Toronto TTC Streetcars and Buses In a Blizzard ! | The Blizzard of '22

#toronto #ttc #streetcar
On January 17, 2022 one of the largest snowfalls in many years fell on the City of Toronto. The snowfall really reminded me of the "Snowstorm of '99" where Mayor Mel Lastman famously called in the army.
On this occasion I went out and captured the TTC streetcars and buses in the snow. I've always enjoyed getting snowfall photos of transit vehicles.

[@seacats3598]

I’m a native New Yorker so I LOVE the snow. We had a storm in South Carolina. It was beautiful and we didn’t lose power so that was a plus. 😃 Surprised to hear Toronto doesn’t get as much snow as I thought.

[@fares-please]

Yes we are quite lucky here as where we are on Lake Ontario seems to protect us from these huge snow squalls and storms, but as you can see we are not totally immune. I enjoy the snow and colder weather, I’m glad we have a bit of variety, I think living somewhere where it’s always really hot wouldn’t be so nice either. I enjoy the seasons! Thank you I’m really happy you enjoyed the video.

[@deepakm8521]

Toronto gets nearly the same amount of snow as Boston. But certainly lesser compared to many other cities in Canada

[@yvonneacosta2539]

Love the snow, as long as I don't have to go anywhere. It is so beautiful and you were a cute little kid!

[@fares-please]

Thanks Yvonne! I thought that little memory of a snow day would be fun to share. I still remember it vividly ! True the snow is nice when you just have to stay home and enjoy it from the comfort of the living room 🙂

[@ruthdonnelly9166]

Thank you for the wonderful video. I enjoyed watching as I am doing some research on the TTC.

[@fares-please]

I’m glad you enjoyed it!

[@NickTours]

oh gosh what a reminder of that day, thank gosh i did not leave my house. But I to remember the Snowfall of 99. It's crazy how fast the city shuts down (in a good way)

[@fares-please]

Where were you at the snowstorm of 99? Probably a day home from school?

[@bradmack8953]

That looks like so much fun. xx

[@fares-please]

I really enjoyed it! I don’t mind a snowstorm haha.

[@dangelohartley5977]

I like the snow. But this, this reminds me of the Groundhog Day Blizzard of 2011 in Chicago

[@fares-please]

That was a definitely a bad one. I remember the images of the buses on Lakeshore drive abandoned and full of snow in their interiors!

[@2DeRonto]

I remember this!!!!! My school was closed that day

[@fares-please]

A fantastic day off for you then!

[@robertbeck168]

The red TTC livery is a pretty contrast to the snow.

[@fares-please]

Absolutely! Great for photos and videos!

[@Hawker5796]

Lucky for me I stayed home that day. Although with Covid I’m quite sure it made for snow clearing much easier than it would have otherwise

[@fares-please]

That is definitely true as there was generally less cars on the road and less people riding the system! Good plan to stay home 🏡. Thanks for joining us! ❤️

[@eva.marshall.988]

Ohhhhh....my...word!! That's a lot of snow!! Thank you for sharing.. Brad!!🤗🤗

[@fares-please]

That was enough snow to last us 20 years. Haha

[@old_ttc2749]

Let it snow ❄️

[@fares-please]

❄️

[@arthurscruises9310]

Great video Brad. It's great to see snow however I prefer the heat of Adelaide. Our public transit system shuts down when there's a super storm or because of the extreme heat that can wrap the rails of the track. I'm glad you enjoyed the snow and your mighty brave to get out there to experience it.

[@fares-please]

Hi Arthur. I’m glad you’ve enjoyed the video. I can’t wait to one day visit you guys in Australia and get to ride the trams and railways there. Looks like there will be so much to do there. Take care!

[@warrior9923]

Awesome vid buddy 👍🏾😎👊🏽

[@fares-please]

Thank you!

[@TakeTimeToTravel]

Well, I have to admit I would have preferred to be on a beach somewhere tropical, rather than here in Toronto. We went out for a walk and ended up pushing 4 cars out of deep snow.

[@fares-please]

Oh my! Wow that was good of you guys to help out. I hope you got some videos of your neighborhood in the snow?

[@TakeTimeToTravel]

@@fares-please We didn't even think to take the camera with us lol.

[@bbergs8628]

I’m sure glad I live in Florida!! I had enough snow to last me a lifetime growing up in Brooklyn NY (and I remember days with so much snow - no buses were running). The year I moved to Florida (1978) I kept the snow tires on my van - it was April & still snowing! Had the snow tires removed when I got to South Carolina!! I like to look at snow - I don’t like to walk through snow, dig my car out of the snow or shovel the snow! I was in Boston a few years ago and I watched snow falling all night (I think it was either February or March) - then had to walk through the slush the next morning!

[@fares-please]

Hi Bonnie! I bet you’ve earned that Florida weather after putting up with those New York City winters! I for one don’t mind the snow, but we live in a condo and don’t have to shovel and I take trains to get around so it doesn’t bother me as much. Speaking of Florida, we were supposed to board the Sky Princess this Saturday but unfortunately had to cancel because we didn’t want to deal with the stress of all the testing required. Oh well there’s always another time. Take care. Hope you been well.

[@bbergs8628]

@@fares-please - so sorry that you’ll be missing your cruise on the Sky Princess- but maybe in the future we can cruise together on that beautiful ship!!

[@fares-please]

@@bbergs8628 Fingers crossed!

