Compiled by Peter Coulman

May 11, 1968

Coincident with the extension of the BLOOR-DANFORTH SUBWAY to Warden, service begins on the 12 KINGSTON ROAD route, replacing parts of the 86 SCARBORO route. Buses run from Victoria Park station via west on Denton, south on Victoria Park, west on Woodale, south on Bingham, east through Bingham loop, east on Meadow, south on Blantyre and east on Kingston Road to loop via south on Cathedral Bluffs, west on Sloley and north on Brooklawn to Kingston Road and return via west on Kingston Road, north on Bingham, east through Bingham loop, north on Victoria Park and east on Denton into Victoria Park station.

The proposed east end looping via Cathedral Bluffs, Sloley and Brooklawn was altered at the last minute due to pressure from local residents. This looping had been in use since the 1950s as a short turn looping for the 86B SCARBORO “St. Clair” buses, although this was discontinued in early 1961, also due to pressure from local residents.

As a result of this pressure, service on 12 KINGSTON ROAD starts with buses looping via south on Brooklawn, west on Barkdene Hills and north on Brimley to Kingston Road. Service offered seven days a week, eighteen hours a day, out of Danforth Garage. In addition, some early morning trips running in from St. Clair short turn at Bingham.

(*NOTE: At Bingham Loop, SB/EB 12 buses use the west end of platform while NB 12 buses use the east end of the platform.)

November 22, 1980

Looping at St. Clair and Kingston Road revised. Buses now loop clockwise from Brimley and Kingston Road via north on Brimley, east on St. Clair, south on Brooklawn, west on Barkdene Hills and north on Kingston Road, returning via west on Kingston Road. During the morning rush hour, this loop is reversed to counterclockwise.

June 25, 1984

Service begins on a new rush hour branch, providing service on Brimley Road between St. Clair and Eglinton. Buses on the 12B branch operate from Victoria Park station, following the regular route to Brimley, then heading north on Brimley and west on Eglinton to Kennedy station. Service operates every ten minutes during the morning rush hour and every twelve minutes during the afternoon rush hour. Buses leave Victoria Park station from 6:05 a.m. to 8:55 a.m. and from 3:04 p.m. to 6:16 p.m.  They’ll leave Kennedy Station from 6:15 a.m. to 9:07 a.m. and from 3:49 a.m. to 6:37 p.m.

September 4, 1984

All buses operating southbound on Victoria Park no longer run through Bingham loop via Woodale and Bingham. Buses now operate via south on Victoria Park, east on Meadow and south on Blantyre to Kingston Road before heading east on Kingston Road. Northbound buses continue to run through Bingham loop.

February 18, 1990

A new branch established extending service from Brimley and Kingston Road via Kingston Road to loop via Kingston Road, Morningside and Lawrence, replacing part of the 114 kINGSTON ROAD EAST route. Service provided weekdays only, leaving Victoria Park station from 5:56 a.m. to 6:18 p.m. and leaving Lawrence from 6:00 a.m. to 6:27 p.m.

May 12, 1992

Additional morning rush hour service provided on Victoria Park. Buses run from Victoria Park station via Denton and Victoria Park to loop at Bingham loop (via Kingston Road, Bingham and Bingham loop to Victoria Park) and return.

February 18, 1996

As a result of a systemwide service reduction due to the elimination of provincial transit subsidies, service is revised. The 12D Bingham operation is eliminated (last day of service, February 16, 1996). In addition, a new late-evening branch (operating after 10 p.m. on weekdays and 7 p.m. on weekends) established, running from Victoria Park station over the regular route to Kingston Road and Midland, then north on Midland and east on Eglinton to Kennedy station, providing service on Midland Avenue when the 20 CLIFFSIDE route was not in operation. Service east of Midland no longer offered after 10 p.m. on weekdays and 7 p.m. on weekends.

February 14, 1999

The 12C “Lawrence” branch discontinued. Service on this section of Kingston Road still provided by 86 SCARBOROUGH and 102 MARKHAM ROAD.

Unknown date (Early 2000s?)

Southbound/Eastbound buses no longer run via Meadow and Blantyre to get to Kingston Road, instead running south on Victoria Park directly to Kingston Road.

November 23, 2008

As part of a systemwide service increase due to the Ridership Growth Strategy, service on 20 CLIFFSIDE now operates whenever the subway is open. Service on the 12A ‘Midland” branch discontinued. Also, service on the 12B “Brimley” branch increased to operate whenever the subway is open. The main “12” branch to Berkdene Hills now provides additional service Mondays through Fridays, during rush hours, midday and early evenings.

