Urban public transit, January 2024
Released: 2024-03-20
Highlights
In January, the number of urban transit passenger trips in Canada was 127.1 million, up 11.9% from the same month last year.
The recovery slowed somewhat in January, with ridership at 79.0% of the level reported in the same month in 2019, down slightly from the recovery rate of 79.9% in December 2023.
Ridership recovery slows
Canada's urban transit networks provided an estimated 127.1 million rides in January 2024, an increase of 11.9% (+13.5 million trips) from January 2023.
Ridership in January 2024 was 79.0% of the pre-COVID-19 pandemic level from January 2019, just below the average recovery rate of 80% observed over the last half of 2023. Indeed, in January 2024 there were about 33.8 million fewer rides than in pre-pandemic January 2019.
In the two years prior to the pandemic (2018 and 2019), ridership increased by over 8% from December to January, as students and workers returned from the holiday break. However, ridership in January 2024 increased by 3.8% from December 2023. Labour disputes involving workers for a company that operates bus transit services for B.C. Transit as well as a 48-hour work stoppage in Metro Vancouver were factors affecting ridership.
Financial situation steady
In January 2024, transit agency operating revenue (excluding subsidies) was up 14.5% from the same month in 2023 to $303.7 million, albeit $46.1 million below the pre-pandemic January 2019 level, before the pandemic.
Chart 1
Urban public transit operating revenue and passenger trips, monthly, 2019 to 2024
Did you know we have a mobile app?
Get timely access to data right at your fingertips by downloading the StatsCAN app, available for free on the App Store and on Google Play.
Note to readers
Statistics Canada is publishing more detail from the Monthly Passenger Bus and Urban Transit Survey. The new table 23-10-0307-01—Passenger bus and urban transit statistics, by urban transit agency—includes operating revenue and ridership at the city level for selected transit agencies. Statistics Canada appreciates the cooperation of the 15 transit agencies in making this information available to Canadians.
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 revenue 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.
Random tabular adjustment
The random tabular adjustment (RTA) technique, which aims to increase the amount of data made available to users while protecting the confidentiality of respondents, was applied to the totals of the Monthly Passenger Bus and Urban Transit Survey.
Using RTA, Statistics Canada identifies sensitive data and randomly adjusts values rather than suppressing them. The size of the adjustment is calculated to protect respondent confidentiality.
For more information on RTA, please refer to the article "Random Tabular Adjustment is here!," now available as part of the StatCan Blog.
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).
- Date modified: