Compiled by Pete Coulman

September 3, 1963

A new route is established, replacing portions of 55 MIMICO and 69 QUEENSWAY, providing through service on Royal York Road between Lake Shore Boulevard and Bloor Street.

At the north end, buses loop via west on Meadowvale, north on Clivedon and east on Bloor before heading south on Royal York to Lake Shore, looping via east and north on Lake Shore and west on Lake Crescent to Royal York.

Buses operate out of Parkdale Garage, Mondays through Saturdays.

July 26, 1965

By now, Sunday service established between Bloor and Lake Shore. In addition, service is extended north of Bloor to Dixon, looping via Dixon Road, Roxaline and Royaleigh, Mondays through Fridays, rush hours and midday.

February 23, 1966

Buses now operate out of the new Queensway Garage

February 28, 1966

A new short turn service is added, operating during rush hours from Bloor Street via north on Royal York to Anglesey, looping via Anglesey, the Kingsway and Lambeth.

May 11, 1968

In conjunction with the extension of the BLOOR-DANFORTH SUBWAY to Islington, bus service on Royal York Road is split at the new Royal York subway station. Service south of Bloor now provided by the new 76 ROYAL YORK SOUTH bus with the remainder of the service north of the station operated by the original route. Service on the Anglesley branch discontinued. Buses operate out of Lansdowne garage.

September 6, 1971

Service extended north of Dixon via St. Philips, Humber, Weston Road, Albion Road and Islington to loop via Wardlaw and Barkwin, replacing some service on Albion Road that used to be operated by 93 WOODBRIDGE. Extended service operates Mondays through Saturdays, eighteen hours a day. The original 73A branch to Dixon Road also operates Mondays through Saturdays, but twelve hours a day, as well as all day Sundays.

March 14, 1976

Buses now operate out of Queensway garage.

January 28, 1978

Sunday service added to the Wardlaw (73) branch.

July 24, 1983 (or later)

With the opening of Malvern garage, service is transferred to Lansdowne garage.

November 20, 1988

Service transferred from Lansdowne garage to the new Arrow Road garage.

September 3, 1989

All buses now operate out of Queensway garage instead of Arrow Road garage.

November 25, 1990

With the opening of Finch Avenue between Islington Avenue and Albion Road, service around the Islington/Albion intersection is rationalized. 73 ‘Wardlaw’ buses are extended to run via Albion Road to an off-street loop at Humberline. Short turn service to Dixon Road is reduced to rush hours only.

February 13, 1994

Service north of Dixon Road to Humberline discontinued on weekends and holidays. Buses turn around using the Dixon Road branch instead.

February 18, 1996

Due to the loss of provincial subsidies towards public transit, service north of Dixon Rd on St. Phillips, Weston Rd and Albion Rd. after 10 p.m., Saturday or after 7 p.m., and all day Sunday service is eliminated. Monday to Friday morning rush frequent service reduced and early evening service reduced to every 20 minutes. Saturday and Sunday late evening service reduced to every 30 minutes.

May 3, 1999

A new rush hour branch is added to provide service on La Rose, north of Eglinton. Buses operate from Royal York station via north on Royal York, looping via east on La Rose, south on Scarlett and west on Eglinton to Royal York, returning via the reverse route.

The initial proposal for this branch called for buses to loop via La Rose, Scarlett, Richview Road and a special bus-only laneway connecting Richview Road with Eglinton Avenue. However, no such connection materialized.

February 13, 2000

Saturday late evening (after 10 p.m.) and Sunday evening (after 7 p.m.) service on the Dixon loop revised to run via east on Dixon, south on Scarlett and west on Lawrence, so as not to disturb local residents. No change to destination signs.

October 16, 2000

A new rush hour branch extends service on Albion Road northwest from Humberline to loop counterclockwise via Claireport Road.

November 23, 2008

As part of the TTC’s Ridership Growth Strategy, service on the 73C Clareport branch is increased to operate at intervals of 30 minutes or better throughout the day, seven days a week, whenever the subway is open. As a result, 73C service replaces the 73 ‘Humberline’ branch which also restores weekday late evening, Saturday evening and all day Sunday service north of Dixon. Similarly, service on the 73B ‘La Rose’ branch improved to operate at thirty minutes or better, seven days a week, whenever the subway is open. Service on the 73A ‘Dixon Road’ branch is reduced to a rush hour short turn service, providing additional service between Royal York station and Dixon Road. As a result of this, Royal York buses no longer need to loop via Dixon Road, Scarlett Road and Lawrence Avenue during weekend evenings and Sundays.

July 20, 2010

As of the time of this writing, the bulk of 73 ROYAL YORK’s service is provided by the 73C branch to Clairport. Buses operate every 18 minutes during rush hours, every 15 minutes during midday weekdays, and every 17 minutes to 30 minutes during the evenings. On Saturdays, frequencies range from every 13 minutes during the day, to every 20 or 30 minutes during the evenings. On Sundays, service ranges from every 20 minutes to every 30 minutes.

