The TTC is defending itself against backlash after transit users struggled to get home after Game 7 of the World Series.
The transit service and the City of Toronto is facing criticism after a TTC post on X, formerly Twitter, saying subways would stop after 1:30 a.m.
Shortly after midnight, the city reposted the same post, which said in part, “We know the game is running late, but transit won’t wait!”
The post went on to say the last GO train from Union Station would be leaving “soon.”
TTC board chair Jamaal Myers said Monday that the TTC post was “an erroneous tweet,” and that the agency was investigating how it happened.
“Unfortunately, that night a TTC communication suggesting that subway service would end at 1:30 a.m. was posted to the TTC social media, which was amplified by the city’s social media, leading to confusion to our customers,” Myers told reporters ahead of the TTC board meeting Monday.
“The TTC deeply apologizes for this mistake.”
Social media videos showed fans waiting in stations and facing overcrowded platforms after Game 7. Some users criticized the agency for poor planning and said service should have been extended due to the size of the event.
Myers said despite the social media posts, no one was left stranded by the TTC.
“I can’t comment on the service provided by other transit agencies, but no one, to my knowledge, was left stranded by the TTC. We ran our service the way we had planned and the service went well,” he said.
WATCH | TTC faces backlash after transit users struggle to get home after Game 7 :
Toronto transit facing backlash for not extending service after World Series Game 7
Toronto politicians and public transit officials are expecting complaints Monday because some transit services were not extended past 1:30 a.m. Sunday following Game 7 of the World Series.
The Saturday game wrapped up shortly after 12 a.m. in a heartbreaking loss for the Blue Jays. About 40,000 people packed the sold-out Rogers Centre and watch parties were hosted across the city.
The TTC ran additional trains on Lines 1 and 2, with the last trains leaving Union Station at approximately 1:45 a.m. and on Line 2 at 1:55 a.m., said Myers.
Blue night buses and most downtown streetcars routes also operated overnight as usual, he added.
“Overall, the TTC service that night was strong with minimal disruptions,” said Myers.
He said the TTC was prepared to continue running subway service if the game went into overtime, but that plan was never activated since it did not run past normal time.
TTC CEO Mandeep Lali put out a response on social media Sunday afternoon, saying he was aware of complaints about GO and UP Express service at Union Station, but that Metrolinx operates those services, not the TTC.
Torontonians told ‘they were on their own’: councillor
Coun. Josh Matlow said Monday that Metrolinx failed because it didn’t extend trains long enough to accommodate the thousands of people leaving Rogers Centre.
Metrolinx said in a statement to CBC Toronto on Sunday that it is unable to operate overnight or add additional trains “due to track ownership and operational considerations.”
The TTC should also have extended its service, said Matlow.
“Torontonians were left with a message from the City of Toronto and the TTC that they were on their own when they were trying to get home,” he said at the media availability Monday.
Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria said that after Game 7, the last GO train arrived at its final destination at 3:30 a.m. and the last GO bus arrived at its final destination at 4 a.m.
“We tried to increase service as much as possible,” he told reporters at Queen’s Park. “We held trains specifically so every single train departed at full capacity.”
He said Metrolinx increased capacity for Blue Jays fans during the World Series.
“Ultimately there’s track constraints because we don’t own those lines,” he said. “So we work with the other parties that own those lines to ensure that we can get as much traffic through them, as much people through them, and that’s what we’ll continue to do.”
‘No explanation, no offering of alternatives’
Angela Lawrence and her husband decided to go from Goderich to downtown Toronto for Saturday’s game. She said they thought they were “in good hands” when they made the decision to park at Toronto Pearson Airport and take the UP Express to and from Union Station, but the way back home was not what they expected.
The couple arrived at Union Station 40 minutes past midnight to catch the 1 a.m. UP Express train. Arriving there, they encountered a long queue, with thousands of people, Lawrence said.
She said there was word circulating in the line that more trains would be added, but that wasn’t true.
About 40,000 fans packed the sold-out Rogers Centre and watch parties were hosted across the city. (Nick Iwanyshyn/The Canadian Press)
“Staff and security guards just came out and said, ‘No, we’re done for the night.’ There was no explanation, no offering of alternatives,” Lawrence told CBC Toronto on Monday.
After speaking with five to six different employees at the station, Lawrence said she was directed to take the subway to Kipling Station, to then take a bus to the airport.
“We’re from Goderich. We don’t even have public transit, so for us, riding the subway or the bus was kind of daunting,” she said.
Matlow and Myers are expected to bring forward a motion during Monday’s TTC board meeting to establish predictable late night transit service for major special events.
The motion will ensure a “united communications approach,” giving customers one clear, reliable transit message for big nights in Toronto, said Myers.
