign above the woman on the right. It reads, “29 minutes to Yonge St. by streetcar — 31 mins. in rush hour”.
It’s a small detail that still should be in use today. At major intersections across the city, each stop should have a similar sign announcing to approximate time it takes to travel to the nearest subway station or the end of the route. I’m sure the TTC could find a lot of reasons not to use something like this, but it seems like smart thing to do to keep riders aware of their place within the city and transit system.
photo from the Toronto Archives
6 comments
I wish the TTC could provide as much seating as that at some of their stops.
But, don’t you see, seating encourages people to be homeless and sell drugs.
I lived in Poland for a few years. The route map on each bus or tram showed the time between each stop, so that you could count how many minutes to your destination or transfer. It fit in with the timed ticket system so that you could claim you 15-minute or 40-minute ticket was valid to the stop you were headed.
Vancouver something similar on the SkyTrain. At each station, the train announces the station name and the time it will take to get to the end of the line.
London’s bus stops have the same things. It’s very convenient.
The Montreal metro also has signs like this at every station.
Here in Germany, at least in Brunswick, timetables at all bus/streetcar stops feature the time it takes to reach the desired stop. Very practical when it comes down to choose the fastest connection.