The distance between UTSC and UTSG is a barrier for many students in Scarborough. In an interview with The Varsity, Sam Yousef, a third-year computer science student at UTSC, recounted how he used to work at a restaurant in Chinatown before starting his undergraduate studies. While he liked the job, he had to quit soon after starting university due to the lack of convenient transportation options — “It was exhausting balancing [the commute with courses],” said Yousef.
Many students have long called for better transportation between the two campuses. While a shuttle bus exists between UTM and UTSG, there is no such service between UTSC and UTSG. Students have expressed how this form of transportation could help them access more opportunities in downtown Toronto — upon considering the possibility of a UTSC shuttle bus, Yousef said, “I might pick up the job in Chinatown again, or maybe even go to the Chinese Student clubs or events at UTSG.”
Why is there no shuttle bus between UTSC and UTSG?
The lack of a shuttle bus for the UTSC campus can be traced to the City of Toronto Act, a provincial law that sets out the City of Toronto’s powers, responsibilities, and how its local government works. According to these by-laws, “no person except the City shall establish, operate, and maintain within the City all or any part of a passenger transportation system of a type that the City is authorized to provide.”
In simple terms, the public transit agencies operated by the City are given a monopoly on transportation throughout downtown Toronto. Consequently, the TTC that we know and love has the right to contest against other entities that operate public transport within the City.
Mississauga is a part of the GTA and is thereby not under the jurisdiction of the City of Toronto. Consequently, the University could operate its own shuttle bus between UTM and UTSG. However, Scarborough is unfortunately and inconveniently within City bounds, leaving it at the mercy of the TTC’s monopoly.
Legal ways to introduce transportation between UTSC and UTSG
Over 20 years ago, a shuttle bus ran between UTSC and UTSG, but it was a short-lived endeavour.
According to the City of Toronto Act, “buses owned and operated by a corporation or organization solely for its own purposes without charging a fee for transportation” are exempt from the by-laws governing passenger transportation systems in the city.
As U of T is incorporated, it has the authorization to operate a shuttle bus, provided that the vehicles are owned by the university. Additionally, no fare can be collected to use this transportation, as the City of Toronto Act clearly outlines.
A shuttle bus would therefore result in additional expenses for the university that may need to be covered through ancillary fees.
Demand would also need to be high enough to warrant an investment into this service — the shuttle bus that operated 20 years ago had to be shut down because it was used by only a few students.
Efforts to introduce a shuttle bus
Nowadays, many more UTSC students are interested in a shuttle bus service to the UTSG campus.
“[U of T doesn’t] have a direct line [between the two campuses]. As a commuter myself, the time to travel from one place to another is somewhat time-consuming, and […] switching multiple transportation routes can also be mentally tiring,” explains second-year arts and media management student, Namira Khan, in an interview with The Varsity. She adds that not only is she exhausted from the trip downtown, but “[making] the trip back is also another exhaustion.”
On January 13, 2016, with the motto “What do we want? UTSC Shuttle Bus! When do we want it? Now!” the Scarborough Campus Students’ Union (SCSU) and the Association of Part-time Undergraduate Students (APUS) took things into their own hands. They scraped together funds using their levies and launched a free shuttle service between UTSC and UTSG for the day to demonstrate the significant student demand for the bus.
The event was a success, as buses were reported to be working at full capacity throughout the day. Given the growth of the UTSC student body since 2016, it is safe to say that the demand for the shuttle bus still exists and is potentially increasing.
The university’s plans for transit in Scarborough
In a statement to The Varsity, a UTSC spokesperson did not indicate that the University had plans to introduce a shuttle service between UTSC and UTSG, citing how it would “be in direct competition with the TTC.”
However, they stated that the “UTSC administration has been working with municipal and provincial government officials for years to advocate for more transit in Scarborough, particularly the Eglinton East Light Rail Transit (EELRT) project.” This is a proposed light rail that will operate in Scarborough with 27 stops beginning at Kennedy Station. Construction is currently slated to happen between 2027 and 2034.
According to U of T, plans for the Eglinton East LRT were taken into account when developing the most recent version of the UTSC Campus Master Plan, and UTSC has been “involved in various stages of [the LRT]’s development.” They believe that more rapid transit needs to be developed in Scarborough, stating that “the government needs to prioritize [the Scarborough Subway Extension] and other transit projects such as the Eglinton East LRT.”
