Toronto Transit Commission route 121 'Esplanade-River'
![]() |
121 Esplanade-River
| ||
Number of Branches | 1 | ||
Distance | 4.70km (Union Station - Broadview) | ||
Blue Night | None | ||
Types of vehicles used | Nova Bus LFS ![]() | ||
Division | Birchmount | ||
Ridership (2023) | 1,210 |
121 Esplanade-River is a bus route operated by the Toronto Transit Commission in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Route Details

This route mainly serves the Distillery District, and the Corktown and Regent Park neighbourhoods. The route provides service on The Esplanade between Yonge Street and Berkeley Street, Front Street East between Princess Street and Bayview Avenue, Mill Street between Parliament Street and Bayview Avenue, and River Street between Bayview Avenue and Gerrard Street East. The western terminal is Union Station and the eastern terminal is Broadview Avenue for its one branch, 121.
Branches
This route has one branch:
- 121 Union Station - Broadview
History
121 Front-Esplanade[1]
- May 13, 1991 - New weekday service on the route begins replacing a portion of the 19 Church routing. Service will operate from the off-street loop at King and Parliament to Bathurst Quay.
- April 12, 1993 - The eastbound routing is modified to operate via Front Street East and Scott Street to route.
- January 8, 1995 - New Saturday morning and daytime service is added on this route.
- May 7, 1995 - New seasonal branch 121A is introduced providing service to Ontario Place via Lake Shore Boulevard West and Remembrance Drive. Buses will operate from May-September.
- June 18, 1995 - Service to Ontario Place is supplemented with the introduction of short turn seasonal branch 121B operating between Ontario Place and Union Station.
- August 18, 1995 - Branch 121E is introduced providing express service between Union Station and the Exhibition grounds during the CNE.
- September 5, 1995 - With the end of the CNE, express branch 121E is discontinued. Branches 121A and 121B to Ontario Place are discontinued for the season with all service operating as far west as Bathurst Quay.
- September 3, 1996 - New peak-period branch 121C is introduced providing service between Bathurst Quay and Commissioners. Buses will operate via Lake Shore Boulevard East, Cherry Street, and Commissioners to loop at the Lake Shore Garage.
- May 4, 1997 - For the 1997 summer season, afternoon peak-period service will be split at Union Station. Branch 121B will operate between Ontario Place and Union Station with branch 121D providing service east of Union Station to Commissioners. Branch 121C now only operates during the morning peak-period.
- February 13, 2000 - The routing of branches 121C and 121D is modified to operate via Mill Street and Cherry Street to Commissioners. Service is removed from Parliament Street south of Mill Street and Lake Shore Boulevard between Parliament Street and Cherry Street.
- April 30, 2000 - Route is extended westward to Ontario Place and Exhibition Place for the season. Service on the extension to Ontario Place will operate during the daytime on weekends and Holidays.
- June 11, 2000 - Service to Ontario Place is expanded to operate all day every day.
- July 23, 2000 - Route is discontinued. Service west of Union Station is replaced with the new 509 Harbourfront streetcar route. Service east of Union Station is replaced with the extensions of the 72 Pape and 65 Parliament routes. Branch 72A will operate on weekdays and branch 65A will operate on Saturdays.
121 Fort York-Esplanade
- June 19, 2016 - Service on this route is restored and renamed from 121 Front-Esplanade to 121 Fort York-Esplanade. The route will replace a portion of 72B Pape route that previously operated on The Esplanade and Front Street. Seasonal branch 121C to Cherry Beach will only operate between May-October with branch 121A to Distillery operating during all other months.
- March 26, 2017 - The western terminus is extended from Lake Shore Boulevard West and Strachan Avenue to Princes' Gate loop.
- June 18, 2017 - To reduce delays resulting from traffic and construction on Wellington Street East, the routing is changed to operate westbound via Yonge Street and eastbound via Scott Street. Service is removed from Church and Wellington Streets.
- June 24, 2018 - Seasonal service on the 121C branch is eliminated and replaced with the new seasonal 121D branch extending service westward from Princes' Gate loop to Ontario Place.
- May 12, 2019 - Service on Blue Jays Way, Navy Wharf Court and Bremner Boulevard is removed due to traffic delays resulting from Toronto Blue Jays home games. Service is permanently rerouted to operate via Front Street West and Spadina Avenue.
- October 13, 2019 - Service is restored on Navy Wharf Court, Blue Jays Way, and Bremner Boulevard. Buses will divert both ways via Front Street West and Spadina Avenue only during Toronto Blue Jays home games.
121 Esplanade-River
- October 10, 2021 - As part of the 2021 Annual Service Plan, all service west of Union Station and the seasonal service to Cherry Beach is removed. Service is instead extended east via Bayview Avenue, River Street and Gerrard Street East to Bridgepoint Hospital at Broadview Avenue. Branches 121A and 121D are eliminated and one branch, 121, will operate between Union Station and Broadview Avenue. The route is renamed from 121 Fort York-Esplanade to 121 Esplanade-River to better reflect this new routing.
Overnight Service
Overnight service is not provided, however, this route operates until 1:00 AM every day.
Vehicles
Buses that can appear on 121 Esplanade-River include the Nova Bus LFS .
Previous route maps
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
Summary
Major Stops
Major Stop | Branches | Connections | Notes |
Bay St. @ Front St. West | 121 | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Services Union Station ![]() |
The Esplanade @ Lower Sherbourne St. | 121 | ||
Front St. East @ Parliament St. | 121 | ||
Front St. East @ Cherry St. | 121 | ||
River St. @ Queen St. East | 121 | ||
River St. @ Dundas St. East | 121 | ||
River St. @ Gerrard St. East | 121 | ||
Gerrard St. East @ Broadview Ave. | 121 |
Service Summary
References
- ↑ 121 Front-Esplanade (1991-2000), Transit Toronto. Retrieved 29 December 2020.