May 8, 2011

At the direction of the TTC Board, service is rerouted to serve Variety Village on Danforth Avenue. Buses on the 12B Brimley branch, now redesigned 12A, divert eastbound from Kingston Road via north on Birchmount and east on Danforth Avenue before returning to the route at Kingston Road. Westbound buses reverse this diversion. The 12 branch to Barkdene Hills is unaffected, which means that service on Kingston Road between Birchmount and Danforth disappears after 10 p.m. weekdays and all day weekends.

November 20, 2011

In response to residents complaints about the reduction of service on Kingston Road between Birchmount and Danforth, service is restored. On Saturdays, Sundays and holidays throughout the day and until the late evening, alternate buses operate via Kingston Road (12) and Variety Village (12A), providing service of 40 minutes or better on either branch.

Late evening service throughout the week continues to operate on Danforth Avenue only east of Birchmount Road.

June 22, 2014

As part of the system-wide route re-lettering as an standardized practice, all eastbound buses on the 12 branch now shows as 12C.

Note that, around this time, a number of local residents reported the presence of a few 12E “Express” trips heading northbound on Victoria Park towards Victoria Park station. This has been identified as a tripper service on the TTC’s website, effective September 2, 2014. In this service, four buses depart Neil McNeil Catholic Secondary School (on Victoria Park, south of Kingston Road, near Bracken Avenue) between 2:49 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. Buses access Neil McNeil CSS by operating out-of-service from Birchmount Garage travelling west on Kingston Road, south on Bingham, east on Bracken and north on Victoria Park. After stopping in front of Neil McNeil, buses operate express to Victoria Park station, before being assigned to regular rush hour services (either 24A VICTORIA PARK, 67 PHARMACY, or deadheading to Main Street Station to take up a run of 20 CLIFFSIDE).

School specials are nothing new to the TTC. Anecdotal reports suggest that buses have served Neil McNeil CSS for decades, as one of a number of special services offered to high schools across the city, but only recently have these runs been acknowledged on the TTC’s schedules. A check of the website archive.org shows that the TTC highlighted this tripper service on its website on March 2012 and September 2012, although both times they were shown as a branch of the mainline “12” service, although it operated express, usually with “SPECIAL” rollsign exposures. We cannot confirm when the tripper service became an official express branch, although June 22, 2014 or September 2, 2014 seem likely candidates.

February 18, 2018

Service is altered so that buses no longer serve Variety Village after 10:30 p.m. on weekdays and after 5:30 p.m. on weekends and holidays. All service after these times will operate by the 12B (Victoria Stn to Kennedy Stn via Brimley) branch.

October 9, 2018

A new one-year trial rush hour branch, labelled as the 12D, inaugurated extending (or restoring) service east of Brimley routing via Kingston Road, Morningside Avenue and Ellesmere Road eastbound to University of Toronto Scarborough campus. Westbound buses route via Military Trail and Morningside Avenue then follow its original routing. The peak period service operates from 6:00 am to 9:00 am, approximately every 30 minutes, and between 3:00 pm and 7:00 pm, approximately every 25 minutes.

October 13, 2020

The opening of priority bus lanes on Kingston Road between Eglinton and Morningside and on Morningside between Kingston Road and Ellesmere is expected to reduce running times on the 12D “UofT Scarborough” branch. This is converted into recovery time at the terminals, with no changes to service levels.

Service on the 12A “Variety Village/Brimley” and 12B “Brimley” branches are also served by the priority bus lanes on Eglinton between Kennedy station and Brimley.

Tuesday, September 3, 2024

School trip serving Neil McNeil High School no longer run express to Victoria Park Station and the 12E designation is removed from these trips.

