Urban public transit, October 2021
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Released: 2022-01-12
Highlights
In October, Canada's urban transit networks carried over 83 million passengers, the highest number since March 2020.
As schools managed in-class learning and businesses remained open, transit ridership recovered nearly half (49.1%) of its pre-pandemic October 2019 level.
Ridership up for a fifth month in a row
An estimated 83.1 million passenger trips were taken on Canada's urban transit networks in October, an increase of 42.3%, or 24.7 million trips, from October 2020 levels. This marked the fifth straight month with a year-over-year increase and the highest number of trips taken in more than a year and a half.
As more people returned to workplaces, students attended in-person classes and consumers resumed shopping, dining out and attending entertainment venues, ridership was at its highest level since the pandemic began in March 2020. Despite this growth, passenger volumes remained just under half of October 2019, with 86.1 million fewer trips.
On a monthly basis, transit ridership increased by 5.4 million rides nationally, a 6.9% increase from September—a much greater rate than observed prior to the pandemic. With further lifting of COVID-19-related restrictions in Ontario and Quebec, these two provinces accounted for over 9 of every 10 new trips, or about 5.1 million more rides in October.
Financial situation improving
In October, transit agency operating revenues (excluding subsidies) totalled $191.0 million—an increase of 36.6%, or $51.2 million, from October 2020. While this total revenue was by far the highest level recorded since March 2020, it was just over half (52.2%) of the operating revenues earned before the pandemic in October 2019.
Despite this growth, sustained recovery remains somewhat uncertain. In late November 2021, the World Health Organization declared a new variant of concern, Omicron, which could prompt new health restrictions. While data in this release do not yet reflect Omicron's impact, this may slow the current pace of recovery.
Chart 1
Urban public transit operating revenue and passenger trips, monthly, 2018 to 2021
Note to readers
Data for the most recent quarter are subject to revision. The data in this release are not seasonally adjusted.
This survey collects data on operating revenue (excluding subsidies) and the number of passenger trips from a panel of urban transit companies that represents at least 75% of revenues in each province and territory. Note that the panel is adjusted annually to maintain the 75% coverage and could differ slightly from what it was in the same month a year earlier.
Data prior to January 2017 can be found in table 23-10-0078-01.
The Transportation Data and Information Hub, a web portal developed jointly by Statistics Canada and Transport Canada, provides Canadians with online access to comprehensive statistics and measures on the country's transportation sector.
Contact information
For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact us (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; infostats@statcan.gc.ca) or Media Relations (statcan.mediahotline-ligneinfomedias.statcan@statcan.gc.ca).
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