‘Transit won’t wait!’: City, Metrolinx face criticism for not extending transit service for Game 7

The TTC Board will meet today, and questions are being raised after thousands struggled to get home on transit after the Jays’ Game 7 loss.

The City of Toronto is facing criticism for not arranging extended transit service to accommodate those attending Game 7 of the World Series, which finished in extra innings Saturday night.

In a post on X shortly after midnight, the city reminded customers that “transit won’t wait!,” despite the game running late.

“The final GO train leaves Union Station soon, and the last TTC train is around 1:30 a.m.,” it wrote.

The tweet is being slammed on social media, with some calling it condescending, while others saying public transit was rubbing salt in the wound of the loss by making fans walk home afterwards.

“’But transit won’t wait’ has to be the absolute worst thing you could have possibly said here,” one user wrote.

Some fans who travelled into the city just for the game said they likely wouldn’t be able to catch the last UP Express train, which left around 1 a.m., to get back to airport-area hotels.

City councillors sound off

In a post Sunday morning, Coun. Brad Bradford, who has said he will be running for mayor next year, called the move “dumb.”

“We’ll fix dumb decisions like this as part of my back to basics approach: move lots of people, where they need to go, when they need to. Serve the people, not the punch clock,” Bradford wrote in response to the city’s tweet.

Coun. Josh Matlow also chimed in, sharing his thoughts in a post on X, saying the message posted by the city was “really bad.”

“And even worse, both Metrolinx and the TTC really should’ve been prepared for the possibility of a late game to avoid leaving thousands of people stranded,” he wrote.

“I’ll be raising this at tomorrow’s TTC board meeting.”

The nail-biting game, which resulted in a heart-breaking loss to the L.A. Dodgers, wrapped up around 12:20 a.m. – about 10 minutes after the city’s post.

That left less than an hour for fans to file out of the jam-packed Rogers Centre and other watch parties and hop on the last train, and little time for those hoping to congregate with friends at bars and restaurants afterward to digest the loss and drown their sorrows.

In its own post before the game started, the TTC also said service would end at 1:30 a.m.

“Reminder - subway service ends at 1:30 a.m. with regular service resuming at 8 a.m. Paid parking at TTC lots will be available all night making it easier for you to park and take the TTC,” the transit agency said around 6:15 p.m. Saturday.

TTC CEO Mandeep Lali commented on the situation in a post on social media.

He said in “anticipation of large crowds downtown” last night, they “planned and delivered an enhanced service plan.”

“Throughout the evening, TTC staff were embedded in the Major Incident Command Centre (MICC), the City of Toronto’s Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) at Union, and the Rogers Event Command Centre, monitoring conditions and standing by to act,” Lali said, adding plans were also in place to extend subway service and deploy 30 additional buses downtown “if the game ran late, if required.”

‘Contigencies’ not activated, says CEO

Lali noted that those “contingencies” were not activated as Game 7 ended around 12:15 a.m. and crowds cleared quickly, adding that the TTC ran more than a dozen extra trains on Lines 1 and 2 until the end of scheduled service.

“The last trains left Union Station around 1:45 to 1:47 a.m., with Line 2 connections at approximately 1:55 a.m.,” he said.

“In total, subway service continued for more than 90 minutes after the game ended, ensuring fans had time to travel home.”

Lali added that the TTC’s Blue Night network, which includes buses and most downtown streetcar routes, 95 per cent of which, he noted, offer have 24/7 service, provided customers with “overnight options.”

Decisions outside of TTC’s control: Lali

“We’re aware of social media complaints about GO and UP Express service at Union Station, but Metrolinx, operates those services, not the TTC,” he said.

“Based on reports GO trains faced crewing constraints that limited their ability to extend service. These decisions were outside TTC’s control.”

Lali also noted that from 12:30 a.m. to the end of service, the TTC’s Transit Control Centre logged “very few issues, just three minor delays related to medical and emergency alarms, all resolved within minutes, and nothing was raised by the EOC or MICC to act upon.”

“Major events always provide opportunities to learn, and we’ll review our operations for improvements, including customer feedback. But it’s important to note: we can only speak for TTC service. Other agencies will need to address their own operations,” he said.

In a statement, Metrolinx said it ran additional service throughout the Blue Jays’ playoff run where it could, but was not able to extend service overnight.

“For yesterday’s game, Metrolinx added additional late-night trains on the Lakeshore West Line, Kitchener line, Stouffville Line and Barrie line to accommodate fans heading home. These trains were held as long as possible after the game and every train was at full capacity when it departed. Many customers were also accommodated on GO buses and on the UP Express,” the provincial transportation agency said.

“Due to track ownership and operational considerations, we cannot operate overnight or add additional trains past service time. We sincerely thank our customers for their patience throughout the playoff series as we have worked to support everyone travelling to and from the games.”

While the Jays’ World Series hopes were dashed by a pair of late home runs from the Dodgers, some users responding to the city wondered what would have happened if the team had won and celebrations continued into the night.

Others wondered whether a better plan will be in place next year when Toronto hosts several FIFA World Cup games.

The city referred questions about Saturday’s transit plan to the TTC and Metrolinx.