Observe
Read the public source
Keep recent records and remove stale or unusable ones.
Methods for public questions
How the evidence is prepared.
Different transit questions require different evidence. Our approach keeps the sources, processing steps, comparisons, and limits beside each result.
Methods by public page
Each page keeps its question and evidence together.
Surface service
Counts recently reported buses and streetcars. It shows feed visibility, not ridership or schedule adherence.
See surface serviceSubway pulse
Uses station trip updates to estimate train progress. Subway estimates remain separate from surface measures.
See the subway pulseWard equity screening
Uses one live service-distribution signal to identify questions for closer review. Grouped community context stays separate and no ward receives an equity grade.
Open the screeningLocal access
Connects stops with local areas and a street-based walking preview. It is not navigation or an accessibility audit.
Explore local accessDay in the life of a route
Shows current vehicle reports, stops, and named OpenStreetMap places. Monitored routes also include a separate 24-hour stored record.
Follow a routeTransit trends
Compares selected routes with observations near the same time of day while the historical record grows.
See transit trendsWhen historical comparisons are shownShow details
There is not enough evidence to describe the current value as usual or unusual.
The current observation can be compared with a small recent sample near the same time of day.
A stronger reference requires broader time coverage and enough comparable observations. It still describes feed visibility, not service quality.
How representative journey estimates are treatedShow details
The same origin, destination, walking, riding, and transfer assumptions are used so observations remain comparable.
An estimated wait responds to mapped route length and current visible vehicles. It is not an observed passenger wait.
Journey forecasting remains in the protected Lab until its assumptions and validation support public use.
Evidence behind the civic questions
What each answer can and cannot carry.
The method begins with a public question. Evidence, assumptions, and missing information remain visible so a screening result is not mistaken for a final judgement.
Access to frequent service
Can residents reach frequent bus service when they need it?
Explore this question- Evidence used
- TTC schedules and stops, grouped 2021 Census population, and a generalized walking screen.
- How it is combined
- A stop qualifies when at least six bus arrivals are scheduled per hour. Rounded population ranges show estimated access by time of day.
- What it can tell us
- Where access to frequent scheduled service appears broader or more limited, and how the pattern changes by period.
- What it cannot tell us
- Whether buses arrived on time, whether every walking path is usable, or whether service is adequate.
Surface presence
Where is surface service present or uneven?
- Evidence used
- Recent bus and streetcar reports, route shapes, stops, and schedules.
- How it is combined
- Fresh vehicle reports are placed on mapped routes and compared across corridors and areas.
- What it can tell us
- Where public-feed vehicle presence is stronger, lighter, or changing now.
- What it cannot tell us
- Passenger demand, crowding, punctuality, or the cause of a service pattern.
- Evidence used now
- Vehicle positions, route direction, published schedules, time of day, and stored observations.
- How the framework works
- Frequent service is assessed through spacing and additional waiting. Less frequent service is assessed against its timetable. These remain separate measures.
- What is available now
- Early mapped-spacing evidence and scheduled service. Passenger waiting and timetable adherence are not yet published results.
- What comes next
- Direction-specific stop passage history, coverage checks, outcome validation, and suppression when evidence is too thin.
Journey dependability
How dependable is a cross-city journey?
- Evidence used
- Walking paths, scheduled transit, transfers, visible vehicles, and subway updates.
- How it is combined
- Walking, waiting, riding, and transferring are kept distinct.
- What it can tell us
- Which leg contributes most to a representative journey's estimated time or uncertainty.
- What it cannot tell us
- A guaranteed arrival time or the experience of every traveller.
Related evidence guides
Sources, processing, and interpretation.
Review the short methodology, check the origin and coverage of each source, or see what happens before a result is published.