WiFi on the TTC was just a pipe dream until last year, when it became a glorious, ad-supported reality at Yonge and St. George stations. Now, the transit authority has announced plans to make its fleet of buses and streetcars WiFi-capable in 2016. For its own internal use, that is. They can't promise it for riders.

The WiFi will be installed as part of a $95-million upgraded dispatch and vehicle location system replacing the '70s-era one in use today. What that means for riders is, likely, improved arrivals information and route servicing, but not a way to browse Facebook without munching all of your data.

That begs the question: If the infrastructure requires installation anyway, why not make it a priority to open it up to the public - especially when a project to do just that for the entire Toronto subway is already in progress? In April, the TTC board asked for a staff update on the possibility of bus and streetcar WiFi, but that info hasn't surfaced yet, and TTC chair Brad Ross has declined to speculate on when that might happen. In the meantime: Enjoy the same old morning commute. Ho hum.

Photo by Kat NLM in the theGentries Flickr pool.