In Upper and Lower Canada , concession roads were laid out by the colonial government through undeveloped Crown land to provide access to rows of newly surveyed lots intended for farming by new settlers. The land that comprised a row of lots that spanned the entire length of a new township was "conceded" by the Crown for this purpose (hence, a "concession of land"). Title to an unoccupied lot was awarded to an applicant in exchange for raising a house, performing roadwork and land clearance, and monetary payment. Concession roads and cross-cutting sidelines or sideroads were laid out in an orthogonal (rectangular or square) grid plan , often aligned so that concession roads ran (approximately) parallel to the north shore of Lake Ontario, or to the southern boundary line of a county.
34-775: The Blue Night Network is the overnight public transit service operated by the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) in Toronto , Ontario, Canada. The network consists of a basic grid of 27 bus and 7 streetcar routes, distributed so that almost all of the city is within 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) of at least one route. It is the largest and most frequent overnight network in North America. The times of Blue Night service vary according to individual scheduling situations on each route. Most regular service bus and streetcar routes cease operations at approximately 1:30 a.m. If there
68-474: A single-front survey, lots were measured from one side of the concession to the other. Any errors in the survey became apparent at the road junctions, with the side roads being offset. Example Jogged Intersection in Single Front Township In a double-front survey, lots were measured from the front of the concession to a midpoint, and then from the back of the concession to the midpoint. This makes
102-655: A 15-minute walk of the existing 24-hour transit routes. In fact, hardly any of the 14 overnight routes then in existence were strictly justified by demand any more, particularly on weekdays. But since "one of the TTC's primary goals is to maximize mobility and accessibility to transit service", the report's recommendation was to redesign the system, not eliminate it. Most of Toronto has a squarish grid of main streets that originated as early 19th-century concession roads , and are spaced at 1 + 1 ⁄ 4 -mile intervals (about 2 km). By running overnight buses along every second road in
136-437: A marketing decision was made to treat the overnight service as a new, distinct set of routes, even in those cases where the day route was identical. The name Blue Night Network was adopted, and with it the 300-series route numbers described above, and a new colour-coding for bus and streetcar stops. The existing standard TTC-stop sign had a red square or stripe at the top and bottom; later, for all stops with 24-hour service, this
170-791: A moon symbol. The Blue Night Network debuted in February 1987. In the 1990s, the TTC suffered major funding cuts and service on many low-traffic routes was reduced; the Blue Night Network lost three routes in February 1992, selected from those proposed for elimination in 1986. But other routes have been extended or added over the years, including one case (312 St. Clair in 2000) that required a mode conversion from streetcar to bus. In February 2003, two Blue Night routes were extended to reach Toronto Pearson International Airport . Then in 2005, several routes were added so that east–west service would run on every grid street instead of alternate ones in much of
204-413: A square of 1,000 acres (4.0 km ). Another system used 100-acre lots each 30 by 33 + 1 ⁄ 3 chains, again arranged in 1000-acre blocks. Concession roads were 5 ⁄ 6 mile (1.3 km) apart, while sideroads were 1 + 7 ⁄ 8 miles (3.0 km) apart. Other plans used during colonial surveying used different layouts and lot sizes of 100, 150, 160, 200 or 320 acres. In
238-476: A subway station to facilitate transfers to the trains. Normal TTC fares apply on the Blue Night Network. Passengers can transfer to or from regular-service routes as usual. Additionally, the TTC's Presto day ticket is valid until 2:59 a.m. on the day following the ticket's first use, rather than expiring at midnight. Blue Night routes operate with frequencies of every 30 minutes or better. Blue Night routes are distinguished from regular routes by numbers in
272-420: A total of 16 routes. This is what the report proposed. In changing from the old network of 14 routes to the new set of 16, only 2 routes would be entirely unchanged. There would be 11 entirely new overnight routes (all bus-operated), with 7 existing ones eliminated (3 streetcar, 3 trolleybus, and only 1 bus route, as the night network would be shifted away from the streetcar tracks and trolleybus wires). Despite
306-463: Is a Blue Night route on the same street, its first trip will then follow at a suitable interval after the last regular run. On the subway system, the last trains on each line make a complete trip; the last trains running east, west, and north from Bloor–Yonge and St. George stations each leave at 1:50 a.m. or just after. Each station then closes as the last train departs. In the morning, regular bus and streetcar service mostly takes over from
340-664: Is a mode of public transport service operated during the night hours. As an intermediate approach – between providing full service around the clock and stopping services altogether – it provides more limited service during times of lower passenger volume , saving resources and allowing for maintenance on primary transportation systems. They typically offer fewer routes and less frequent service. Night-based services may be differently branded compared to daytime services. Examples are London and Chicago , where overnight buses are prefixed with an "N" for "night". Another common way to distinguish night services from their daytime counterparts
