CUTA: Canadian transit agencies saw overall ridership bump in 2017
The Canadian Urban Transit Association (CUTA) reports that Canadian transit agencies saw a 1.5 percent increase in transit trip in 2017. The news represents the first aggregate increase in national ridership since 2014.
CUTA says 2.11 billion passenger trips were made in 2017, which is about 30 million additional passenger trips. CUTA notes that while some transit systems reported decreases in ridership over the same period, growth from other systems contributed to an overall national increase.
Systems reporting ridership growth in 2017 commonly identified an increase in service levels as a key enabler of their ridership growth. Factors that contribute to an increase in service levels include more service hours, higher service efficiency and reconfigured routes. Other positive influencers on ridership as reported include growing student populations, increased tourism, higher gas prices, economic development and higher employment rates in some communities.
“This upward trend in ridership is welcome news and provides important information to transit systems and to the governments that fund them,” said Marco D’Angelo, president and CEO of CUTA. “Systems that offer more services to their customers are often rewarded with higher ridership. That said, the challenge for transit systems is offering increased service levels while working with limited operating budgets. I look forward to discussing this further with CUTA members at our upcoming annual conference in Toronto.”
The release of CUTA ridership statistics for 2017 coincides with its Annual Conference and Transit Show, which takes place from November 19 to 21 in Toronto. The event is co-hosted by the Toronto Transit Commission and Metrolinx and is one of the largest transit industry conferences in North America this year.
In addition to discussing the promising news on national ridership, participants in CUTA’s annual conference will also learn more about a recent Ridership Trends Research Project that was commissioned by CUTA and conducted by the University of Toronto’s Transportation Research Institute. This research found that for every 10 percent increase in predicted vehicle revenue hours that a transit system provides, a 10 percent increase in ridership can be expected, holding all other factors constant. Vehicle revenue hours are hours in which a vehicle is actively providing service.
Mischa Wanek-Libman | Group Editorial Director
Mischa Wanek-Libman is director of communications with Transdev North America. She has more than 20 years of experience working in the transportation industry covering construction projects, engineering challenges, transit and rail operations and best practices.
Wanek-Libman has held top editorial positions at freight rail and public transportation business-to-business publications including as editor-in-chief and editorial director of Mass Transit from 2018-2024. She has been recognized for editorial excellence through her individual work, as well as for collaborative content.
She is an active member of the American Public Transportation Association's Marketing and Communications Committee and served 14 years as a Board Observer on the National Railroad Construction and Maintenance Association (NRC) Board of Directors.
She is a graduate of Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism and Mass Communication.
