The first ever FIFA World Cup match on Canadian soil appears to have mostly gone off without a hitch.
Canada and Bosnia and Herzegovina opened up their World Cup campaigns with a 1-1 draw before more than 43,000 fans at Toronto Stadium on Friday afternoon.
It was the first of six World Cup matches slated for Toronto, with the next one scheduled for Wednesday at 7 p.m. (Ghana vs Panama).
In a statement provided to CTV News on Monday, Metrolinx said that overall service across its network ran “very well” on Friday, with few issues reported.
Metrolinx said that its ridership at Exhibition Station on Friday saw an increase of 25,000 compared to a typical weekday as many attendees did appear to heed the warnings to avoid driving in the area.
The city has previously promoted a “transit first World Cup” and Metrolinx has ramped up service with trains on the Lakeshore East and West lines running every 15 minutes during match days.
“We will continue to run our special GO and UP Express service throughout the tournament,” Metrolinx said in its statement.
Two people from Germany were arrested at Toronto Stadium during the match on Friday after allegedly throwing items at officers who were responding to an altercation in the stands.
Police, however, confirmed to CTV News on Monday that no additional arrests were made at the stadium or the area outside of it during or after the match.
Police said that they received about 5,800 calls for service across the city on Friday, which represents a “one-day increase” from its more typical call volume of approximately 5,000 calls for service so far in June.
Police did caution that it is not possible to say whether the increase in call volumes was directly related to the World Cup.
“Despite this spike, 911 performance remained strong, with an average wait time of approximately four seconds on June 12, compared to a June month-to-date average of about seven seconds,” police said in a statement to CTV News.
