Changes are coming to TTC's streetcars on May 1. Here's what you need to know

A Toronto Transit Commission sign is shown at a downtown Toronto subway stop Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graeme Roy

Several streetcar and bus lines will be changing to accommodate construction for the Ontario Line, the TTC announced Thursday.

Starting May 1, the 501 Queen streetcar will divert both ways between McCaul Street and Broadview Avenue. The streetcar will run instead on Dundas Street for that portion of the line. As well, a temporary 501B bus will run on King Street in the affected area.

TTC riders will either be able to stay on the diverted 501 Queen streetcar through the downtown core, with subway connections at Dundas Station and St. Patrick Station, or they can transfer to the 501B.

These changes are expected to remain in place until next spring, when construction of new streetcar tracks on Adelaide Street is complete. At that point, the 501 Queen streetcar will divert to Adelaide Street instead of Dundas Street.

As previously announced, this construction for the Ontario Line will shut down Queen Street between Victoria and Bay streets until 2027.

This announcement is the second wave of major service changes from Toronto’s public transit commission. Nearly 40 bus lines had cut cuts to their number of trips in March due to low ridership.

The Ontario Line, which will span from Exhibition Place in the west and the current site of the Ontario Science Centre in the east, is scheduled to open in 2031.