Commute times in the GTA getting worse,

Fewer Torontonians and 905ers driving to work over past decade

The portion of Torontonians who drive to work has declined over the past decade while the portion commuting by public transit has increased, signalling that even without the construction of major new transit infrastructure during the past 10 years the city is moving in the right direction when it comes to decreasing residents’ reliance on the car.

According to 2016 long-form census data released Wednesday by Statistics Canada, the share of Torontonians who drive their own car, truck or van to work decreased by 7 per cent in the 10 years since 2006. Over the same period, the share of people commuting by transit increased by 7.7 per cent.

The Greater Toronto Area saw the same trend, although the drop in the portion of commuters who drove was less pronounced.

Across the GTA, the portion of those commuting by private vehicle fell by 1.8 per cent since 2006, while public-transit use rose by 10.1 per cent.

The trend will be hailed as positive by policy-makers intent on reducing the congestion and greenhouse-gas emissions associated with private automobiles, and comes despite the fact that no major transit projects have opened in Toronto over the past decade. Line 4 (Sheppard) is the most recent addition to the TTC subway network, and it carried its first passengers in 2002.

Jason Gilmore, chief of labour statistics at Statistics Canada, said many factors could be driving the shift away from private-vehicle use and toward public transit. One contributor is likely that Toronto’s population is simply becoming more dense.