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torontocolin said:
There are a few reasons why running trains overnight on the LRT would be better. You wouldn't have to maintain a separate set of shelters along the entire line. The LRT stops will likely be more comfortable, and riders wouldn't have to worry about where they should be standing based on time of day. The LRT will presumably have signal priority, which the buses would lack.

On the other hand, as you said the bus could provide closer stop spacing. It would also provide a better transfer at Finch West station, where almost everyone would be boarding another bus when the subway is out of service.

Part of the answer too will come down to who is operating this line and under what terms. The province is constructing it, but we don't actually know that it will be operated and maintained by the TTC using unionized workers. If the province contracts out operations/maintenance for this line, then the terms of the contract would presumably determine operating hours.
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I can assure you that the night bus is better. The 336/339 night bus runs from Woodbine Racetrack to Markham Rd which as Line 6 would only a short portion of it requiring up to 2 transfers (each is up to 30 min waiting time in the dark) for people heading from Woodbine to Yonge. With no speed advantage, it makes no sense to have riders transfer to the LRT while paying a much higher cost to operate and enforce POP at night. The 310 Spadina would have been a bus if the 510 wasn't a streetcar.
 
torontocolin said:
There are a few reasons why running trains overnight on the LRT would be better. You wouldn't have to maintain a separate set of shelters along the entire line. The LRT stops will likely be more comfortable, and riders wouldn't have to worry about where they should be standing based on time of day. The LRT will presumably have signal priority, which the buses would lack.

On the other hand, as you said the bus could provide closer stop spacing. It would also provide a better transfer at Finch West station, where almost everyone would be boarding another bus when the subway is out of service.

Part of the answer too will come down to who is operating this line and under what terms. The province is constructing it, but we don't actually know that it will be operated and maintained by the TTC using unionized workers. If the province contracts out operations/maintenance for this line, then the terms of the contract would presumably determine operating hours.
Click to expand...
I can assure you that the night bus is better. The 336/339 night bus runs from Woodbine Racetrack to Markham Rd which as Line 6 would only a short portion of it requiring up to 2 transfers (each is up to 30 min waiting time in the dark) for people heading from Woodbine to Yonge. With no speed advantage, it makes no sense to have riders transfer to the LRT while paying a much higher cost to operate and enforce POP at night. The 310 Spadina would have been a bus if the 510 wasn't a streetcar.
 
A night light rail route would likely run on a wider headway (schedule), say every 15 to 30 minutes. Likely they would only need to use one side of the tracks, allowing the maintenance work to be done on the other. Especially useful with crossover tracks and autonomous vehicles. (Should be done on the subway overnight, once they get ATC up and running properly, as well.)
 
torontocolin said:
There are a few reasons why running trains overnight on the LRT would be better. You wouldn't have to maintain a separate set of shelters along the entire line. The LRT stops will likely be more comfortable, and riders wouldn't have to worry about where they should be standing based on time of day. The LRT will presumably have signal priority, which the buses would lack.
Click to expand...
Bus shelters don't cost the city anything. Astral provides them for free in exchange for the advertising. They are very keen to put shelters on major arteries - even for seldom used night buses, because they are good advertising locations. If anything, having shelters on Finch West, would increase the amount Astral (or whoever the next high bidder is) bids the city for the contract!

As for signal priority - given that many night buses are already faster than the subway lines, then I don't think it matters. More comfortable ... I don't know, those bus shelters have 4 walls - the ones on the LRT platforms look much less protective!
 
W. K. Lis said:
A night light rail route would likely run on a wider headway (schedule), say every 15 to 30 minutes. Likely they would only need to use one side of the tracks, allowing the maintenance work to be done on the other. Especially useful with crossover tracks and autonomous vehicles. (Should be done on the subway overnight, once they get ATC up and running properly, as well.)
Click to expand...
My understanding is that there is not the same maintenance requirements for at grade LRT as subway. Streetcar lines can run 24/7 which means at grade LRT should be able to also
 
W. K. Lis said:
Especially useful with crossover tracks and autonomous vehicles. (Should be done on the subway overnight, once they get ATC up and running properly, as well.)
Click to expand...
That would also require upgrades to the power systems currently both sides are shut down when the power is cut to an area for it to be done on the subway
 
Yes this is great news. I just found out today that 450 million in sunk costs for the Finch West LRT has been spent from the total budget for this transit project. Hard to walk away from that amount...
 
Curious...what are the similarities and differences between the Finch West LRT and Eglinton Crosstown?

Thanks
 
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