Toronto now has second-worst transit commute times in Canada and the U.S.

A report published by the public transit app Moovit this week reveals that Toronto commuters face the second worst transit times among Canadian and U.S. cities, following just behind Vancouver. 

The commuter app unveiled its 2024 Global Public Transport Report, in which it assesses 50 cities across 17 countries through tens of millions of trip requests to reveal trends in commute times, wait times, transfers, payment, and transit improvement factors. 

The report found that Toronto commuters will spend an average of one year and 7 months through a lifetime riding transit — which was calculated by doubling the average one-way commute time, multiplying this by 250 (number of weekdays in a year), over a 30-year period. 

The average commute time — or the average time it takes to commute one way — is the highest in Vancouver (60 minutes), followed closely by Toronto (55 minutes), and Miami (52 minutes). 

The average time spent waiting at stations per trip is the same in Toronto, New York, Boston, and Chicago, where commuters usually wait approximately 14 minutes. The report also found that 22 per cent of Toronto transit riders get to their destination with one line, which is the lowest in North America. 

Taking a look at transit improvement factors, the study notes that lower-cost fares are the number one issue stopping Toronto residents from using transit more often. 

This is already the second report to highlight Toronto's traffic and transit woes this week. Another report, which was commissioned by the Residential and Civil Construction Alliance of Ontario (RCCAO) and the Ontario Road Builders' Association (ORBA), assessed the economic risks of worsening traffic congestion in Ontario and The Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA). 

Here's how bad Toronto traffic is expected to get by 2044https://t.co/csIWsIJk5A

— blogTO (@blogTO) December 9, 2024

The report found that if congestion levels remain unchanged in the province, the annual cost of congestion is estimated to rise to $108 billion by 2044, equivalent to 6.2 per cent of Ontario's potential economic output and representing a 95 per cent increase over today's congestion costs. 

Of this cost, almost 80 per cent ($85.5 billion) would be incurred within the GTHA.