Compiled by Jeffrey Kay
Map by John Calnan
From Transfer Points, Vol. XXII, No. 4, May 1996
with additional information and materials from D.C. Bardeau and Peter Coulman, with thanks to Alan Gryfe

See Also

• 52 LAWRENCE (1934-1994)
• 352 LAWRENCE WEST NIGHT
• 952 LAWRENCE WEST EXPRESS

February 13, 1994

Service begins on the route 52 LAWRENCE WEST, renamed from the 52 LAWRENCE to eliminate confusion with 54 LAWRENCE EAST.

From Lawrence station, buses operate from Lawrence Station via Lawrence Avenue West with the looping at Lawerence West Station, The Westway to Martin Grove looping west on Redgrave Drive, north and east on Waterbury Drive and south on Martin Grove returning via reverse route. On the redesignated 52C "Culford" branch, buses follow the regular routing between Lawrence Station and Culford looping via south on Benton Road, west on Colville Road, south on Sheffield Street, west on Ingram Drive and Gulliver Road, north on Culford Road, and east on Lawrence returning via reverse route.

In early Sunday mornings on the 52A "Dufferin" branch, buses follow regular routing looping north and east on Apex Road and south on Dufferin Street. Eastbound buses return via reverse routing.

New peak period express service established between Martin Grove and Lawrence Station. Express buses serve all stops between Martin Grove and Jane, then run express in both directions to Lawrence station, stopping only at Keele, Caledonia, Dufferin, Lawrence West station, Bathurst and Avenue Road.

All service on this route continues to operate out of Wilson garage.

September 5, 1995

The express service is discontinued.

October 6, 1996

Midday service on the 52C "Culford" branch is replaced by a new midday branch of the 59 MAPLE LEAF bus, operating from Lawrence station.

March 21, 1999

Operation of this route is split between Wilson and Queensway garages.

NOTE: By May 1999, Sunday service to Martin Grove begins at 7 a.m., and the remaining number of "52A-Dufferin" trips is very limited. The 52A branch vanishes completely in September 2005 with the introduction of the 352 LAWRENCE WEST NIGHT bus.

September 7, 2004

Rush hour service from Culford is cut back to Lawrence West station.

November 23, 2008

All buses now operate exclusively out of the newly opened Mount Dennis Garage.

December 18, 2011

Service is rendered fully accessible with low floor buses equipped with bike racks. This route and 352 LAWRENCE WEST NIGHT were the last bus routes to be equipped with these modern features.

March 30, 2014

Effective on this day, service is reorganized to absorb the 58 MALTON bus route. The branches of the 58 MALTON bus are incorporated into 52 LAWRENCE WEST and extended from Lawrence West station to Lawrence station. Buses on the 52A branch operate from Lawrence station west via Lawrence, Scarlett Road and Dixon Road to loop through Pearson International Airport at intervals of 30 minutes or better, whenever the subway is open, 7 days a week. Service alternates with buses on the 52B branch, which follow the same route to the entrance to Pearson Airport, and then, after bypassing the airport, continues via Airport Road and Morningstar Drive to loop through Westwood Mall, Mondays to Fridays, throughout the operating day. On weekends and holidays, service alternates with the 52D branch, which also bypasses the airport, and then continues northwest on Airport Road to loop at McNaughton Drive, past Derry Road.

Service begins on a new branch, designated 52F, operating from Lawrence Station west via Lawrence to loop via Royal York Road, Dixon Road and Scarlett Road, on weekdays and Saturdays, during rush hours and midday. In addition, service to Martin Grove is redesigned 52G and is operated as a separate branch operating from Lawrence West station via west on Lawrence and the Westway to loop via north on Waterbury Drive and south on Martin Grove, operating at intervals of 30 minutes or better, whenever the subway is open, seven days a week.

Service on the 52C "Culford" branch is replaced by new service on the 59 MAPLE LEAF route.

October 11, 2015

Service is increased during the late evenings on weekdays and during the mornings and evenings of weekends and holidays to ensure that service between Pearson Airport and Lawrence station (not including service on the Westway) operates at intervals of ten minutes or better whenever the subway is open.

February 13, 2017

The western looping of the 52F "Royal York" branch is altered. Buses now travel over the regular route to the Lawrence/Royal York intersection and loop via south on Royal York, west on Braecrest Avenue and east on the Westway to the Royal York/Lawrence intersection. A new stop will be added on Royal York Road just south of the Westway as the last service stop for westbound 52F buses. The first eastbound stop will be on the Westway at Royal York Road.

Service is removed on Royal York Road, Dixon Road and Scarlett Road, but these are already served by other branches of the 52 LAWRENCE bus and by the 73 ROYAL YORK bus.

June 24, 2018

Due to renovations shutting down the Lawrence West station bus terminal, all service that terminated at the station is extended east to Lawrence station. This primarily affects the 52G branch that used to operate from Lawrence West station to Martin Grove via the Westway. This temporary extension is expected to last until early October.

