Many TTC commuters have had to endure congested buses stuck in downtown traffic amid a long-term closure of the 510 and 310 Spadina streetcar routes.

Passengers on replacement buses have complained loudly about conditions since the closure began in June. It's an annoyance that will not go away any time soon, as the streetcar right-of-way is scheduled to remain out of commission until the end of the year.

But gridlock has become so awful that the TTC is revising part of its route "to improve service and get around the gridlock on the south end of the route."

Starting Monday, we're making a change on weekday afternoons on the Spadina bus replacement in order to improve service and get around the gridlock on the south end of the route.

Learn more at...https://t.co/FTvOyizcGG pic.twitter.com/djBTeGEWaw

— TTC Media Relations 📰🚌🚋🚈 (@TTCNewsroom) July 5, 2024

It's a small glimmer of hope for passengers who have voiced frustration over the major downgrade in the route.

While thes route change may improve travel times on the problematic bus replacement, perhaps the worst part of the streetcar outage is being forced to stare out the window of buses at the vacant streetcar right-of-way while entrenched in city traffic.

So, if streetcars aren't using it, why can't buses just operate in the empty right-of-way?

The TTC took to X to explain why you will likely be stuck in traffic during commutes along Spadina until the end of the year.

When people ask why we can't put buses in the ROW, there are a couple of reasons. First, we're working in the ROW and second, the margins for error are too tight to allow us run buses quickly and efficiently. pic.twitter.com/nvWDb7ZQNy

— TTC Media Relations 📰🚌🚋🚈 (@TTCNewsroom) July 5, 2024

The obvious answer here is that the route is under construction, which would require buses to weave in and out of the right-of-way to avoid work zones. Less obvious are the margins, with wider buses requiring more space to pass than the slender streetcars operating on fixed tracks.

Streetcar service on the route is expected to resume by December.