85% of drivers have never used transit
The vast majority of Canadians who drive every day have never attempted any other way of getting to work, according to a new survey published Wednesday on the typical commute last year.
The survey by Statistics Canada found that 82 per cent of Canadian workers drive to work, 12 per cent take some sort of public transit, while six per cent walk or bike to work.
Of the 10.6 million workers who commuted by car, 15 per cent, or 1.6 million, had tried using public transit to get to work. But nine million had never tried any other way of getting to work.
A vast majority of drivers said their main reason for not trying anything else was because it would be inconvenient.
The average Canadian commute to work was 26 minutes in 2010, the data showed. Those who walk or bike to work had the shortest commute, on average, at 14 minutes. Although there's wide disparity, drivers could expect a 24 minute commute, on average.
But those who rely on public transit took an average of 44 minutes to get to work every day — almost triple the amount of time it takes walkers and cyclists, and nearly double what drivers do.
Transit users who live outside of large urban centres fared even worse. It takes them an average of 51 minutes to get to work every day, compared to 36 for their big city counterparts.
Perhaps not surprisingly, average commute times overall are higher depending on the size of the city one lives in. Torontonians have the longest commutes in the country, 33 minutes on average. They are followed by Montrealers at 31, Vancouverites at 30, Ottawans at 27, Calgarians at 26 and Edmontonians at 23 minutes per commute, on average.
85% of drivers have never used transit
The vast majority of Canadians who drive every day have never attempted any other way of getting to work, according to a new survey published Wednesday on the typical commute last year.
The survey by Statistics Canada found that 82 per cent of Canadian workers drive to work, 12 per cent take some sort of public transit, while six per cent walk or bike to work.
Of the 10.6 million workers who commuted by car, 15 per cent, or 1.6 million, had tried using public transit to get to work. But nine million had never tried any other way of getting to work.
A vast majority of drivers said their main reason for not trying anything else was because it would be inconvenient.
The average Canadian commute to work was 26 minutes in 2010, the data showed. Those who walk or bike to work had the shortest commute, on average, at 14 minutes. Although there's wide disparity, drivers could expect a 24 minute commute, on average.
But those who rely on public transit took an average of 44 minutes to get to work every day — almost triple the amount of time it takes walkers and cyclists, and nearly double what drivers do.
Transit users who live outside of large urban centres fared even worse. It takes them an average of 51 minutes to get to work every day, compared to 36 for their big city counterparts.
Perhaps not surprisingly, average commute times overall are higher depending on the size of the city one lives in. Torontonians have the longest commutes in the country, 33 minutes on average. They are followed by Montrealers at 31, Vancouverites at 30, Ottawans at 27, Calgarians at 26 and Edmontonians at 23 minutes per commute, on average.
85% of drivers have never used transit
