Commuters spending more time in transit: Statistics Canada

[ahrvojic]

Article

Commuters spending more time in transit: Statistics Canada
Last Updated Wed, 12 Jul 2006 11:49:09 EDT
CBC News

The average Canadian spends close to 12 full days a year travelling between work and home, a Statistics Canada study released Wednesday suggests.

The 2005 study found that Canadians spent an average of 63 minutes a day commuting. That compares to 54 minutes in a similar survey in 1992 by the federal agency. "Many Canadians feel that the time that they take in getting to and from work is continually increasing," wrote the study's author, Martin Turcotte, in The Time it Takes to Get to Work and Back.

"The results of this study show that, in many cases, this subjective impression has a basis in fact." Nearly 20,000 people aged 15 and over in the 10 provinces participated in the study, recording their travel times in a daily journal. While commuting times jumped across the country, Torontonians spent the longest time in transit in 2005, spending an average of 79 minutes per round trip, the report suggests.

In Montreal, the average round trip between work and home spanned 76 minutes, up from 62 minutes in 1992. Calgarians spent an average of 66 minutes in round-trip travel.

Travel faster by car

Workers in the Atlantic provinces spent an average of 63 minutes commuting, up sharply from 39 minutes in 1992. Similarly, people in the prairie provinces spent an average of 57 minutes travelling between work and home, compared to 45 minutes in 1992.

The study found that in British Columbia, there was only a marginal increase, with an average commuting time of 60 minutes in 2005, one minute more than in 1992.

The study also revealed that despite the widespread problem of traffic congestion, it is much faster to travel by car than by public transportation. On average, Canadians in cars spent between 51 and 59 minutes on the road, while public transit users endured average travel time of 94 to 106 minutes.

"Above all, the study shows that a sizable gap remains between the two modes from the standpoint of travel times," wrote Turcotte. "It is therefore not surprising that despite higher fuel costs and increased environmental concerns, most workers continue to use mainly their automobile to get to work."

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More details from Statistics Canada

 

[ahrvojic]

Re: Commuters spending more time in transit: Statistics Cana

Article: Globe and Mail

We commute average 12 days a year

ROMA LUCIW

Globe and Mail Update

The average Canadian spends more than an hour a day - or 12 full days a year - trekking to and from work, according to a new study that shows commuting by car is still faster than using public transit.

Given that the average worker is entitled to between three and four weeks of vacation days a year, the data suggests that some Canadians spend almost as much time getting to and from work as they do on holiday.

A Statistics Canada report released Wednesday said that Canadians spent an average 63 minutes a day getting from home to work and back in 2005. The round-trip commute has climbed from 54 minutes in 1992 and 59 minutes in 1998.

The 63 minutes a day amounts to almost 275 hours of commuting, based on a 260-day work year, Statscan said.

The average daily travel time rose both for people who drove their cars and for public transit users, Statscan said. However, the study found that â€despite problems of congestion it is in most cases faster to use a car or other vehicle to get to work than public transit.â€

More than half - 55 per cent - of workers commuting by car made the round trip between home and work in less than 60 minutes, compared with 13 per cent of people who travelled by bus or subway.

People who commuted by car spent 59 minutes on the round trip, up from 59 minutes in 1992, Statscan said. That compares with 106 minutes for public transit users, up from 94 minutes fourteen years ago.

In 2005, 64 per cent of workers spent 90 minutes or more of their day on the bus or subway, a sharp jump from 49 per cent in 1992.

The percentage of workers using a car to commute between home and work has remained virtually unchanged at about 86 per cent.

The survey also noted that a minority of Canadians - 12 per cent - rely on public transit for all or part of their daily journey to and from work. About 11 per cent of people walk or ride their bikes.

Not surprisingly, the proportion of workers using public transit to get to work was higher in large urban areas, where service is more accessible. In Canada's six largest cities, 20 per cent used the bus or subway in 2005.

The government agency study, based on data from the 2005 General Social Survey on time use, found that average times have risen sharply in five of Canada's six largest urban areas.

Although Torontonians faced the longest commute - an average 79 minutes a day or two solid weeks in 2005 - people in Calgary and Montréal were catching up quickly.

The round trip daily commute for people living in metropolitan area of Montréal was 76 minutes last year, an extra 2.5 days a year from 62 minutes in 1992.

In oil-rich Calgary - Canada's fastest growing city - the daily work slog ate up 66 minutes of the day, 14 minutes more than it did in 1992.

Vancouver bucked the trend, with workers in British Columbia's largest urban centre spending no more time getting to work in 2005 than they did in the 1990s.

However, for the three Prairie provinces, average travel times climbed from 45 minutes to 57 minutes.

In 1992, nearly 45 per cent of workers in the Atlantic provinces spent less than half an hour making the round trip in 1992. By 2005, that number had dropped to 30 per cent.

