Canadian transit usage fell nearly 75 percent and the industry’s operating revenues were down 77 percent in June when measured against June 2019. The data was shared by Statistics Canada, which notes the country’s transit ridership and operating revenues have shown a significant annual decline every month since March.
In June 2020, Canada’s transit systems provided 37.9 million passenger trips compared to 149.5 million passenger trips in June 2019. While the year-over-year numbers are significantly down, June’s statistics are reflecting a slow rise from their low point in April.
In April, the country’s transit industry provided 23.4 million passenger trips on bus, train and subways, while the number of passenger trips increased slightly in May to 26.2 million.
Total operating revenues (excluding subsidies) of urban transit agencies were C$75.6 million (US$57.95 million) in June, which is down 77 percent from the previous year, but up from their low in May of C$48.8 million (US$37.41 million).
“According to a recent study on commuting during COVID-19, the proportion of workers using public transit has decreased by almost 10 percentage points (from 12.7 percent to 3.1 percent) since the onset of the pandemic, with teleworking and switching to other modes of transportation being the main reasons. In this study, even among those who said they felt safe returning to their physical workplace, almost three-quarters (74 percent) were very or extremely concerned about using public transit,” noted Statistics Canada. “The continued recovery of transit ridership in the coming months may depend on the perceived effectiveness of transit agency safety measures.”