October 7, 2018

Construction on Lawrence West station ends and service resumes to its normal routing.

Also on this day, service on this route is transferred from Mount Dennis Garage to Wilson Garage. The following Tuesday, express service is re-introduced on this route under the new 952 LAWRENCE WEST EXPRESS branding, supplementing the local 52 buses during peak periods.

March 28, 2021

Operations on this route is transferred from Wilson Garage to Arrow Road Garage coinciding with the opening of McNicoll Garage.

November 19, 2023

Due to construction at Lawrence Station pertaining to accessibility upgrades that required the closure of the bus terminal for 10 months, service on the 52 LAWRENCE WEST is extended via Avenue Road and Eglinton Avenue West towards Eglinton Station. Branch 52G via Westway is not affected by the change.

March 31, 2024

As construction at Lawrence West station closes the bus terminal at the station, service on the 52F (Royal York) branch is temporarily suspended. Buses on the 52G (Martin Grove via Westway) branch is extended east of Lawrence West station via Lawrence Avenue West and East and south on Bayview to loop through Sunnybrook hospital. This service temporarily replaces the 124 SUNNYBROOK route. This significantly restores the 52G LAWRENCE routing that was used from 1969 to 1973.

May 12, 2024

The destination sign for the 52G branch (Martin Grove to Sunnybrook Hospital via The Westway) is changed to improve wayfinding for customers travelling eastbound. Rather than referring to the Westway and Lawrence West station, the sign simply reads "To Sunnybrook Hospital, via Lawrence Station."

52 Lawrence West Image Archive

	On an cloudy hazed afternoon of July 17, 2022, Jelo Gutierrez Cantos snapped TTC New Flyer X-E40 unit #3707 in service on route 52A LAWRENCE WEST at Dixon Road and City View Drive, picking up patrons from the nearby Toronto Congress Centre, which hosted the 2022 Anime North convention, that was held on July 15-17, 2022, though the date was originally intended for May but pushed back due to COVID-19 concerns.
	This map from the TTC's March 2024 Board Memo highlights the changes to service on Lawrence Avenue as a result of construction at Lawrence and Lawrence West stations, including the temporary replacement of 124 SUNNYBROOK service by an extension of the 52G LAWRENCE WEST route.,
	A map of the TTC's 52 LAWRENCE WEST operations, effective March 30, 2014, after absorbing the 58 MALTON route.
	An official TTC map of 52 LAWRENCE WEST operations, showing the arrangements of the many branches, effective March 30, 2014.
	A map of 52 LAWRENCE WEST operations, effective January 1, 2013
	TTC Orion VII "Next Gen" hybrid bus #1647 picks up passengers late on Friday, August 29, 2014, while wearing a World Pride wrap. Photo by James Bow.
	In this photo, GM New Look bus #2280 runs west from the intersection of Keele Street and Lawrence Avenue West to Martin Grove Road. Photo by Roman Fomin on April 4, 2010.
	TTC GM New Look re-build #2281 having just arrived at Lawrence Station with a Rollsign on the 52 LAWRENCE WEST. This bus has received a second rebuild in 2009. Photo by Jelo Gutierrez Cantos on November 22, 2011, on one of the last days before these buses, the last non-low floor buses in the fleet, were retired. The "linen" rollsign was actually a single exposure that a driver made for himself and got permission to insert into the rollsign cavity.
	A closeup of TTC rebuilt GM "New Look" 2281 at Lawrence station on November 22, 2011. It should be noted that this bus used to have electronic rollsigns. The linen was a special exposure a driver produced and placed in the rollsign cavity. "LAWRENCE WEST" never appeared as a tri-colour sign. The driver had to depart from history in order to get permission to use his special sign. The photographer is anonymous.
	Here, TTC GM "Newlook" bus #2428 moves westbound along Lawrence Avenue West crossing Dufferin Street. For some reason the driver attached handwritten sign to the windshield that clarifies the number and the destination of the route. Photo by Roman Fomin on January 20, 2011.
	GM New Look bus #2855 runs along Lawrence Avenue West having just crossed Keele Street. This photograph was taken by Roman Fomin on April 4, 2010.
	TTC New Flyer Industries D40LF bus #7343 pauses at Lawrence West station, in a rare service to Westwood in Malton on the 52B LAWRENCE WEST on the evening of July 9, 2014. Previously, those buses were occasionally common on that route at the time when it was operated between Queensway and Wilson divisions prior to the opening of Mount Dennis in 2008. The photographer is anonymous.
	While GM New Looks are still in operation, they have been already partially replaced by Orion VII "Next Generation" buses. Here, Orion VII hybrid bus #1555 on 52 LAWRENCE WEST approaches Lawrence West Station followed by its counterpart #1655 of the same model and on the same route. Photo by Roman Fomin on January 20, 2011.