Three years after the Scarborough RT was decommissioned, transit riders will once again travel along the line’s abandoned tracks — but this time the view will be different.
asserted
view → decommission → tracks
The new Scarborough busway will open Wednesday and will run four kilometres from Kennedy Station to Scarborough Centre using the old right-of-way of the RT and priority bus lanes along Ellesmere Road.
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busway → open → Road
The TTC has said the busway will help ferry more than 100,000 riders each week, was built early and under budget and will save commuters “more than an hour a week” on their trips.
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busway → say → trips
At a preview of the line on Monday, Mayor Olivia Chow touted it as an investment into transit in the area.
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Chow → tout → area
“No lights, no congestion,” Chow said.
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Chow → say → lights
“It connects Scarborough to the rest of the city, because no matter where you live, you should be able to get work, to an appointment or to see family and friends.”
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you → connect → family
TTC CEO Mandeep Lali said the line, originally scheduled to be finished in early 2027, was brought to him as a priority by Chow soon after he started at the agency in 2025.
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he → say → 2025
First look at the Scarborough busway
A media preview on Monday provided a look at how different the new busway is set to be from the service Scarborough commuters have had since 2023.
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commuters → provide → 2023
From Kennedy Station, the busway follows the route of former Line 3 up to Ellesmere Station, which the TTC expects to save riders seven minutes between the stations.
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TTC → follow → stations
“It gives time back to families to spend time with their children, their loved ones and really help develop family relationships,” Lali said.
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Lali → give → relationships
On a newly paved road accessible only to buses, riders will be able to travel reaching speeds up to 50 km/h — the trip clocks in around five minutes and 40 seconds without stops.
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trip → pave → stops
The busway, lined by housing on one side and by GO train tracks on the other, is a stark contrast to the current service, with buses mixed alongside regular traffic on Kennedy Road and Lawrence Avenue East navigating potholes, congestion and turning lanes.
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buses → line → potholes
Looking out the window of the new busway, remnants of the old Scarborough RT still remain, like the abandoned station at Lawrence Avenue East which the TTC decided to leave standing to save costs.
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TTC → look → costs
The route features three stops including a new stop at Tara and Moorgate avenues, Lawrence Avenue East and Ellesmere Road.
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route → feature → avenues
Once buses arrive at Ellesmere, they will use existing bus priority lanes to reach Scarborough Centre station.
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they → arrive → station
The new stretch will be served by nine bus routes.
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stretch → serve → routes
Service levels for the buses are not currently set to increase, but buses will run every “1.25 to 2.5 minutes,” Lali said.
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Lali → set → buses
Scarborough’s lack of transit connections
The Scarborough RT ran for 38 years until a train on the line derailed in July 2023, due to loose bolts on the tracks, sending five people to the hospital.
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train → run → hospital
The TTC ultimately decommissioned the aging line later that year, leaving Scarborough further lacking in transit connections.
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TTC → decommission → connections
In the months following the derailment, Scarborough commuters were transported on shuttle buses before an official bus replacement plan went into effect in November.
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plan → follow → November
Construction on the $93.8-million project to convert the defunct Scarborough RT into a busway began in July 2025 and wasn’t originally expected to be finished until 2027.
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Construction → convert → 2027
In December, Chow announced that the dedicated busway would be complete by the end of September, more than six months earlier than expected, and a month before October’s municipal election.
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busway → announce → election
Commuters will ride the busway until the opening of the Scarborough RT’s successor, the $10.2-billion Scarborough Subway Extension.
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Commuters → ride → successor
TTC emails obtained by the Star through a freedom of information request in May show that the completion of the subway extension, which will run from Kennedy Station to Sheppard and McCowan, has been delayed until 2033, three years after its original opening date.
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which → obtain → date
Long-awaited relief for commuters
The busway is a long-time coming for Scarborough commuters like Pranitha Rathakrishnan, a master’s student who takes the bus between Scarborough Town Centre and Kennedy Station two to three times a week.
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who → await → times
A few minutes savings on the commute either to or from Scarborough Town Centre could be the difference “between whether I get breakfast at the Tim Hortons ,” or not, Rathakrishnan said.
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Rathakrishnan → get → Hortons
TTC officially ended service on the beleaguered line Thursday, which has been closed since the
“Or, if I’m on my way home, I take buses that are a bit more infrequent.
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that → end → buses
It’s so common that I miss my bus by just two to five minutes, and then I’m stuck waiting another 20 minutes,” she added.
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she → ’ → minutes
Faster, smoother operations for buses along her commute could mean even more time saved, Rathakrishnan said.
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Rathakrishnan → mean → time
“I feel like it’s going to alleviate some of the headache involved with that commute.”
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it → feel → commute
The Aporia
