Urban public transit, February 2023
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Released: 2023-04-14
Highlights
In February, the number of urban transit passengers in Canada reached 113.2 million passenger trips.
The recovery rate of ridership in February remained under three-quarters (73.6%) of its pre-COVID-19 pandemic February 2019 level.
Ridership recovery seems to pause
Canada's urban transit agencies reported 113.2 million passenger trips in February, an increase of 49.7% (+37.6 million trips) from February 2022. This marked the 23rd consecutive monthly year-over-year increase.
As in January, urban transit ridership in February was able to recover almost three-quarters (73.6%) of its pre-pandemic February 2019 volume, which equates to 40.6 million fewer rides than the number recorded that month.
Transit ridership typically dips 1.6% from January to February, in part due to fewer calendar days. This February, there was a 3.7% drop in passengers despite Canada's unemployment rate (5.0%) remaining near a record low, according to the Labour Force Survey.
Financial situation steady
In February, transit agency operating revenues (excluding subsidies) were up 48.1% from the same month in 2022 to $264.9 million, but still 20.9%, or $69.8 million, below the pre-pandemic February 2019 level.
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.
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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