New evidence released by the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) reveals a shockingly high rate of bus collisions in the Canadian city, with an average of eight accidents per day over the last year.
In the year between April 2011 and April 2012, more than 3000 bus collisions have occurred on Toronto’s streets, an astounding average of 8 collisions per day. The data, which was released by the TTC on Monday, includes accidents involving buses colliding with other vehicles, street signs, stationary objects and even bikers.
According to the data, TTC buses collided with stationary objects, such as buildings and road signs, 431 times during the year of data collection. 1589 other vehicles were involved in collisions with buses or streetcars, 55 pedestrians were injured by bus related accidents and 33 cyclists were hit. The data also reported 55 ‘other’ objects that were hit. As of January 2012, the TTC operates close to 250 streetcars and 1819 buses.
Most commonly, collisions occurred between buses and other vehicles. However streetcars were less likely to be involved in an accident, most likely because there are fewer of them on the road and they travel along specified tracks at slower speeds than the buses.
All collisions in the city, including those involving TTC vehicles, are investigated by the Toronto Police traffic service.
The latest TTC incident occurred on Sunday, when a bus smashed into a commercial building on the corner of Richmond and Queen streets while the bus was travelling northward on Peter Street at 10 am. Three passengers and the driver sustained minor injuries. The cause of the accident is unknown, but it is expected that the driver involved will not return to duty at TTC.
As well as colliding with the building, the bus also smashed into a taxi carrying two passengers. The taxi passengers escaped unscathed and no charges have been laid.
Peter Street does not normally form part of the regular TTC bus route, but the company has been operating buses along this road while street car tracks are being repaired on the nearby Spadina Avenue.
Spadine Avenue was re-opened to traffic after this incident, and streetcars are running in a single lane. Peter Street bus services will continue until all the new streetcar tracks have been completed. The new tracks have been installed in order to accommodate the new generation streetcars, and the project is due to be completed by November.