374-595: Is dark-colored line numbers. Some cities apply a different fare structure for night services from their daytime services. 24-hour , continuous rapid transit operation is practiced in some cities, most notably the subway in New York City , which essentially renders night services unneeded. Many of New York City's buses also have 24-hour operation; and around the world, night services may be provided by virtue of 24-hour services on daytime routes, as does Berlin on its " Metrotram " routes. Where it exists, night service
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#1732852857540408-400: Is generally much more limited in geographic coverage than daytime services, with fewer lines and perhaps routes over different paths from daytime services; routes serving more stops than during the daytime; or the night terminus may be in a different place. Networks may run longer routes than daytime services, sometimes combining two or more daytime routes, which may use interchanges to reach
442-459: Is the (former) Second Concession road, between concessions 1 and 2 (forms the front of the second concession of land). There is no "first" concession road. In some townships, the baseline passed through the middle, with concessions numbered on each side. In some townships, such as those in Bruce County , each side of each successive concession road comprised a separate numbered concession. Thus,
476-596: The 301 Queen , the 303 Kingston Rd , the 304 King , the 305 Dundas , the 306 Carlton , the 310 Spadina , and the 312 St. Clair . As of January 2020, all of these routes are operated with accessible Flexity Outlook streetcars. Toronto has had overnight streetcar service since the days of the Toronto Railway Company in the 1890s, and the TTC continued it when they took over in 1921. The routes selected for 24-hour service were those serving 24-hour employers such as factories, stockyards, and railway yards. Over
510-608: The amalgamated city of Toronto). Only one overnight route (the Queen streetcar, later 501 Queen, to Long Branch loop) extended a significant distance into the suburbs. In 1974, after the subway had been extended beyond the Toronto city limits in three directions, the same was done for overnight bus service. But large areas of Metro still remained without 24-hour transit – Etobicoke , North York , and Scarborough each had only one or two routes – as late as 1986, when
544-455: The city center ). For example, many London night bus routes converge on Trafalgar Square . There are also 22 night bus routes with a 30 minute interval. 7 days service: N6-N20-N26-N29-N30-N31-N38-N41-N43-N46-N49-N60-N62-N65-N66-N67-N71 Only on weekdays: N8-N25-N75 Only on weekends: N23-N35 The inter-urban buses (autobuses interurbanos) connect Barcelona with the cities of the periphery. As of June 2024 there are 21 such routes (but only
578-402: The " line road" name (e.g., Ninth Line) was applied to the roads that elsewhere were called "concession roads", i.e., roads that ran between two adjacent concessions. By one count, there were five major Ontario survey systems, with 166 variations, resulting in a "crazy quilt" of surveys. In many cases special colonization roads ran diagonally across the grid. Survey lines referenced back from
612-424: The 300 series. Numbering on these routes can correspond to a day route, such as 301 Queen being Blue Night for 501 Queen. Routings are often combinations of multiple-day routes or slight alterations to their corresponding day route. Most routes are operated by TTC's fleet of low-floor buses , where applicable, making them fully accessible for handicapped and wheelchair users. Seven routes operate with streetcars:
646-476: The 304 King and on Spadina Avenue as the 310 Spadina. Since January 2020, all night streetcar routes have been operated using accessible Flexity streetcars. In June 2024, overnight bus service between Gunns Loop and St. Clair station was replaced by the 312 St. Clair streetcar. In July 2024, the 305 Dundas streetcar was introduced, following the same route as the daytime 505 Dundas. Night bus service Night service , sometimes also known as owl service ,
680-572: The Great Lakes ran at different angles, forming triangles and other irregular shapes. Some townships had more than one survey. Holland , Nelson and Toronto Township (today Mississauga ) are examples. In a common square grid layout known as a 1,000-Acre Sectional System, adjacent parallel roads were 100 chains or 1 + 1 ⁄ 4 miles (2.0 km) apart, and arranged as ten 100-acre lots each 20 chains by 50 chains so that two consecutive concession roads and two consecutive side roads enclosed
714-526: The N30-N50-N51-N61-N80 and N82 have at least one departure every hour, seven days). Concession roads Unlike previous American colonial practice, land in Ontario was surveyed first before being allocated to settlers. The provision of road allowances was an advance over earlier survey systems which allocated no roadways. Waterloo township, for example, had no road allowances. In some townships,
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#1732852857540748-440: The TTC's planning department issued a report on Metro All-Night Transit Service calling for major changes. The report pointed out that the importance of the original "demand generators" for overnight public transit had declined. Nightly demand was now twice as heavy on weekends as on weekdays, showing that not many people were using transit to get to night work. And as Metro had grown, only 45% of its population still lived within