12 Kingston Road Image Archive

	TTC Canadian Car & Foundry CD-44A bus #1919 crosses Victoria Park in 12 KINGSTON ROAD service circa June 1970. This photo was taken by Richard Glaze.
	TTC GM "New Look" bus #3705 crosses Victoria Park westbound on Kingston Road in 12 kINGSTON ROAD service. This shot was taken circa June 1970 by Richard Glaze.
	TTC Canadian Car & Foundry bus #1911 heads northbound on Brimley Road, returning to the garage, likely after being in 12 KINGSTON ROAD service. The photo was taken circa November 1971 by Richard Glaze.
	TTC Canadian Car & Foundry bus #1934 heads westbound on 12 KINGSTON ROAD at Brimley, circa May 1972. Photo by Richard Glaze.
	TTC Canadian Car & Foundry bus #1933 turns from Blantyre to Kingston Road in 12 KINGSTON ROAD service circa June 1972. Photo by Richard Glaze.
	TTC GM "New Look" bus #3718 turns from northbound Brimley onto westbound Kingston Road at the east end of the 12 KINGSTON ROAD route. This photo was taken March 31, 1973, by Richard Glaze.
	TTC GM New Look #7938 heads eastbound on Kington Road, passing Ridgemoor, in 12 KINGSTON ROAD service. This shot was taken by Richard Glaze circa September 1981.
	A photograph of the Danforth Division's side rollsign, circa 1986, showing the 12 KINGSTON ROAD exposures. This photograph was taken by James Bow and the rollsign is courtesy the Rob Lubinski collection.
	An official map of TTC's 12 KINGSTON ROAD operations, effective October 9, 2018 showing the extension to Morningside Avenue.
	An official TTC timetable map of 12 KINGSTON ROAD services, effective July 2010.
	An official TTC map of 12 KINGSTON ROAD operations, effective May 8, 2011, showing the route diversion to Variety Village on Danforth Avenue.
	Front spread of the TTC's official timetable for 12 KINGSTON ROAD, effective September 3, 1974.
	The interior spread of the TTC's official timetable for 12 KINGSTON ROAD, effective September 3, 1974.
	The front spread of the TTC's official timetable for 12 KINGSTON ROAD, effective June 26, 1989.
	The interior spread of the TTC's official timetable for 12 KINGSTON ROAD, effective June 26, 1989.
	TTC Orion VII bus #1043, at Hillcrest, shows off a display for the 12E KINGSTON ROAD express run from Neil McNeil Secondary School. Marcus Danchuk took this picture in June 2016.
	An old TTC Canadian Car bus #1913 waits for passengers at Bingham Loop, before heading north to Victoria Park station. The year is 1972. Photograph donated by Peter Coulman.
	TTC Canadian Car & Foundry bus #1925 heads westbound on Kingston Road in 12 KINGSTON ROAD service, circa June 1973. Photo by Richard Glaze.
	TTC Canadian Car & Foundry bus #1928 turns from Brimley Road onto Kingston Road in service on the 12 KINGSTON ROAD bus. This photograph was taken by Richard Glaze on June 1973.
	TTC GM "New Look" bus #3701 prepares to turn from Brimley Road onto Kingston Road at the east end of 12 KINGSTON ROAD service. This photo was taken circa June 1973 by Richard Glaze.
	TTC New Flyer D-40-88 bus #6434 seen in service at Victoria Park Avenue and Kingston Road on route 12 KINGSTON ROAD in 1999. Photo by Brad O'Brien.
	TTC Orion VII 7737 waiting passengers on 12A KINGSTON RD eastbound on Eglinton Avenue East west of Midland on a blazing June 1, 2011. The electronic display is advertising the route's new service to Variety Village. Photo by Jelo Gutierrez Cantos.
	A June 1, 2011 afternoon shows TTC Orion VII 7854 turning left from Brimley Road heading to Eglinton Avenue East on 12A KINGSTON RD journeying to Kennedy subway station. Photo by Jelo Gutierrez Cantos.
	TTC Orion VII bus #7857 pauses at Bingham Loop in service on the 12 KINGSTON ROAD route, heading towards Victoria Park station. This photograph was taken on the afternoon of April 12, 2018 by James Bow.
	TTC GM New Look bus #7934 pulls up to a stop whilst in service on 12 KINGSTON ROAD in this early 1980s photograph taken by John Calnan.
	TTC Orion VII "Next Gen" bus #8101 seen at Kennedy station in service on 12 KINGSTON ROAD. This shot was taken on May 2, 2011 by Jelo Gutierrez Cantos.
	In this picture, snapped by Roman Fomin on May 7, 2012, Orion VII bus 8127 in service on 12A KINGSTON RD pulls out of newly renovated Victoria Park Station, heading to Kennedy Station.
	TTC GM New Look bus #8954 picks up passengers at Bingham loop while in service on 12 KINGSTON ROAD in this mid 1980s shot. Photo by John Calnan.
	TTC NovaBus #9223 poses at Kingston Road and Markham Road, promoting the planned trial service of the 12D KINGSTON ROAD route connecting Victoria Park station with U of T Scarborough. This photograph was taken by Marcus Danchuk and was taken on July 28, 2018.
	TTC Orion VI 9246 on display during a bus roadeo at the Arrow Road Garage, displaying a 12 KINGSTON ROAD route sign. Photo by Brad O'Brien.