Commuters on the 35 Jane bus will have access to free Wi-Fi starting today and the TTC says that it hopes to eventually roll out the service to its entire bus and streetcar network.
The TTC has provided commuters with free Wi-Fi access at all of its subway stations since 2018 but efforts to extend the service to surface vehicles have been slower.
As part of a six-month pilot project the TTC has introduced Wi-Fi on the vehicles that service its 35 Jane route and will do the same for the 102 Markham Road route in June.
The TTC says that the pilot will allow it to “evaluate a variety of Wi-Fi service models and gather customer feedback” with an eye towards eventually rollout out Wi-Fi across its full bus and streetcar network.
“Adding Wi-Fi on these bus routes is all part of our continued work to modernize and upgrade our transit system and to keep improving the ride for transit users. These routes were specifically picked for the pilot in an effort to bring Wi-Fi to underserved areas in our city. The pandemic has further demonstrated the importance of having access to the Internet and how it can make the lives of residents easier - adding it to our TTC buses is one way for our city to remove any barriers to equitable Internet access,” Mayor John Tory said in a press release. “I look forward to hearing from riders about their experience having access to free Wi-Fi on these routes and seeing the results of this pilot.”
The TTC says that all Wi-Fi enabled-buses will feature decals informing customers that they connect while onboard.
The TTC says during the pilot activities that require a high bandwidth connection, such as streaming video, will not be supported.
While the project is technically limited to the 35 Jane and 101 Markham Road routes, the TTC says that customers may from time to time notice Wi-Fi enabled buses on other routes.
"Reliable Internet access is essential," TTC CEO Rick Leary said in the release. "During this pandemic, we've seen so many jobs, learning resources and support initiatives go digital. With this new program, we can eventually provide our customers with consistent Internet access across TTC vehicles."
