The model checks the latest public TTC vehicle feed.
How The Model Reads Transit Service
TTC Service Pulse asks a simple civic question: does the amount of bus and streetcar service we can see appear to match where people may need service?
The model looks at ward population and busy route patterns.
The model highlights wards where visible service looks low compared with likely need.
What The Main Labels Mean
These are the labels you see on the Equity Pulse homepage, explained without technical language.
A higher score means visible bus and streetcar service looks closer to where expected need is. A lower score means more wards look out of balance.
It does not mean the TTC has failed that ward. It means the model sees less visible service than expected, or the ward is close to that point.
If the number is around 1.00, service looks close to expected. Below 1.00 means less service than expected. Above 1.00 means more service than expected.
Confidence is stronger when more current buses and streetcars are visible across more wards. It is a helpful quality label, not a guarantee.
What The Model Does Step By Step
The model uses simple steps that can be explained. It does not claim to know the exact number of riders on every vehicle.
01
Current Vehicles
The model uses recent bus and streetcar positions. Old vehicle records are ignored so the page does not rely on stale information.
Plainly: only recently seen buses and streetcars count.02
Service In Each Ward
The model checks which ward each visible vehicle is in. Streetcars count as more carrying space than buses because they can usually move more people.
Plainly: the model estimates how much service is showing up in each ward.03
Expected Need
The model estimates need using ward population and whether routes in that area are known to be busy. Population matters most, while busy routes add extra context.
Plainly: more people and busier routes usually mean more expected need.04
Service Balance
The model compares how much service a ward appears to have with how much service it might be expected to need.
1.00 means close to expected
Below 1.00 means the ward appears to have less service than expected. Above 1.00 means it appears to have more.
05
Equity Score
The score is higher when wards are closer to their expected service range. It drops when many wards appear to have much less, or much more, visible service than expected.
Plainly: a higher score means service looks more evenly matched to need.06
Wards To Monitor This Week
The watchlist looks for wards where service appears low, where there are fewer visible routes, or where the area may be more sensitive to service changes.
Plainly: these are the wards the model thinks are worth watching this week.How Wards Are Classified
These labels help readers understand the map. They are not official TTC service standards.
The ward appears to have noticeably less visible service than expected.
The ward is near the lower range and may be worth monitoring.
Visible service appears roughly aligned with expected need.
The ward appears to have more visible service than expected.
Important Limits
The model is independent and uses public information. It is meant to support discussion, not replace TTC service planning or reporting.
The model does not know exactly how many people get on or off each vehicle. Passenger movement is an estimate.
Subway and Wheel-Trans are not included in the ward score. This version focuses on buses and streetcars.
If the live feed is delayed or missing vehicles, the signal can change. That is why the page shows when the data was last updated.