Several posters pointed out that Sheppard LRT may become more appealing if its speed is improved by reducing the number of stops.
IMO, it is useful to consider two sections separately: one is east of McCowan, the other is between McCowan and Don Mills.
The current official diagram of Sheppard LRT stops can be found
here.
In the analysis below, I assume that Scarborough Subway terminus will be at Sheppard and McCowan. (In case the subway gets cut back to STC, all Sheppard LRT plans obviously have to be revisited.)
Current plan for east of McCowan: distance 7.4 km; 14 stop intervals; average spacing 530 m.
Mandatory stops: 5 interchanges with bus routes at Markham Rd, Progress, Neilson, Morningside, Meadowvale. In addition, I'd like to retain the Dean Park stop, to avoid a super-gap (2.4 km) between Morningside and Meadowvale.
All other stops (8 in total) can be eliminated, if a parallel bus service is provided. New average stop spacing: 7.4 km / 6 = 1.23 km. Time saving: assuming 40 s per stop on average, about 5 min can be saved each way.
The said bus service has an additional benefit of directly connecting the subway to the section of Sheppard Ave east of Meadowvale, and to East Ave (no LRT service there in any case).
There will be an extra cost for the bus service, but the faster LRT operation will partly offset it.
Extra buses needed: about 5 (15-km, 45-min round trip from Meadowvale to McCowan and back) to maintain a 10-min frequency. LRT saving: two trains less, maintaining same 5-min frequency.