{"id":3711,"date":"2010-04-01T09:01:43","date_gmt":"2010-04-01T13:01:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/spacingtoronto.ca\/?p=3711"},"modified":"2010-04-19T22:00:19","modified_gmt":"2010-04-20T02:00:19","slug":"amphibious-city-launched","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/2010\/04\/01\/amphibious-city-launched\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cAdmiral Adam\u201d launches Amphibious City"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\nSneek peak\u00a0\u00a0of new TTC\u00a0 BRT vehicle.<\/em><\/p>\n

(Co-written with Steve Munro and cross-posted on his blog)<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

Spacing<\/strong><\/em> exclusive<\/strong> – we have learned that the Toronto Transit Commission will announce a major service increase. Smarting from recent customer service issues including higher fares, sleeping employees, and rush hour service cuts, the TTC will roll out an ambitious plan for rapid transit expansion. New routes will utilize the city’s waterways to link the downtown core with neighbourhoods across Toronto.<\/p>\n

The plan – Amphibious City – calls for partially grade-separated waterway routes as the means to quickly move commuters to and from the city’s core. Several new routes will operate as soon as this summer. In mid-March, Spacing<\/em> lamented minor service cuts by the TTC and GO<\/a> – despite increased ridership and higher fares. We now learn that the cuts released enough operators for intense training allowing a “quick launch” of new services.<\/p>\n

The preliminary fleet of seven-year old “Hippo” buses will operate on two new routes by the end of\u00a0June. Several routes will be added in coming years leading up to the 2015 Pan-American Games.<\/p>\n

The news of an upcoming official announcement, barely a week after the Ontario government’s budget delivered a kick in the teeth to Toronto’s LRT plans, is surprising. However, TTC officials explained to us that was already part of a contingency plan for any Transit City delays. Hippo buses will be cheap to implement, require much less money in construction costs, and the first phase can be implemented without going through a lengthy environmental assessment.<\/p>\n

The purchased Hippo buses,\u00a0acquired by the City of Toronto from a defunct private tourism enterprise, will provide service until larger and wheel-chair accessible vessels can be acquired, preferably from a Canadian manufacturer.<\/p>\n

Some dredging and remedial work will be required for service on inland waterways such as Highland Creek or the Don River.<\/p>\n

Speaking to Spacing <\/em>insiders, TTC Chair Adam Giambrone called this the “most exciting transit news since Transit City.”<\/p>\n

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Giambrone notes that Amphibious City will be complementary to Transit City, the planned network of light rail corridors across the city. “People have criticised Transit City for being too focused on east-west travel, and missing many parts of the\u00a0city. Amphibious City seeks to address those concerns, and it will be a fun way to get around.”<\/p>\n

Amphibious City promises to improve the public perception and visibility of the TTC, while providing\u00a0a service not at the mercy of Toronto’s\u00a0traffic congestion. This service would also benefit from a quick start-up, requires minimal infrastructure, and give riders alternatives to the overcrowded Yonge Subway and the Scarborough Rapid Transit line\u00a0as it undergoes a planned conversion to LRT.<\/p>\n

This wouldn’t be the first time the TTC planned aquatic transit services. Until 1960, the TTC operated the Toronto Island ferries until they were transferred to the Parks Department. In 2007, Giambrone floated the idea of fast ferries, earning him the moniker “Admiral Adam”, but a year later, the fast ferry plan was torpedoed in a report by noted transit consultant Richard Soberman. Now, the Admiral is back, and with a vengeance.<\/p>\n

While not yet confirmed by the TTC, Spacing has obtained a list of planned Hippo BRT (Boat Rapid Transit) routes:<\/p>\n