top left a flexity outlook streetcar a clrv streetcar toronto rocket subway train an s series rapid transit train a wheel trans bus an orion bus and wall tile signage at eglinton station featuring the toronto subway typeface overview owner city of toronto locale toronto mississauga vaughan markham transit type bus rapid transit streetcar number of lines more than 149 bus routes 4 rapid transit lines 11 streetcar routes number of stations 69 in use 31 under construction 22 approved daily ridership 2.70 million 1 chief executive andy byford headquarters william mcbrien building 1900 yonge street toronto ontario canada operation began operation 1921 number of vehicles 1 869 buses 752 rapid transit cars 250 streetcars 214 wheel trans buses 2 technical track gauge 4 ft 10 7 8 in 1 495 mm toronto gauge the toronto transit commission ttc is a public transport agency that operates transit bus streetcar paratransit and rapid transit services in toronto ontario canada . established in 1921 the ttc comprises four rapid transit lines with 69 stations over 149 bus routes and 10 streetcar lines . in 4th quarter 2012 the average daily ridership was 2.76 million passengers 1 425 300 by bus 271 100 by streetcar 46 400 by intermediate rail and 1 011 700 by subway . 1 the ttc also operates door to door paratransit service for the elderly and disabled known as wheel trans . the ttc is the third most heavily used urban mass transit system in north america after the new york city transit authority and mexico city metro . 3 contents 1 history 1.1 finances 1.2 past transit operators 1.3 island ferry 1.4 gray coach 2 operations 2.1 buses 2.2 subway 2.3 streetcars 3 services 3.1 fares 3.1.1 presto card 3.2 schedules and route information 3.3 connecting transit 3.4 cellular and wi fi connectivity 3.5 accessibility 4 infrastructure 4.1 stations stops and terminals 4.2 headquarters and facilities 4.3 commuter parking lots 5 safety 5.1 safety programs 5.1.1 crisis link 5.2 ttc by law no. 1 5.3 transit enforcement unit 5.4 onestop media system 5.5 communications 6 management and personnel 6.1 current management board 6.2 station managers 6.3 labour disputes 7 subsidiaries 8 see also 9 references 10 further reading 11 external links history edit main article history of the toronto transit commission see also toronto transit commission incidents public transit in toronto started in 1849 with a privately operated transit service . in later years the city operated some routes but in 1921 assumed control over all routes and formed the toronto transportation commission to operate them . during this period streetcars provided the bulk of the service . in 1954 the ttc adopted its present name opened the first subway line and greatly expanded its service area to cover the newly formed municipality of metropolitan toronto which eventually became the enlarged city of toronto . the system has evolved to feature a wide network of surface routes with the subway lines as the backbone . on february 17 2008 the ttc made many service improvements finally reversing more than a decade of service reductions and only minor improvements . 4 the gloucester subway cars the first version of ttc subway cars known as red rockets because of their bright red exterior have been retired . the name lives on as the ttc uses the phrase to advertise the service such as ride the rocket in advertising material rocket in the names of some express buses and the new toronto rocket subway cars which began revenue operation on july 21 2011 . 5 another common slogan is the better way . finances edit the ttc has recovered about 70 % of its operating costs from the fare box in recent years . when from its creation in 1921 until 1971 the ttc was self supporting both for capital and operations it even had to pay property taxes until 1967 . through the great depression and world war ii it accumulated reserves that allowed it to expand considerably after the war both with subways and major steady growth of its bus services into the suburbs . it was not until 1971 that the metro government and the province started to provide operational subsidies required primarily due to rising costs of delivering transit to low density suburbs in metro toronto and large wage increases . citation needed deficits and subsidies soared throughout the 1970s and 1980s 6 followed by service cuts and a period of ridership decline in the 1990s partly attributable to recession . when the harris progressive conservatives ended the provincial subsidies the ttc cut back service with a significant curtailment put into effect on february 18 1996 and an increased financial burden was placed on the municipal government . since then the ttc has consistently been in financial difficulties . service cuts were averted in 2007 though when the toronto city council voted to introduce new taxes to help pay for city services including the ttc . as a result the ttc became the largest transit operator in anglo america not to receive provincial state subsidies . 7 the ttc has received federal funding for capital projects from as early as 2009 . 8 the ttc is also considered one of the costliest transit systems per fare price in north america . 9 for the 2011 operating year the ttc had a projected operating budget of 1.45 billion . revenue from fares covered approximately 70 % of the budget whereas the remaining 30 % originated from the city . in 2009 through 2011 provincial and federal subsidies amounted to 0 % of the budget . 10 in contrast to this stm montreal receives approximately 10 % of its operating budget from the provincial quebec government 11 and ottawa transpo receives 9 % of its funding from the province . 