Uber highlights 'incredible increase' in riders after Scarborough RT derailment

Uber says passenger demand in Scarborough has grown nearly three-quarters since the Scarborough Rapid Transit system went offline in July, following a train derailment that injured five people.

The ride-share company says its own data reveals trip growth was 72 per cent higher in Scarborough than in the rest of Toronto when comparing the three months after the July 24 derailment with the three months before.

Uber says trips to and from Kennedy Station alone increased by 29 per cent over the same period "an incredible increase," said Laura Miller, the company's director of public policy and communications.

Uber released the data points earlier this week, following months of concern from transit advocates and others that if the TTC couldn't produce a robust transit plan for Scarborough one that is extensive, reliable, and frequent transit users may change their habits. Perhaps, to Uber.

But, the TTC says that's not what's happening here.

"The ride share patterns we've seen are not consistent with Line 3 user patterns," spokesperson Stuart Green told CBC News.

"We don't have any data that supports the theory that TTC customers who used Line 3 are using ride share."

After the derailment, the TTC implemented bus replacement service.

As of Nov. 19, it has implemented a more extensive bus plan, including seven different routes between Scarborough Centre and Kennedy Station.

WATCH | With no Scarborough RT, CBC Toronto tests the fastest way to get around:

What's the fastest way to get around Scarborough?

1 year ago

Duration 3:46

With the Scarborough RT down, CBC Toronto put three modes of transportation to the test to see whether driving, cycling or transit would be the fastest way to get from Kennedy Station to Scarborough Town Centre.

While Uber is reporting more demand since buses replaced the SRT, Kristine Hubbard said she hasn't seen anything noteworthy on the taxi side.

The operations manager for Beck Taxi says the company normally sees an increase in riders coming out of the summer.

"It's relatively close to the increases we see year over year," she said.

Invest more, advocates urge

Better bus services is a good start when it comes to convincing riders to stick with public transit, said August Puranauth, a member of the TTCRiders advocacy group. But theysayit's important that progress keeps happening.

"It is absolutely possible if we don't see the necessary investments in transit in Scarborough, such as the RT replacement bus lanes, such as more priority for buses across Scarborough and the city, we can see many riders turn away from transit and switch to cars," Puranauth said.

For many in Scarborough, they sayoptions like Uber are not affordable.