Integrated Travels
Research Report
CANADA PUBLIC TRANSPORT REPORT
by: Priyanka Prabhu, ASU

 

 

Public transit ridership in Canada experienced a significant decline due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with an 84% drop in ridership and farebox revenues between February and April 2020. Despite a slow recovery, ridership remains below pre-pandemic levels as of early 2024. The impact and recovery rates vary across different cities, with larger metropolitan areas experiencing slower recovery compared to some smaller municipal systems. Factors influencing transit use include changes in population, labor force, and the shift to telework. Accessibility to jobs by public transit has been shown to have a strong influence on mode share, particularly for low-income groups in larger metropolitan areas. The relationship between accessibility and transit use is often non-linear, with very high levels of accessibility potentially leading to decreased transit use in favor of active transportation modes. Despite challenges, urban transit ridership in
Canada is expected to reach pre-pandemic levels by 2026, though population-adjusted ridership rates may be lower due to recent population growth.