Why Are Toronto's Streetcars So Slow?

Toronto has the slowest streetcars in the world. They get stuck in traffic, wait at red lights, and speeds are often restricted. But they also have the potential to significantly improve the city's transit system quickly and cheaply... as long as suburban politicians don't get in the way. TTCriders: https://www.ttcriders.ca/ ➜ Patreon:   / flurfdesign   ➜ Instagram:   / flurfdesign   ➜ Twitter: https://x.com/flurfdesign ➜ TikTok:   / flurfdesign   ➜ References: TTC Surface Route Stats: 2019 to 2023 https://stevemunro.ca/2024/04/23/ttc-... List of the Americas rail transit systems by ridership https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of... Unweighted network speed per tram system (km/h) https://www.snamuts.com/uploads/2/1/8... Man vs. Machine: Can you outrun the TTC?    • Man vs. Machine: Can you outrun the TTC?   Toronto’s Ambling Streetcars https://stevemunro.ca/2025/09/18/toro... Remembering Toronto’s First Subway: March 30: Snapshots in History https://blogs.tpl.ca/local-history-ge... TTC pilots automated ticketing for cars that pass streetcars https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/ttc-... Removed streetcar platforms https://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2... Streetcar Stop Spacing https://stevemunro.ca/2024/08/05/stre... The State of TTC Streetcar Track Switches https://stevemunro.ca/2015/06/25/the-... Supply of Rail Track Switch Parts https://cdn.ttc.ca/-/media/Project/TT... Streetcars collide on Queen's Quay https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toront... The Cost of Running the Queen Car https://stevemunro.ca/2017/06/14/the-... A quick look at the Eglinton LRT    • A quick look at the Eglinton LRT   King Street: Toronto's Transit Inferiority Corridor https://urbantoronto.ca/news/2025/08/... Ridership statistics for surface routes, as of 2017 https://pw.ttc.ca/-/media/Project/TTC... King Street Pilot Study https://www.toronto.ca/wp-content/upl... King St. plans still leave room for cars https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/king... Taxis should get special treatment under King St. pilot project, cab companies say https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/taxi... Council approves King St. pilot to prioritize streetcars, but bows to taxi industry https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/city... Toronto’s King streetcar pilot project is now permanent https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/city... Toronto's King streetcar sees ‘spectacular’ rise in ridership https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/... King Street Transit Pilot November Update https://www.toronto.ca/wp-content/upl... Analyzing traffic violations on the King Street Transit Priority Corridor in Toronto https://schoolofcities.github.io/king... Traffic flowing 3 times faster on King Street transit corridor since city agents deployed https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toront... Let drivers use King St. transit priority corridor amid construction, councillor urges https://www.torontotoday.ca/local/tra... ➜ Timestamps: 0:00 Toronto's streetcars suck 1:45 Stuck in traffic 3:39 The fundamental problem 5:30 Boarding from the street 7:53 Stop spacing & quality 9:22 Stuck behind red lights 10:22 Crawling through intersections 13:40 Brief history of streetcars 14:46 Are streetcars outdated? 16:06 Eglinton LRT 18:23 King St Transit Priority Corridor 22:07 Attacks from suburban politicians 23:29 What you can do to help