[madmolecule]

I rely on taking a GO bus outbound from Union Station during my morning commute, and am thinking of moving somewhere near the Yonge subway, between Bloor and Eglinton. Thus I would take the Yonge subway south to Union to catch the GO bus. However, I have heard a lot of talk about not being able to get on the southbound Yonge subway in the morning because it is too crowded.

Does anyone have any experience with this, and would it happen often enough to make my plan unreliable? If so, would the Spadina line (e.g., living somewhere between Spadina and St. Clair West) be significantly better? Thank you very much in advance for your comments.

 

[myfive]

It can be hard getting on at Bloor. I have noticed when the trains arrive at bloor they are very full....but not sure where they fill up. I usually can get on at bloor as there are many that get off there. I think they could use some more trains. It's always pretty cramped.

 

[lafard]

The spadina side is way less crowded.

They short turn half the trains at St Clair West in the morning, I get on at St Clair W and there are about 20 people on each car when the train leaves southbound, usually still seats available down to St George - and that's with people waiting for the short turned trains specifically at all three stations, letting the full ones pass.

Even further north the trains are full but not packed like they are on the Yonge line.

On the Yonge side, they throw a couple empty trains into service at Davisville during the peak period. If you know when these "gap trains" generally go into service, it's OK, or if you can shift your travels so they're outside the very peak (ie, 7:30 to 9) it's not that bad either.

 

[gmania]

I'm on the train southbound from Eglinton around 7:15 am and it's empty until Bloor (and often empty after Bloor). The only time it's not is if there was an issue earlier in the morning.

I use to travel in the peak hours and normally wouldn't have to skip a train getting on at Eglinton (in-between Eglinton and Bloor though you might miss a train). I found if you skipped a really busy train and waited the one to two minutes, the next train was often empty or at least not rammed.

 

[UrbanVigor]

I take the train southbound from Eglinton between 8:45-9:00 am smack dab during rush hour. While the trains are often packed, the only time you can't get on is if there was an issue.

What I find worse is getting home at 5:15-5:30. At St. Clair (yes, a short commute - only 2 stops), the trains are often very packed at this point that I've had to wait for another train and sometimes a second or a third. Part of that issue is me being polite and letting others on ahead of me even though they haven't been waiting as long as I have.

A few years ago, I used to get off at Osgoode station and therefore had a longer trip from Eglinton. I am very certain that trains have become more packed and there have been more issues since then.

 

[marsh]

I live at Yonge & Bloor and during peaktimes at rush hour (8:00 to 9:00) the platform is very crowded (dangerously so in my opinion) and I normally have to plan to let 2 to 3 trains go by before I can get on (and then I'm squished like a sardine). Welleselley is bad too. I've heard from co-workers that getting on at Yonge & Eglington can be bad at times during peak rush hour time. I've given up on the subway and have started taking the Bay bus to work - I can usually get a seat, they run quite often during rushhour and takes about the same time as the subway. And with the warmer weather coming, I hope to start walking again.

This is why we desperately need a downtown relief line.

That being said I still love living downtown and wouldn't trade it for a longer commute. You just need to plan you morning - the earlier you leave the less likely you will have problems.

 

[madmolecule]

Thanks, everyone!