‘Way too many bumps’: Rough ride for TTC bus passengers on busy pothole-riddled Scarborough express route

Potholes are creating a bumpy ride along Scarbrough's express bus corridor. Beth Macdonell has more.

Potholes are creating a bumpy ride along Scarborough’s express bus corridor.

“I can’t even drink my coffee sometimes without it being so disturbing,” said bus rider Karine Edouard.

“Oh my God,” exclaimed another rider, Catherine Dominic, laughing. ”I think if I was standing on this bus, I would fall so fast on the floor for sure, no saving me.”

“Way too many potholes. This bus has way too many bumps and ups and downs,” said rider Thomas Chau.

The bus corridor replaces the decommissioned Line 3 Scarborough RT and moves thousands of passengers daily.

CTV News Toronto drove around the route examining the condition of the road and took four buses Monday, speaking with riders along the way and completed two loops of travel on the corridor. The entire route is about 15 kilometres long and takes roughly 40 minutes to complete.

Dedicated buses travel along a painted section of roadway that takes riders northbound along Kennedy Road from Eglinton Avenue East to Ellesmere Road to Scarborough Centre Station.

Buses also travel southbound, taking riders along Ellesmere Road to Midland Avenue, then over to Eglinton Avenue East, where they turn right before arriving at Kennedy Station.

It appears some of the worst sections are between Eglinton Avenue East and Lawrence Avenue East along Kennedy Road and on Midland Avenue between Ellesmere Road and Lawrence Avenue East.

At several points along the route the bumps cause the buses to make loud bangs and jitters, with passengers in their seats visibly moving up and down. Standing during some sections requires holding on tight to handles or poles and making an effort to stabilize.

The priority lanes reserved for the express buses are heavily used, with buses travelling along any given part of the thoroughfare every few minutes all day. It seems riders are experiencing feeling all the crevasses and craters.

The situation has riders we spoke with ready for repairs.

“I definitely think they need to fill these potholes; it’s for safety as well for sure,” said Chau.

“I think they should invest properly in the roads. If they did, we wouldn’t be going through this every few years,” said Edouard.

“It would help a lot if it got fixed,” said Dominic.

Some sections of the corridor are flat and quiet, and without traffic congestion, buses move in good time.

“It’s bumpy, but it’s still pretty good,” said rider Alan Chow.

Riders hope repair crews will show up soon.

“Maybe hurry up a little bit,” said Mikayla Domingo. “People are relying on this route and if it’s uncomfortable, it’s just a shame, really.”

In a statement to CTV News Toronto Tuesday, a city spokesperson said through 311 it has received 190 reports of potholes or road damage along the TTC route from Scarborough Centre Station to Kennedy Station, of which 189 were resolved.

“We sent out a dedicated asphalt crew today to fill remaining potholes found along the way, who cleared 70 per cent of the route, and the crew will be back tomorrow to complete the rest,” said Myles Currie, director of winter and seasonal services with transportation services.

“City crews are out every day of the week to proactively identify and resolve potholes as well as participate in weekend ‘pothole blitzes.’” The most recent blitz was on Saturday, April 11 where 5,244 asphalt repairs were completed.”