Vancouver seems to have solved part of the puzzle for one of the world’s great frustrations: rush hour traffic.
Driving the news: Despite remote work and budget shortfalls, Vancouver’s public transit system has staged a major comeback, recovering 90% of its pre-pandemic ridership and growing faster than almost any major transit system in North America.
- The city now has the second-most public transit trips per capita in Canada, recently surpassing Toronto and trailing only the famously pedestrian-friendly city of Montréal.
Why it’s happening: Vancouver found success, in part, by building out its SkyTrain and bus lines to dense suburban areas like Surrey. While some North American cities have seen transit ridership decline by 50% since COVID-19, the Surrey region has seen a 30% jump compared to pre-pandemic numbers.
Why it matters: Vancouver’s transit model, while specific to the city, can serve as a blueprint for others across Canada that are seeing declining ridership, fast-growing suburban populations, and major congestion problems.
- As of May, 80.9% of Canadian commuters were mainly driving to work (a number that’s actually declined for three years in a row), while 11.9% of them primarily used public transit.
Bottom line: It’s no secret that Canadian cities have notoriously bad traffic, especially in Toronto and Vancouver. Getting more cars off the road hinges on transit becoming the easiest option for the majority of people.—LA