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The TTC's new Scarborough Busway begins regular service on Wednesday

Published Sep 28, 2026  •  Last updated 12 hours ago  •  2 minute read

From left to right: Paul Ainslie, Deputy Mayor for Scarborough, Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow, Scarborough Centre Counc. Michael Thompson and TTC CEO Mandeep Lali were all at Ellesmere Station for the cold opening of the Scarborough Busway on Monday afternoon. Photo by Gordon Anderson/Toronto Sun

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The Toronto Transit Commission held its cold opening of the anticipated Scarborough Busway on Monday afternoon at Ellesmere Station. 

“Scarborough has a long struggled to get better transit, and we’ve all been working hard at it,” said Scarborough Centre Coun. Michael Thompson. “Our time is now. Our time is to ensure that the residents are able to get better transit.” 

The Scarborough busway will operate along a four-kilometre section of the former Line 3 corridor, aka the Scarborough RT. The service will be ready for regular duty on Wednesday morning. 

The RT was closed in July of 2023, following a derailment near Ellesmere Station. Five people were injured in the accident, prompting a permanent shutdown of the 38-year-old system. The Scarborough RT had exceeded its lifespan by a decade and was set to be decommissioned entirely on Nov. 18 of ‘23.  

The journey will begin at Kennedy Station, stopping at Tara Ave./Mooregate Ave., Lawrence East Station, and Ellesmere Station. Buses will then use Ellesmere Rd.’s priority bus lanes to connect to Scarborough Town Centre. And back again. 

Once it’s operational, travel time between Kennedy Station and Scarborough Town Centre is expected to be approximately 15 minutes, reducing travel times by approximately seven minutes, or so says Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow.  

“Four kilometres to Kennedy, no lights, no congestion, nothing to slow you down,” Chow said. “It’s not just the express, eight bus routes on this corridor will move faster. They can save you an hour a week. An hour with your kids.” 

The busway will feature dedicated lanes and corridors to bypass regular traffic congestion, ensuring faster and more reliable travel times for passengers. The speed limit is 50 km an hour, with sections of the journey with posted 30 km an hour signs.  

“I’m excited for the community,” Thompson said. “I am excited for Scarborough. I am excited for the future, with respect to better transit.” 

The service will operate the same hours as the defunct Line 3, from approximately 6 a.m. to 1:30 a.m. on all days. 

“This will change lives. This will have an impact, not on just families, and how they spend time together and what they do with that time,” said TTC CEO Mandeep Lali. “We’re changing lives for the better.”

The original projected cost of the project was about $93.8 million.

“All in all, we don’t have the final (budget) figures, but we are ahead of budget,” Lali said.   

Initially, the project was slated for completion sometime next year. During the course of the gathering at Ellesmere Stations, several engineers and tradespeople joined the ribbon-cutting ceremony.

“It was a very collegial team effort to make this happen, and once again, as a city counsellor, I can’t thank the mayor enough for all of her work and her leadership for bringing everybody together to see this day happen,” said Paul Ainslie, Deputy Mayor for Scarborough. 

For more information on the new service, click here.

ganderson@potmedia.com

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