Does Toronto's urban structure have more in common with large US Midwest Cities or large US Northeast Cities? (highest, Boston)
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Frequencies and connection from subway to surface transit is far better in Toronto than DC, Chicago and Boston. You can't just count the number of stations and conclude that more subway stations means inherently better transit system.
Toronto's bus frequency and network of 24 hour bus routes is second to none. Several streetcar lines run 24 hours as well. Subway frequencies are outstanding, far better than Chicago, Philly, Boston etc. Toronto's overall transit system is easily within the top three in North America.
Yes, and if all the T lines in Boston count, then surely St. Clair, Spadina and Harbourfront surface transit counts too. There is also the Eglinton LRT under construction.
Frequencies and connection from subway to surface transit is far better in Toronto than DC, Chicago and Boston.
I don't know if that's true or not, but doesn't seem to be particularly relevant. Frequencies are largely a function of carrying capacity, so an 8 car subway will have half the frequencies of a 4 car subway, offering equivalent service levels.
In any case, DC and Chicago have similar rail transit numbers as Toronto, despite being inherently more car-oriented U.S. cities.
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Originally Posted by King of Kensington
You can't just count the number of stations and conclude that more subway stations means inherently better transit system.
Agreed, you can't only "count the number of stations", but that's a pretty critical part of transit infrastructure.
Stations, route length, coverage, service, seem to all be relevant, and Toronto, while it has a good rail system, probably trails a half-dozen or so metros in the U.S. and Canada in terms of overall rail transit infrastructure.
Toronto's bus frequency and network of 24 hour bus routes is second to none.
How does Toronto have better bus service than other metros? Basically all cities have frequent bus service along major routes, and almost all cities have 24 hour bus service.
The only obvious difference is that in Canadian cities, bus service tends to be more extensive in outer suburbia, because Canada has lower auto ownership, more suburban apartments and more suburban poverty. In the U.S., newer suburbs generally have abysmal to nonexistent bus service and everything is car-oriented.
But I don't think most people would compare transit systems by looking at the sprawliest, least transit-oriented edges of respective cities. Yes, outer Scarborough and Mississauga generally have much better bus service than suburban Chicago or suburban Dallas, but that would be an odd way of comparing transit quality.
I think it compares VERY favorably to Chicago, Washington or Boston in this respect.
Of course, this discussion really has little to do with "Northeastern" vs. "Midwestern" type cities. Chicago likely has the second best transit system in the US after NYC, but it's the epicenter of the Midwest no matter what.
I think it compares VERY favorably to Chicago, Washington or Boston in this respect.
Possibly, but this has little to do with transit quality. Frequencies are just a function of train capacity. Cities with higher capacity systems run trains in longer intervals to obtain the same service.
Chicago, Washington and Boston all have significantly larger rail systems than Toronto. Rail passenger counts are roughly similar between Washington, Chicago and Toronto, with Boston slightly behind, probably owing to the fact that Toronto is in a much more transit-oriented nation, with even sprawl dwellers using transit.
But I think the vast majority of choice commuters would agree than Chicago, Boston, and DC have (at the least) equal systems to Toronto, and most would agree these three systems are somewhat better than that of Toronto. Philly too, and possibly SF. Toronto's only obvious advantage is better service in the sprawly parts of the region (which is characteristic of all Canadian cities).
Rail passenger counts are roughly similar between Washington, Chicago and Toronto
Toronto's daily rail ridership is 25% higher than Chicago's, that a fairly significant difference. Washington's is closer but still significantly behind.
Toronto's daily rail ridership is 25% higher than Chicago's, that a fairly significant difference. Washington's is closer but still significantly behind.
Not true. Toronto has about 12% higher ridership than Chicago, a difference, but not a particularly substantial one.
Per most recent comparative transit data (Q1 2016) Chicago had about 76 million heavy rail passengers, and Toronto had about 86 million heavy rail passengers.
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