THE PROMISE RECORDTORONTO · CIVIC RESEARCH
Promise trackerTTC & public transit
TTC & public transit

Open the Scarborough Busway

Opened 30 September 2026: 26 days before election day, after the earlier Q4 2025 TTC target but ahead of the later 2027 schedule.

Milestone met

The original commitment

Build a busway on the former Scarborough RT corridor.

Documented: 2023 campaign; documented 27 June 2023. Contemporaneous post-election roundup; exact announcement date not established.

CityNews: 2023 campaign commitments: contemporaneous roundup ↗ TTC: Scarborough Busway opens ↗

What would count as delivery?

An operating dedicated busway connecting Kennedy and Ellesmere, with buses continuing to Scarborough Centre.

Delivered — but when?

2023 campaign deadline: No specific completion deadline established in the reviewed 2023 campaign record.

Actual milestone: 2026-09-30 — Busway opened for passenger service.

Late against the campaign deadline? Not assessable from the reviewed campaign deadline evidence.

Project schedule comparison: Delivered after the earlier TTC target: Q4 2025 (documented June 2022). Opening on 30 September 2026 was 273 days after the end of that quarter. The January 2024 plan implied 2027 completion; December 2025 brought service forward to September 2026, which was met.

Election proximity: 26 days before 26 October 2026.

CityNews: 2023 campaign commitments: contemporaneous roundup ↗ TTC: 2023 Annual Service Plan: June 2022 stakeholder meetings, Q4 2025 expectation ↗ City of Toronto / TTC: 2024 capital briefing: revised busway design and construction schedule ↗ TTC: Revised busway opening brought forward from 2027 to September 2026 ↗ TTC: Scarborough Busway opens ↗

What the record shows

  1. TTC consultation records anticipated busway service in Q4 2025. This expectation predates Chow’s 2023 campaign.

    TTC: 2023 Annual Service Plan: June 2022 stakeholder meetings, Q4 2025 expectation ↗

  2. A TTC briefing extended design work and anticipated construction from Q2 2025 taking about two years. It cited environmental assessment, archaeology and barriers beside GO tracks.

    City of Toronto / TTC: 2024 capital briefing: revised busway design and construction schedule ↗

  3. TTC announced acceleration from the later 2027 schedule to service by the end of September 2026.

    TTC: Revised busway opening brought forward from 2027 to September 2026 ↗

  4. The four-kilometre Busway opened between Kennedy and Ellesmere, with stops at Tara Avenue and Lawrence Avenue East.

    TTC: Scarborough Busway opens ↗

Action ≠ outcome

Opening is documented. Forecast travel-time benefits are not treated here as an independently measured outcome.

Qualifications & shared responsibility

The earliest verified Q4 2025 expectation was a TTC project target before Chow took office, not a verified personal campaign deadline. Council funding, TTC design/construction, provincial assessment and rail safety requirements affected the schedule. Delivery near an election does not by itself establish electoral motive.

Sources for this record