In addition to this, buses on the 73B ‘La Rose’ branch operate every 30 minutes between Royal York station and La Rose, every day of the week, whenever the subway is open. Further, rush hour service is augmented by the 73A ‘Dixon Road’ branch, with buses running every 18 to 20 minutes.

Service is accessible, and has been for some time.

May 8, 2011

As part of a general reallocation of resources, service on the 73B “La Rose” branch is eliminated after 7 p.m. every day. All buses in the evening run on the 73C “Clairport” branch.

September 6, 2015

Seven day a week evening service is restored to the 73B “La Rose” branch. Service on this branch operates at intervals of 30 minutes or better, whenever the subway is open. There is no reduction to any of the other branch services.

73 ROYAL YORK transfer from March 29, 2017.

March 27, 2017

73A “Dixon Road” branch extended north of Dixon in a form of the 73D “Knob Hill and Oak”. Buses run from Royal York station via north on Royal York, north on St Phillips Road, north on Weston Road, east and south on Knob Hill Drive to Oak Street. Buses return via west on Oak Street, south on Weston Road, south on St Phillips Road, south on Royal York Road to Royal York station.

May 7, 2017

With construction at Royal York station taking the bus terminal out of service for approximately 18 months, buses on 73 ROYAL YORK and 76 ROYAL YORK SOUTH are interlined and no longer enter the station. Northbound buses will serve a stop outside the main station entrance. Southbound buses will serve stops southbound nearside on Royal York at Bloor.

August 4, 2019

With the completion of work on the bus roadway at Royal York station, the service on this route is no longer interlined with 76 ROYAL YORK SOUTH, and buses enter the bus terminal. It’s possible that this may have occurred before this date at the division’s discretion.

Also effective this date, late evening weekend and holiday service on the 73B “La Rose” branch ends. The last late evening weekend bus on this route operates at the end of the service day on Saturday, August 3.

March 30, 2020

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and restrictions, the 73D “Knob Hill and Oak” branch is temporarily discontinued. Stops 9931 - Knob Hill Drive at Weston Road and 5873 - Oak Street at Weston Road (this stop continues to be used by the 59 MAPLE LEAF) have temporarily taken out of service. Buses on the 73B and 73C branches continue to operate.

August 1, 2021

Due to remedial construction work required at Royal York Station from its Easier Access project in 2019, the bus terminal has to be closed to buses for four weeks. As a result, service on 73 ROYAL YORK is again interlined with 76 ROYAL YORK SOUTH, with buses picking up passengers in front of the subway station. Schedules are the same as they were for the August 2018 board period.

September 5, 2021

Remedial construction at Royal York Station is set to end, and interlining between 73 ROYAL YORK and 76 ROYAL YORK SOUTH is no longer required. Schedules return to what they were for the February 2020 board period.

May 7, 2023

Buses on the 73D “Knob Hill and Oak” branch are extended north on Weston Road to loop through the cloverleaf at the Albion Road/Weston Road intersection. Service is removed on Knob Hill and Oak.

73 Royal York Image Archive

	TTC Western Flyer rebuild trolley coach 9312 operating in service on 89 WESTON ROAD passes TTC GM TDH5303 3590 on 73 ROYAL YORK, southbound on Weston Road, just beneath the Albion Road underpass. The 89A exposure on the WESTON ROAD bus is in error. Photo donated by Jim Blair.
	TTC Nova LFS bus #8412 prepares to turn from Royal York onto Anglesey in 48 RATHBURN service while Orion VII bus #7914 approaches a stop in 73 ROYAL YORK service. This photo was taken by James Bow on March 29, 2017.
	An official TTC map of the 73 ROYAL YORK route, effective March 27, 2017.
	An official TTC map of 73 ROYAL YORK operations, effective July 20, 2010.
	TTC Orion VII bus #7900 pauses on Albion Road at Thistle Down northbound in 73 ROYAL YORK service, on the morning of March 29, 2017. Photo by James Bow.
	TTC Orion VII bus #7906 heads northbound on Royal York, crossing Anglesey in 73B ROYAL YORK "La Rose" service. This photo was taken on March 29, 2017 by James Bow.
	TTC Orion VII bus #7911 is nearing the end of the 73 ROYAL YORK route, turning from Albion Road onto Claireport on the morning of March 29, 2017. Photo by James Bow.
	Having laid over on Claireport, TTC Orion VII bus #7911 heads eastbound on Albion Road, making the long journey back to Royal York station in 73 ROYAL YORK service. This photo was taken on March 29, 2017 by James Bow.
	TTC Orion VII bus #7925 pulls into a stop at Newcastle northbound at Royal York Road on the afternoon of June 26, 2018. The bus is in service on 76 ROYAL YORK SOUTH, but has been interlined with 73 ROYAL YORK due to construction at Royal York station. The photo was taken by James Bow.
	In this photograph, taken from the Dundas Street West overpass, Orion VII "Next Gen" bus 8090 runs north along Royal York Road in service on the 73C ROYAL YORK route. Everything in this photo - from recycle bins and bike lanes to glass wall stops and landscaping - shows the modern city the way it is supposed to be. Photo by Roman Fomin on May 23, 2013.