Urban public transit, December 2022
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Released: 2023-02-20
Highlights
In December 2022, urban transit ridership in Canada reached 107.6 million trips, recovering more than two-thirds (70.2%) of its December 2019 pre-COVID-19 pandemic level.
In 2022, there were about 1.2 billion total passenger trips made on Canada's urban transit networks, more than the 778.4 million trips recorded in 2021 but just 61.7% of the 2019 total.
Ridership remains on track
Canada's urban transit networks provided 107.6 million passenger trips in December, up 30.6% (+25.2 million trips) compared with the same month in 2021. Although more people returned to transit, passenger volumes continued to lag pre-pandemic levels, with about 45.7 million fewer passenger trips in December 2022 compared with December 2019.
On a monthly basis, public transit ridership decreased by nearly 9.8 million rides in December 2022, down 8.3% from November, an expected seasonal drop observed pre-pandemic.
Chart 1
Urban public transit operating revenue and passenger trips, monthly, 2019 to 2022
Financial situation continues improving
In December, transit agency operating revenues (excluding subsidies) were up 40.6% from the same month in 2021 to reach $249.8 million, still 26.2% or $88.9 million below the pre-pandemic December 2019 level.
A look back at 2022
Building on the recovery that started in the second half of 2021, urban transit ridership continued to recover during 2022. In total, Canada's urban transit networks provided an estimated 1.2 billion rides throughout the year, an increase of 49.7%, or 387.0 million rides, compared with 2021.
Chart 2
Total annual transit ridership, 2019-2022
The year 2022 was ushered in with an Omicron variant-fuelled COVID-19 resurgence, and many provinces subsequently implemented stricter public health measures to combat the virus. This reduced demand for public transit, and January's ridership dropped to 40.3% of its 2019 pre-pandemic level.
As restrictions eased, transit ridership began to rise again from February to April 2022, averaging 53.9% of pre-pandemic levels. From May to August 2022, ridership was at approximately 64.0% of pre-pandemic levels, helped by rising gas prices that led more Canadians to opt for public transit.
When summer ended, school resumed and workers returned from summer vacations, more people used public transit to get to their workplaces, schools and elsewhere. Indeed, from September to December, transit ridership was more than 70% of its 2019 level over the same period.
While the total number of passenger trips in 2022 was the highest in three years, volumes still lagged pre-pandemic levels, with about 723.3 million fewer rides in 2022, or about 61.7% of the 2019 level. Similarly, total operating revenues (excluding subsidies) reached $ 2.8 billion in 2022, up 59.2% from 2021, but still about $1.4 billion lower than 2019, before the pandemic.
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 the previous year.
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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