 

[gboykovekin]

Re: Commuters spending more time in transit: Statistics Cana

Hmm, I enjoyed commuting two hours by bike (50 km round-trip); though it was through exurban East Gwillimbury and Newmarket. I don't feel like I wasted my time.

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

Re: Commuters spending more time in transit: Statistics Cana

And from the Star:

The long and grinding road
GTA drivers spend 79 minutes daily on commute
It's even longer for transit users, StatsCan finds
Jul. 13, 2006. 05:30 AM
STEVE RENNIE
STAFF REPORTER

If you live in the GTA, you spend an average of 79 minutes each day driving to and from work, but don't feel smug if you use public transit because you eat up just under two hours a day commuting.

The numbers mean we spend more time than anyone else in the country getting to work and back. And it doesn't look like it's going to improve any time soon.

"We're probably way behind the rest of the planet," said Baher Abdulhai, the Canada Research Chair in intelligent transportation systems. "There's no single solution that you could buy from somewhere, put it on the road today and tomorrow there's no congestion. It's not going to happen."

The StatsCan report released yesterday surveyed regions across Canada including the Toronto Census Metropolitan Area, which stretches from Oakville to Durham Region and north to Bradford.

The report found the average Greater Toronto car commuter spends two weeks a year in transit. The average time for a round trip to work in the GTA has increased by 11 minutes since 1992 and by three minutes since 1998, according to Statistics Canada.

"What we wanted to check was the perception that a lot of people have that it takes longer to get to work," said Martin Turcotte, author of the report.

He said public transit users in the GTA spend about three weeks a year getting to and from work, and it's stayed that way since 1992.

That's consistent with public transit use across Canada. The report found that, in most cases, it's faster to drive to work than to take public transit.

It notes that 64 per cent of public transit users spend more than an hour and a half commuting to and from work, while only 21 per cent of those driving reported spending more than 90 minutes on the road.

By comparison, the 2003 U.S. census says the commute time to work in New York City proper is 38 minutes. Doubling that figure to account for the return trip would hint at a total travel time of 76 minutes.

Likewise, one-way trips to work in Chicago (33 minutes) and Los Angeles (29 minutes) also suggest lower commuting times in those cities than in Toronto's CMA.

More than 8 million people live in New York City, about 3.8 million in Los Angeles, and 2.8 million in Chicago. By comparison, about 4.7 million people live in the Toronto CMA.

Toronto Transit Commission chair Howard Moscoe said cutting the commuting time for transit users is getting harder as more people use it.

Marilyn Butt, who commutes from Georgetown by GO Transit, leaves the house at 6 a.m. and gets back in at 6 p.m.

"It helps me get into work mode when I am going downtown and out of it when I am coming back," she said. "For my kids, it's a calmer life in the country, and that's why I do this everyday."

Nationally, it took Canadians 12 full days a year — or about an hour a day — to make the round trip from home to work. In 1998, Canadians spent just under an hour a day commuting to work.

Average commuting times have risen since 1992 in three of the country's largest cities, with Toronto, Montreal (76 minutes) and Calgary (66 minutes) all showing gains. Vancouver's average commuting time has remained almost constant since 1992, dropping slightly to 67 minutes from 70 minutes.

Abdulhai said Canada lags behind other nations when it comes to transportation infrastructure. He said many major U.S. cities use ramp metering, essentially a stop light at the entrance to freeways, to control the flow of traffic.

"When you bring in more people and you don't put in the infrastructure to move them, things will actually get worse. We're not doing much to improve things. We're just playing wait and see and hiding our heads in the sand. If nothing major happens, it makes for a longer commute," he said.

Abdulhai, also a civil engineering professor at the University of Toronto, said there are other means of easing traffic, such as traffic lights and speed limit signs that adapt to the number of cars on the road, as well as in-vehicle devices that warn drivers of congestion on the roads.

The Ontario government set aside $1.2 billion in new infrastructure spending for transit in its 2006 budget. Much of that money is earmarked for transit projects across the GTA, such as extending the Spadina subway to Vaughan and creating a bus-only route for Mississauga and a Brampton express bus service.

Neal Kelly, spokesman for Transportation Minister Donna Cansfield, said the province wants to tackle the traffic problem by better connecting the ways people commute.

"The solution is integrated and it all fits together. You can no longer build just one without the others. You have to move people in different ways."

Rod McPhail, Toronto's director of transportation planning, said people will only use public transit if it's reliable and competitive with driving to work. While drivers are willing to adjust their travel times and routes to avoid congestion, he says, many transit users aren't willing to do the same.

McPhail says the city's ridership growth strategy, part of which is increasing the number and frequency of buses and adding a dedicated streetcar line down the middle of St. Clair Ave. W., will help people get to and from work more quickly.

Abdulhai said cost is rarely a factor for most people when it's weighed against travel time.

