"Canada looks a lot like much of the US, in terms of economic types, city sizes and ages, development patterns," Jarret Walker says. So why can't Americans keep pace with Canadian public transit?
Transit ridership is falling. The growth of ride share, low fuel costs and increased car ownership are all likely part of the reason, but it's possible to grow transit in this climate. "But notice the big picture: In a year when urban transit ridership fell overall in the US, it rose in Canada," Jarret Walker writes.
Canada is doing some things notably differently than the United States is, Walker writers: "Canadian cities just have more service per capita than the most comparable US cities. This results in transit networks that remain more broadly useful in the face of competition from other modes." Vancouver, where transit ridership has grown more than any other city in either country can be a particularly instructive example with its concentration of development around transit stations and prevalence of higher gas prices. "Notably, ride-hailing services like Uber and Lyft are not available in Vancouver due to provincial legislation," Walker adds.
To the United States, Canada is the "least foreign country" Walker argues. Americans should be looking to make their cities more like their Canadian counterparts.
FULL STORY: Why Does Ridership Rise or Fall? Lessons from Canada
More Bus Service Translates to More Bus Riders
A new study finds that bus service determines bus ridership.
Study: Uber and Lyft Have Been Catastrophic for Public Transit Ridership
The most damning evidence yet of how ride hailing is making urban transportation less efficient, not more.
North Carolina Triangle transit ridership jumped 32% in April
Rising gas prices are prompting more Americans to consider public transit, where it's available.
The state-sanctioned urbicide of Austin
People don’t kill cities. Freeways do.
US to reduce Colorado River water deliveries to Mexico
A new Colorado Treaty amendment reduces Mexico’s Colorado River water allocation by 250,000 acre feet.
New Jersey’s second-largest city bans standalone data centers
Jersey City will continue to allow co-location facilities, such as those meant for research institutions that store their own data.
Amtrak not solely to blame for New Jersey commuter rail's unreliability, report finds
A new study from the Garden State Initiative found that NJ Transit’s budget grew 20% across a 4 year period, but reliability declined significantly over the same period.
EPA erases limits on planet-warming pollution from power plants
Under Monday’s plan, power plants would still have some limits on how much mercury, arsenic and other contaminants they can emit.
Phoenix announces new on-demand transit service, more frequent RAPID buses
Both new services will launch in October, and are part of Phoenix's Project Effective Access Solutions for Easing Congestion.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
Eagle County Government
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
Nashville Planning Department
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
Journal of the American Planning Association