The Toronto Transit System’s 501 Streetcar has received high praise indeed. It has made the National Geographic’s list of the world’s top 10 trolley rides because it is one of the longest transit routes in all of North America and it is a very scenic route. The 501 Streetcar line is almost 50 kms long and runs from Long Branch on the Mississauga border to the city’s easternmost streetcar loop at Neville Park. Currently it accommodates 43,500 riders per day during the work week. Unfortunately ridership has dropped dramatically in the last 25 years due to overcrowding, delays, unannounced route changes, and the expansion of the Bloor-Danforth subway and the Scarborough RT.

Never-the-less, the National Geographic was duly impressed and will include the 501 Streetcar in a new book called “Journeys of a Lifetime: 500 of the World’s Greatest trips”. You may take the 501 for granted, but she was named one of the world’s best trolley rides. The 501 is not a tourist line. It is an actual transit line used by the people of Toronto and it is one of the longest lines in North America. Traveling on the 501 is like seeing a microcosm of City of Toronto. Here are some of the sites that can be seen along the 501’s route:
•    The Beach
•    City Hall
•    Osgoode Hall
•    Impressive architecture
•    Nathan Phillips Square
•    Queen Street West with its funky shops, art galleries, bars, and restaurants
•    Old mansions
•    New Condos
•    Urban life
•    Industrial areas
•    Suburban life
•    Luxury
•    Decay
•    Parkdale
•    Roncesvalles
•    The waterfront
•    High Park
•    The Queensway
•    Lakeshore Blvd.
•    Long Branch

It really is quite marvelous when you come to think of it, as long as you are not in a rush to get to work and there isn’t a car stuck on the track……