Viral running video pushes Toronto council to speed up “slow” Finch LRT
Last week, a Toronto runner shared a video showing he outran the city’s new $2.6‑billion LRT line by 18 minutes
Dillan Payne/WC
A runner’s viral video showing him outrunning the city’s new $2.6-billion Finch West LRT has helped prompt real change at Toronto’s City Hall.
Last Friday, Mac Bauer posted a video of himself beating the new light rail line in a 10.27-kilometre race by 18 minutes. The clip exceeded 1,000,000 views on social media, and on Tuesday, Toronto City Council voted in favour of implementing transit signal priority on the Finch LRT starting early 2026.
Mayor Olivia Chow brought the issue to council on Dec. 15 after seeing the video. One day later, the council voted 22-1 to approve transit signal priority for Toronto’s first new transit line since 2002. The change will give the Finch LRT, an east-west route serving more than 200,000 commuters along the city’s northern corridor, the right of way at intersections.
“Last week I rode the Finch LRT with the Premier [Doug Ford],” Chow said while speaking to the media. “It’s smoother, but it moves too slowly. People want fast, convenient service. With transit signal priority, there will be less waiting at red lights and more time moving.”
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Bauer, 31, raced the LRT from Humber College in the city’s northwest end to Finch West Station, covering the 10.27-kilometre route in 46 minutes through ice and snow. The train took one hour and four minutes, equivalent to the pace of roughly a 4:30 marathon.
A sub-2:50 marathoner, Bauer has built a social media following by racing various Toronto transit routes on foot. He said he never expected the video to go viral, but welcomed the big change. “I’m excited to go back and battle it again,” he laughed.
Bauer wasn’t the only one to put the province’s $2.6-billion project to the test. A CBC Toronto reporter rode the full Finch LRT line from east to west and back again, finding each direction took more than 47 minutes, slower than the finishing times of more than 2,200 runners at the 2025 Toronto Sporting Life 10K.
Chow added that if transit signal priority does not significantly improve travel times, the city will consider additional measures, including restrictions on parking and left turns along the Finch corridor. “Less waiting at red lights and faster, reliable commutes are coming,” she said.