782-408: The city. This has brought the Blue Night Network up to a total of 24 routes, serving 97% of the city's population within a 15-minute walk. In the fall of 2015, the TTC expanded the Blue Night Network program, with 16 new or revised routes incorporated into the network as part of a $ 95 million investment made by Toronto City Council . This included the restoration of streetcar service on King Street as
816-419: The corresponding Blue Night routes around 5:30 a.m, or 8:00 a.m. on Sundays. The first trains on the subway then start from various positions along the routes, allowing all stations to open more or less simultaneously just before 6:00 a.m., or 8:00 a.m. on Sundays. The Blue Night routes that parallel the subway lines keep running until that time, and their last buses terminate service at
850-408: The cost, creating a 23-route night system. Until this time, with the exception of buses that replaced subway lines, it had been understood that overnight transit was provided by regular routes that happened to have 24-hour service. Night services retained the same route names and numbers as their daytime counterparts, perhaps with a suffixed letter if there was a variation in the exact routing. But now
884-420: The day, night routes often offer guaranteed transfers to other lines or transit modes (such as regional and intercity rail ). To ease planning, many cities use a central hub where all lines converge at a specific time. This makes the line map of many night services look like a wheel with radial lines to the center and some additional lines connecting the outer ends (or running along a ring road outside of
918-416: The grid, all parts of Metro would be reached and 86% of the population would be within a 15-minute walk (taken as 1.25 km or 3 ⁄ 4 mile). To avoid excessively long trips, some grid streets such as Eglinton Avenue would require two bus routes meeting end-to-end, but still just 15 routes would be needed to form the grid. The 506 Carlton route had sufficient ridership to be retained in addition, for
952-862: The numbers of odd-numbered concessions would appear only in property records (e.g., Lot 18, Concession 11, Brant Township , which would be on the north side of Concession Road 10). Many concession roads retain their original names. Less developed areas are often referred to as "back concessions". Side road or sideline numbering varies depending on the township. Some examples: Many side roads are no longer numbered, but have been given names. For example, most of Renfrew County's side roads are given names such as Stokes Road, Patterson Road, Dillabough Road, Cheese Factory Road. The naming process has been underway for many years. In most of Upper Canada this layout of roads preceded urban development, so that most Ontario municipalities now have grid patterns of streets. In cities, many concession roads have become major streets. However,
986-572: The road junctions even, but any errors result in jogs at the midpoint of the side road. Example Even-Intersection Jogged-Sideroad in Double Front Township There is considerable variation in concession road nomenclature. Markham, for example, has both "Ninth Line" and "11th Concession Road". [1] In some townships, numbering is sequential, starting from one side. For example, in King Township, concessions start from Yonge. Bathurst
1020-401: The route eliminations and probable increased ridership, the changes could not be expected to finance themselves. The report recommended reducing service frequencies after 10 p.m. on certain routes in order to offset the increased costs. The Commission agreed to the expanded service, but could not stomach the elimination of so many routes. Instead, they chose to retain all existing routes despite
1054-550: The same outlying districts. Night services usually also run less frequently . For example, according to the New York City Transit Authority 's Service Guidelines Manual, New York City buses are required to operate at least every 30 minutes all times except late nights. Local bus frequencies during late night times (defined as 1 a.m. – 5 a.m.) are required to operate at least every 60 minutes. Because of much longer intervals between services than during
Blue Night Network - Misplaced Pages Continue
1088-441: The south side of a road might be Concession 2 and the north side Concession 3. In this system, for the purposes of road signing only even (or, sometimes, odd) numbers were used, so that concession roads were successively numbered, e.g., 2, 4, 6, etc. This simplified the address numbering of farm lots, especially along township boundary roads where opposite sides of the same road were in different townships. Where even numbers were used,
1122-406: The years various streetcar routes were replaced by other modes, and where new subway lines replaced streetcars during regular hours, buses were put on overnight. But the overnight routings remained largely unchanged for decades, even after the TTC's service area expanded in 1954 from the Toronto city limits as they then were, to include the whole of Metropolitan Toronto ("Metro", which in 1998 became
1156-400: Was changed to red and blue, with the legend "24 hr" added. Those stops used only for the Blue Night Network, mostly for night routes paralleling the subway, received the standard sign with red changed to blue (and a notice of the limited hours). Since 2013, bus stop signs list the route numbers serving each stop, colour-coding each type of route. Blue Night route numbers are shown in blue next to
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