"People's reaction to time is 10 times as strong as their reaction to cost, meaning that you make gasoline more expensive, for instance, and if it's still faster, you will hate it but still fill up the tank and drive," he said.

The report, which bases its figures on a 260-day work year, surveyed 19,597 people aged 15 and over from January to December 2005. Those surveyed were asked for detailed reports about how they allocated their time each day. The survey covered 10 provinces, but did not include the territories.

AoD

 

[boiler2000]

Re: Commuters spending more time in transit: Statistics Cana

Likewise, one-way trips to work in Chicago (33 minutes) and Los Angeles (29 minutes) also suggest lower commuting times in those cities than in Toronto's CMA.

More than 8 million people live in New York City, about 3.8 million in Los Angeles, and 2.8 million in Chicago. By comparison, about 4.7 million people live in the Toronto CMA.

Talk about apples and oranges...

 

[Suicidal Gingerbread Man]

Re: Commuters spending more time in transit: Statistics Cana

^
I don't think your CMA numbers are correct, but regardless, if an urban area as horribly sprawled as LA has shorter commute times, that's saying something.



Personally, I can't stand the idea of wasting two hours a day commuting. Over time, how many does of one's life are lost to commuting? I think I'll buy a condo right downtown, sit on my balcony and sip wine while watching gridlock on the Gardiner.

 

[unimaginative2]

Re: Commuters spending more time in transit: Statistics Cana

It's definitely an unreasonable comparison since they were just looking at the cities proper, but it is still interesting since LA at least includes a large suburban area in the San Fernando Valley and still comes in as significantly shorter.

 

[scarberiankhatru]

Re: Commuters spending more time in transit: Statistics Cana

I can totally believe Toronto's numbers. Look at how many people sit on the Gardiner and the DVP (it seems they all come from Milton and Aurora, too) and look at how many sit on the TTC for 60-90 minutes to get downtown. Then there's the nightmare of commuting across town. But the figures for Chicago, LA, etc., must not include the metro exurbs, unless people in American suburbs really don't work downtown but in other nearby suburbs...it's possible.

 

[spmarshall]

Re: Commuters spending more time in transit: Statistics Cana

More than 8 million people live in New York City, about 3.8 million in Los Angeles, and 2.8 million in Chicago. By comparison, about 4.7 million people live in the Toronto CMA.

It's obviously the city itself for the US. Chicago's MSA has over 8 million, about 10 million in the LA MSA region. That's right, apples to oranges.

 

[rbtaylor]

Re: Commuters spending more time in transit: Statistics Cana

This study would have been far more interesting if they included distance as well.

The time has increased since '92 but has the distance also increased by a similar ratio?

 

[Antiloop33rpm]

Re: Commuters spending more time in transit: Statistics Cana

I agree that this study is not very comprehensive and really doesnt have much to offer. Oh well. I really dislike commuting and I dont think I could ever be someplace where my commute was over an hour. Right now Im 15 - 20 minutes by bike, 25 - 30 by Metro, and 1 hour walking. I consider those to be rather reasonable times. I suppose an hour could be ok if it was a point to point trip with no transfers, on a train, but even then, what a drag that must become.

 

[Chuck100]

Re: Commuters spending more time in transit: Statistics Cana

I live and work downtown, however my job requires a car so I drive to work each day. Driving cuts my door to door commute down to about 15 minutes each way, compared to 30 minutes by foot and 20 minutes on the TTC. Because I had to get a car for work anyway, I may as well use it. Especially since parking at work is covered by the office.

 

[Darkstar416]

Re: Commuters spending more time in transit: Statistics Cana

Two things I take from this:

He said public transit users in the GTA spend about three weeks a year getting to and from work, and it's stayed that way since 1992.

This basically says that while transit users are spending longer to commute in general, the length of their commute time isn't increasing (unlike car drivers). Therefore, this would show that we are slowly nearing something close to parity. Once we do in most of our major cities, we can maybe finally expect to see some genuine, real and lasting investment in our transit systems again.

Likewise, one-way trips to work in Chicago (33 minutes) and Los Angeles (29 minutes) also suggest lower commuting times in those cities than in Toronto's CMA.

This is quite surprising. New York City I can understand due to their massive rail infrastructure and generally denser development, but Chicago and L.A. are as sprawled and sprawlier than T.O. Perhaps a wak-up call.

 

[spmarshall]

Re: Commuters spending more time in transit: Statistics Cana

This is quite surprising. New York City I can understand due to their massive rail infrastructure and generally denser development, but Chicago and L.A. are as sprawled and sprawlier than T.O. Perhaps a wak-up call.

I don't, because I and some other people have just said, they are only the cities, suburbs not included. They are not apt comparisons.

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

Re: Commuters spending more time in transit: Statistics Cana

It's like someone using the Old City of Toronto for the stats and extrapolating it to the GTA.

AoD