12 the fairness of preferentially subsidizing transit in specific canadian cities has been questioned by citizens . 13 past transit operators edit further information history of the toronto transit commission predecessors of the ttc island ferry edit main article toronto island ferry the ttc operated the ferry service to the toronto islands from 1927 to 1962 when it was transferred to the metro parks and culture department . gray coach edit main article gray coach gray coach lines was a suburban and regional intercity bus operator founded in 1927 by the ttc . gray coach used interurban coaches to link toronto to points throughout southern ontario . in addition gray coach operated tour buses in association with gray line tours . the main terminal was the metropolitan toronto bus terminal on elizabeth street north of dundas street downtown . in 1954 gray coach expanded further when it acquired suburban routes from independent bus operators not merged with the ttc as it expanded to cover metro toronto . by the 1980s gray coach faced fierce competition in the interurban service in the gta . the ttc sold gray coach lines in 1990 to stagecoach holdings which split the operation between greyhound canada and the government of ontario three years later . operations edit buses edit main articles toronto transit commission bus system and list of toronto transit commission bus routes orion vii hev next generation bus 1534 buses are a large part of ttc operations today . before about 1960 however they played a minor role compared to streetcars . buses began to operate in the city in 1921 and became necessary for areas without streetcar service . after an earlier experiment in the 1920s trolley buses were used on a number of routes starting in 1947 but all trolley bus routes were converted to bus operation between 1991 and 1993 . the ttc always used the term trolley coach to refer to its trackless electric vehicles . hundreds of old buses have been replaced with the low floor orion vii and the ttc has acquired many hybrid electric buses . the ttc s hybrid buses were first put on the road in 2006 ; 14 these were replaced with the newer 500 orion vii next generation hybrids in 2008 . 15 16 a new order will bring the total number of hybrids to over 500 second only to new york city . older 2001 2006 ttc orion viis feature the standard breadbox style whereas newer 2007 buses feature orion s new more stylish body . 17 although most of the bus fleet has already been replaced a number of lift equipped high floor buses are reaching the end of their useful lifespan and another order of buses may be needed around 2012 . with a total of 2 031 buses the ttc is the third largest transit bus operator in north america behind the metropolitan transportation authority in new york city more than 5 600 and the los angeles county metropolitan transportation authority 2 911 . the ttc also runs wheel trans a paratransit service for the physically disabled with special low floor buses designed to accommodate wheelchairs and to make boarding easier for ambulatory customers with limited mobility . the ttc ordered 27 articulated buses nicknamed artics with all newly ordered buses in service by january 2015 . 18 19 at 60 feet 18 metres long the nova lfs artics hold about 112 people compared to 65 on a standard 40 foot bus . 20 subway edit main article toronto subway t series subway train at kipling station new toronto rocket subway train at davisville station the toronto subway system consists of the line 1 yonge university a u shaped line that was opened in 1954 and was last extended in 1996 ; line 2 bloor danforth an east west line that was opened in 1966 and was last extended in 1980 ; line 3 scarborough a partly elevated light metro line that was opened in 1985 and continues from the bloor danforth line s eastern terminus ; and line 4 sheppard which was opened in 2002 . the three subway lines are served by 678 cars grouped in trains of four cars on the sheppard subway and six cars on the yonge university and bloor danforth lines . the three subway lines share non revenue track connections and use the same technology . the scarborough rt has a fleet of 28 cars grouped into trains of four cars each and is not compatible with the subway system . it shares no track connections or equipment . all subway lines provide service seven days a week from approximately 5 45 a.m. to 1 30 a.m. the following day last train runs at approximately 1 45 in each direction except for sundays in which the opening is delayed until approximately 8 00 a.m. during the overnight periods the subway and its stations are closed to perform maintenance at track level and in the stations themselves . overnight service is provided by buses and streetcars operating above ground . these overnight routes are issued numbers in the 300 series and are referred to as blue night routes indicated by a typical ttc bus stop sign with a blue band added . the eglinton crosstown lrt is under construction . it will run underground in the central part of the line between keele street and laird drive with the remainder a surface lrt route which would span almost the entire length of the city from mt. dennis in etobicoke to scarborough . service is expected to commence in 2020 . 21 streetcars edit main article toronto streetcar system a clrv l2 streetcar 4059 toronto s streetcar system is one of the few in north america still operating along street running tracks . it has been operating since the mid 19th century . horsecar service started in 1861 and 600 v dc overhead electric service began in 1892 . new ttc routes since the 1940s have generally been operated by other modes and the less busy streetcar routes have also been converted . streetcar routes are now focused on the downtown