Urban public transit, July 2023
Released: 2023-09-21
Highlights
In July, the number of urban transit passenger trips in Canada reached 110.8 million, recovering just over three-quarters (75.2%) of the July 2019 ridership, before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Recovery appears to pause
Canada's urban transit networks provided an estimated 110.8 million rides in July 2023, up 18.2% (or 17.1 million more rides) from July 2022, marking more than two years of growth since April 2021. While ridership in July 2023 represented over 75% of the July 2019 pre-pandemic level, this was down somewhat from June 2023, when ridership accounted for 79% of the pre-pandemic level.
Prior to the pandemic, passenger counts typically declined by an average of around 6.6% from June to July, with summer vacations and fewer students. However, July 2023 saw a slightly steeper decline, with ridership down by 7.6% (or about 9.1 million passenger trips) from June.
Finances still hurting
In July, transit agency operating revenues (excluding subsidies) reached $284.1 million―an increase of 19.5% (+$46.3 million) from July 2022. While this total was the fifth-highest level recorded since March 2020, it was still $58.1 million below the pre-pandemic level in July 2019.
Chart 1
Urban public transit operating revenue and passenger trips, monthly, 2019 to 2023
Note to readers
Survey data are revised on a monthly basis to reflect new information.
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 the previous year.
One-time payments from secondary and post-secondary institutions for academic-year student passes are typically reported as revenue during the early fall and early winter months.
Data before 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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