Census shows more 905-ers are turning to public transit
Census shows more 905-ers are turning to public transit
Wednesday, April 02, 2008 - 03:19 PM
By: Charlene Close
The car may still be king in the 905 but fewer people are relying on their cars to get to work and school, according to new data from the 2006 census released Wednesday by Statistics Canada.
The census shows almost 35 per cent of Toronto's commuting population rides public transit. The closest to that figure in the 905 is Mississauga at almost 16 per cent. There are increases also across the rest of the GTA.
Sierra Club of Ontario director Dan McDermott told 680News the trend continues to shift away from the car.
"When people have an option to do something other than get in the car as a single occupant and drive to work, increasingly they are taking it." McDermott explained.
Roger Kyle, director of the City Institute at York University, told 680News gridlock is likely the reason for more people choosing public transit.
"It is not surprising that finally people are beginning to understand that they need to use public transit to get around.
The congestion on the roads is just becoming unbearable," Kyle said.
Kyle also said we should see more people using public transit once we see the concrete results of recent provincial and federal government investments in public transit across the GTA.
The census figures also show that young workers are the greenest commuters. According to Statistics Canada, workers under the age of 25 in the GTA use public transit 30.8 per cent of the time, 9.5 per cent walk and 1.5 per cent use a bicycle.
Looking at the public transit usage rates of some of the other larger urban centres in the GTA:
Brampton - 10.2 per cent
Oakville - 14.3 per cent
Milton - 4.9 per cent
Newmarket - 5.9 per cent
Pickering - 13 per cent
Oshawa - 8.3 per cent
Vaughan - 9.6 per cent
Markham - 14.4 per cent
Richmond Hill - 13.2 per cent
Aurora - 7.9 per cent
Whitby - 10.3 per cent
Louroz
