TTC slow zones have commuting students looking for options

It’s been over a month since the TTC has implemented “Slow Zones” across lines 1 and 2. 

While commuters did not notice the change during the summer, many students are now finding that their trip to campus is a little longer. 

Ankur Gupta is a Seneca student studying government relations.

Gupta says she never knows what to expect on her morning commute. 

“You never know if you’ll reach the class in time because you never know when the delays will happen whether the train just stops randomly or now with all the track work,” she says.

Gupta says her hour and 15-minute commute now is more than two hours from Rexdale to Seneca Polytechnic.

“Now I have to make sure I leave at least a 45-minute margin to be able to make it to class in the morning,” she says. 

Gupta says she has tried to find ways to take her mind off the extra time added to her commute.

“Sometimes I think about my assignments, sometimes I listen to music, and other times I am talking with my friends,” she says. 

“It all depends on the time of day.”

TTC has implemented a number of slow zones across Lines 1 and 2 as a safety precaution for track workers.

The precaution comes after a geometric survey was released in July finding a number of spots along the tracks that need to be repaired 

Slow Zones make up 34 stops across both lines reducing train speeds more than half during working hours. 

Amy Alvarez, a first-year biology student at York University, says she has been forced to seek other alternatives for transportation due to unreliable wait times.

“Commuting to an institution that is less than seven kilometres from my residence has become extraordinarily stressful,” says Alvarez. 

“To make a more manageable daily routine I have resorted to using ride-share services for transportation to and from school.”

TTC says it is taking a proactive approach before these issues become more serious disruptions that affect the safety and dependability of the service. 

The track maintenance is expected to be completed this fall.