TTC Toronto: Keeping the City on the Move

The deserted Glencairn Subway Station

Click individual photos to enlarge and enter the Lightbox Gallery.

We are introducing a brand new series of Photo Essays! Have a look at amazing Photo Sets all shot by local photographers. Explore the vibe of the city, its hidden treasures, meet the Torontonians! This time, let's have a look at Toronto through the lens of Ben Roffelsen!

Eglinton Station West

TTC Toronto: Keeping the Busy City on the Move

What would the busiest cities of the world do without an efficient public transit system? Just imagine: thousands of people needing to get to work every day without buses and subways. Commuters flocking from the far suburbs to and from the city centre. Luckily, the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) has been operating since 1921 and has done a good job!

Toronto’s public transit agency with the familiar red logo runs buses, streetcars, and subway trains through its extensive system across the City. Interested in more numbers? Since its first days, the TTC has built 69 stations. It now operates 149 bus routes and eleven streetcar lines. Every day, about 2.59 million passengers use its services. The TTC Head Office is located at 1900 Yonge Street.

The TTC is among the world’s busiest urban transit systems. There are only two other cities in the world with a heavier load of passengers: New York City and Mexico City. Astonishing, isn’t it?

Let’s be honest. For such an essential part of our everyday lives, the TTC does not get praised nearly half as much as it deserves. So next time you have a fit over your bus’ three-minute delay, think of all the people who are taken care of by the giant system each day.

Interesting Facts about TTC:

• The privately-owned Toronto Street Railway Company was granted a pass to operate public transit by the City in 1861.
• Usual horse-drawn carriages and sleighs for the winter were replaced by electric streetcars in 1892.
• To spot a horse-drawn carriage in the service of the city was possible for the last time in 1894.
• The TTC was established in 1920 and began its operations in 1921.
• TTC streetcars and bus stops got their typical white and red look in 1933.
• The first women drivers appeared during the years of the Second World War (1939-1945).
• The first 23-metre-long subway cars were used in 1962.
• Senior citizen fares were introduced in 1970.
• The monthly Metropass, saving your money, was introduced in 1980.
• After the fashion of improving accessibility, the first low-floor buses were introduced in 1988 and continue to be added today.
• The last non-accessible buses retired from regular service in 2011.

The Greenwood TTC Railyard during the night

It's exciting to watch the trains pass by with such a speed!

Some stations have some great architectural details, such as Dupont Station...

... or the glass cupola of Yorkdale Station...

 ... the Glencairn stairs make a great subject for a photo!

Rush Hour

Each station has a different feel. This is Museum and its statues.

Have a look inside the TTC trains

 Rosedale Station at night

This is how the Toronto underground looks like. Spooky!

Meet The Photographer

Ben Roffelsen

To Ben Roffelsen, Toronto is a photographer's dream.
Architecture and culture combine to create a rich fusion unlike any other city. Always fascinated by this fusion, Ben is happy to call Toronto his home. He is rarely ever out anywhere in Toronto without his Nikon D800 by his side.
Hey say, "You have to be ready for anything. There is never Nothing happening."