Transit in North York will change dramatically as the six new stations on the Spadina subway extension open for service.

Until that happens in 2016, however, transit users in the area are still relying almost entirely on buses — and dealing with the frustration of having buses bunch up on busy routes, instead of arriving at consistent intervals.

Each week during the lead-up to the municipal election, the Star is visiting a different area of the city to see what’s top-of-mind for the residents using transit. This week, we spoke to commuters in Wards 8, 9 and 10 and asked what changes should be made to the TTC.

At the busy Ward 8 intersection of Keele St. and Wilson Ave., a bus heads in a different direction nearly every time you look up. Yet the people who ride them say that doesn’t mean you’ll get a ride within minutes.

“You wait for 20 minutes and nothing comes, then three in a row come all at once,” said Remy Delima, having just gotten off a westbound Wilson Ave. bus. Both Wilson Ave. and Dufferin St. routes were mentioned as prime culprits.

“And it’s just going to get worse with the new hospital and all the condos going up,” she said, waving toward the massive construction site for the new Humber River Regional Hospital.

Most of the commuters named bunching-up as the biggest issue, with a few suggesting a dedicated rush-hour bus lane would be the best fix.

Up in Ward 9, the bus loop in the middle of York University is bordered by construction fences as work on the new subway station proceeds. Two more classes will graduate before it opens, but students waiting in the loop on a warm Sunday afternoon said they’re actually quite satisfied with buses.

“I’ve never had a problem with the bus,” said Vince Askin. “The service, the frequency, how late it goes at night, I think it’s all great. I grew up in Burlington, and man, I love the transit around here.”

Few of the students waiting in the bus loop had big complaints to make, with a couple mentioning overcrowding during the school year.

Over in Ward 10, where the Spadina subway line currently terminates at Downsview Station, it wasn’t buses that were getting on riders’ nerves; it was the subway trains.

“For whatever reason, the delays on this last section between Wilson and Downsview take forever,” said Philip Feder, who commutes to work at Yonge St. and St. Clair Ave. “That one section takes as long as the whole rest of my trip.”

Nearly every single person who got off at Downsview Station told the Star the same story, that delays of up to 10 minutes on the subway between Wilson and Downsview are common and frustrating.

It goes to show that even when the subway extends all the way through North York, the transit gripes may be just as frequent.

Transit priorities in Wards 8, 9 and 10

Long subway delays near Downsview Station 8

Buses bunching up 7

No big problems 5

More frequent buses on Sundays 3

Crowded buses 2

More express buses 2

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Too many transfers to get downtown 1

Air conditioning too cold on rainy days 1

Better shelters for winter 1

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