More Canadians Taking Transit

"Canadian Urban Transit Association tallied 30 million more transit trips -- a 3.42-per-cent increase -- on subways, buses and rapid-transit lines nationwide during the first six months of this year, compared with the same period in 2005.

Some municipalities, such as the Kitchener-Waterloo region of Ontario, saw big increases in ridership. There, Wilfrid Laurier University students were given a discount on U-Passes that has significantly contributed to the region's 11.41-per-cent increase to 7.1 million riders this year from 6.4 million in 2005.

Others didn't fare as well. In Cornwall, Ont., for instance, where average waiting times for buses increased to 40 minutes from half an hour, there was a 17.77-per-cent drop in ridership.

[CUTA President] Mr. Roschlau said it's no surprise that larger cities with greater transit demands have better service. Places with dwindling populations, particularly in the Prairies, are seeing slow, if any, increases in ridership.

'The quality of service is directly proportionate to the size of the city. In Toronto, you have buses that come by every three, four, five minutes on the main routes, but in a medium-sized city that might be 15 minutes, or a small city even half an hour,'" he said.