[@bbergs8628]

@@fares-please 🤞🏻

[@kikky811]

We lived in FL (still have a second house there) and although there is no snow, the weather is far from perfect. People spent majority of summer months inside due to extreme humidity, plus it rains in FL during those months FAR too much. We were there all summer this year, seemed to rain for hours most days. During the winter it can and it does get quite cold… many many times the weather in Orlando was only a high of 52, when it was 45 in Toronto…lol. If you’re looking to avoid snow, sure weather in Florida is better but many have no idea what it’s actually like. We would love to live in California, which in my opinion should actually be called the sunshine state, but sadly it’s too expensive. While I still love Florida for cruises and Disney World, would not move there for the weather. People are always surprised to hear winter weather in SW Ontario & Toronto is actually fairly mild, highs often above 40. Winter is mostly Jan to March. There are a few snow storms, usually that’s it. Last November I wore flip flops til the end of the month as it was in the high 60s. I can certainly understand too why many older people don’t want to deal with the snow. It can be a nuisance and dangerous to walk in, to drive in… Loved this video. Keep enjoying life!

[@Kaizerzydeco1]

The TTC used to have its own fleet of sweepers and other snow-removal equipment.

[@fares-please]

That’s right! Have seen some slides and movies of them. I’m sure they wish they had them on a day like that!

[@IGetFood]

You're a wild man going out in that chaos, LOL. JK, awesome vid bro!

[@fares-please]

Hahaha 🤣 Gotta get the scoop for the tube! 😊

[@TheTrolleyPole]

At [3:40], there is a long line of trapped streetcars on King Street west of University Avenue. When you reached Spadina Avenue, did you spot the cause of the jam? It seems that at Spadina, a streetcar was turning from King [5:17]. During the storm, the TTC website said various streetcar routes were blocked but did not give the cause of blockage. I was using the NetBus/UMO webpage to look at the difficulties of various routes. The 505 and 506 routes seemed to be running fine, but all other streetcar routes were having difficulties with few streetcars moving. Route 512 was essentially down. Bus routes seemed to do worse. Using NetBus, I saw no (or hardly any) buses on major routes such as 34 Eglinton East, 54 Lawrence East, 52 Lawrence. Of the 5 bus routes within a kilometre of my home, only one or two buses could be seen moving. The following morning, I saw two abandoned buses at my local stop perhaps giving the reason NetBus showed no buses serving the routes passing the stop.

[@fares-please]

I’m not entirely sure what caused the stoppage, I did see two operators attempting to dig out a switch east King to South Spadina. I am wondering if there was some sort of issue west of Spadina on King.

[@code4forlife]

Great Video. We are even getting cold here in the Warm part of California Watching😀 Hopefully soon you two will be able to warm up on a nice Cruise 🚢

[@fares-please]

Yes that was enough snow to last us 20 years haha, it was a fun experience but I’m happy we don’t get that much snow very often.

[@DGExplorers]

How crazy was that. I’ve stayed in a cabin during the snow before but we haven’t experienced that weather here in central California. Couldn’t believe how backed up the electric turns were. Thanks for sharing

[@fares-please]

We don’t often get that sort of snow here in Toronto. It really is a once every 15 to 20 years thing it seems. Yes the transit system was a bit of a mess that day! Have a great show guys, see you soon ❤️❤️

[@MarcusCollins69]

Im so glad the snow is gone Man the snow was so high, I had to go to the store and almost lost one of my shoes because it went so high

[@fares-please]

Wow! Yes in my neighborhood the snow was up to my knees. It was so difficult to walk! My legs were so sore after haha.

[@rolandjong9126]

Wow you captured a lot of the city streets. At first I thought the roads weren’t too bad downtown all the streetcars are speeding by but then you showed the heavier stuff later. And no the smooth musical stylings you chose was a nice backdrop but doesn’t make up for me shoveling for days 😂 No sirrrrr! Gimme the beach!!! Cute throwback pics. I was in NYC the winter of 1999 I don’t remember a huge snowstorm there but may have been worse in Toronto. Onto better weather please!! ❤️

[@fares-please]

This snowstorm will do us for the next 23 years haha. We don’t get them that often thankfully. Thanks for watching Roland!

[@JohnDoe12515]

@4:54 is that the infamous Ikarus bus that would spin slide in snow all the time???? Great content btw!!!

[@fares-please]

Those are the ones! Happy you love the videos. If you’re on Instagram or tikTok I post lots of transit content under the “old_ttc” account! Check it out 😊

[@Kipling45]

I was at home when it happened, I’m glad I didn’t lose power

[@fares-please]

Best to he at home and cozy!

[@anthonycbrown1952]

How did you manage the snowy and icy roads when you had your sporty RWD car? Thanks for the video.

[@fares-please]

The Mustang barely went out on the winter time. It mostly stayed inside the garage. It definitely wouldn’t not get very far on a day like that LOL

[@slay6744]

😋❤️

[@fares-please]

❤️❤️❤️

[@kccarrtheoregonhillbillyhi4803]

Great video thanks for sharing... when the buses and streetcars can't operate anymore do the operator stay with the vehicle?

[@fares-please]

Thanks KC, yes they have to stay with their vehicle until they can be relieved by someone else. In some cases the buses were left where they were, secured until a crew came to help get them out.

[@ANDREWLEONARDSMITH]

@@fares-please Trams are much safer than buses in snow as being on rails they cannot spin or skid as they get through with no effort at all in conditions that would bring buses to a complete standstill.

[@clsumjr]

NOPE don't like snow I do not mind watching videos of it. Most snow I can deal with is no more than 3 inches and that is it LOL

[@fares-please]

Better to watch the snow from the comfort of home and somewhere warm is what you’re saying? Haha 👍🏼 I don’t mind winter but I’m sure happy to see summer when it finally arrives here 🙂