TTC Delay Insights

Overview: What the Data Says About TTC Delays (2018–2025)

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An in-depth look at TTC subway delays through interactive plots. See where delays are worst, why they happen, and when they’re most disruptive, followed by Recommendations & Next Steps.

Total Time Lost to Delays

Toronto's subway system loses substantial time annually to service disruptions across all lines and incident types, with delays increasing yearly since the pandemic. While individual delays typically last under 10 minutes, their cumulative effect represents substantial time loss. The data reported by the TTC doesn't account for the ripple effects: all the trains that had to slow down or stop due to the delay, passenger accumulation at multiple stations, platform overcrowding, missed transfers, and wait times for shuttle buses that, as the TTC itself notes, "cannot carry the subway passenger volume due to their lower capacity and road congestion."

Line Trends

Time lost by line: Yonge–University (Line 1), Bloor–Danforth (Line 2), and Sheppard (Line 4).

Which Stations Lose the Most Time?

Bloor–Yonge, St George, Eglinton, and Kipling are consistently among the top contributors to time loss over the years.

Tip: Visit the Delay Leaderboard to see which stations are leading time-loss this year. On the Home page, check out the Toronto Subway: Delay Stats interactive map to explore hotspots for Track Intrusion, Disorderly Patron, and Fire.

Top Reasons for Delays

Patron-related incidents are the leading cause for time loss over the years, followed by mechanical/infrastructure issues.

Patron-Related Delays (Top driver for delays)

Patron-related incidents drive significant time loss: disorderly patrons, track intrusions, passenger illness, and other human factors. Disorderly patrons represent the largest contributor, with over 1,000 incidents per year averaging 7 minutes each.

Explore the Toronto Subway: Delay Stats interactive map to examine station hotspots for disorderly patron and track intrusion incidents.

Mechanical & Infrastructure Delays (Top driver for delays)

Mechanical & Infrastructure-related incidents consistently rank among the top causes of delays: Signals, track switches, fire, and other technical causes. During the early rollout years, ATC-related delays increased as the system underwent testing and integration. After Line 1 became fully ATC-enabled in late 2022, reliability improved, with delays dropping between 2023 and 2025. Track-level fires consistently rank as one of the leading infrastructure issues, along with track switch malfunctions.

Explore the Toronto Subway: Delay Stats interactive map to examine station hotspots for fire incidents.

Major Delays (≥ 20 minutes)

An increasing trend of major delays lasting more than 20 minutes.

Minor Delays (< 20 minutes)

Minor delays lasting less than 20 minutes are also trending upward.

Top Categories Driving Major Delays

A closer look at what causes most major (≥20 min) delays.

Rush Hour Patterns

More delays occur outside the morning peak period.

Weekday vs Weekend Patterns

The average minutes lost per service day are nearly identical on weekdays and weekends, showing that disruptions are consistent throughout the week.

Seasonality

Patterns are broadly similar across seasons.

Recommendations & Next Steps

Based on the data, here’s where the TTC can focus next.

Patron-related incidents are the single largest driver of total delay minutes across the network.

Expand Crisis-Response Coverage: Strengthen crisis-response teams within the downtown U-zone of Line 1, with a recommended focus on Dundas, Bloor–Yonge and St George . Extend coverage beyond the U-zone to include Sheppard–Yonge, Davisville, Eglinton and Kipling, where patron-related incidents and track intrusions frequently cluster. On the Home page, explore the Toronto Subway: Delay Stats interactive map to view hotspots related to Track Intrusions, Disorderly Patrons, and Fires.
Install Physical Safety Barriers: Introduce platform doors or interim safety barriers at high-risk track-intrusion stations — Dundas, Bloor–Yonge, and Sheppard–Yonge. Progressively expand these protections to all stations.

Track-level fires remain one of the most persistent sources of disruption among mechanical and infrastructure-related causes.

Investigate Fire-on-Track Hotspots: Review recurring fire-at-track-level incidents at Bloor–Yonge, Victoria Park, Islington, and Davisville. Assess underlying causes such as debris buildup or equipment faults and implement targeted maintenance or infrastructure upgrades to reduce recurrence.

General system improvements can reinforce reliability and accountability across the network.

Set Public Performance Targets: Establish and publicly report measurable goals for delay reduction, such as decreasing major delays (≥20 minutes) by 20% over three years or cutting track-intrusion incidents by 25%. Regular reporting and transparency would strengthen accountability and demonstrate progress toward a more reliable transit system.