As fares rise in a number of Canadian cities, some experts say it's time to rethink how public transit is financed.
Earlier this month, Calgary raised its fare from $3.80 to $4 per trip. Ottawa just approved a 10-cent increase to $4.10.
Earlier this year Edmonton raised the cash fare from $3.50 to $3.75. in February, and Victoria jumped from $2.50 to $3 in March and Vancouver rose from From $3.20 to $3.35 in July.
Rising tariffs reflect growing pressure on transit systems.
Energy, maintenance and labor costs are rising, while revenue from gas taxes, which help fund public transportation, is declining.thanks in part to the advent of more electric and energy-efficient vehicles.
Meanwhile, transit organizations are still recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic, which saw ridership and fare revenue plummet. Emergency government funds have dried up and passenger numbers have not fully returned to pre-pandemic levels – in April they rebounded to 84.2% of April 2019 levels. according to Statistics Canada.
Although this is a global problemUm, experts say Canada has the added challenges of urban sprawl and generally low population densities that make itrd to keep routes in the black.
But while transit operators are feeling the pinch, Canadians are also struggling with rising costs of living, and the more fares rise, the more people can't afford to get around their cities.
“EAThe best thing you can do is raise fares to increase your revenue, but the structural impact that has on society is really bad,” said Lawrence Frank, professor of urban studies and planning at the University of California, San Diego and president Urban Design 4 Healthresearch and consulting firm working with government agencies.
Frank says some transit operators in Canada don't really have a choice with current funding model because they have to finance a certain percentage of their operations through tariffs. Passenger fares cover on average 59 percent of public transportation costs in Canada.
But he says raising fares risks reducing ridership and “pushing people out of the system,” mostly affecting people with low incomes and no other options.
Frank, who studied link between transport use and health from the University of British Columbia, says it's time to change the framework we use to evaluate value transit, so it takes into account the health and social benefits that arise from greater equity, reduced sedentary behavior and less air pollution.
His research found that using public transportation instead of driving reduces the likelihood of obesity and other health problems.
“We simply cannot have and create sustainable, healthy communities without transit,” he said.
“If we simply isolate its economic value from what the drive-thru box generates, you completely eliminate the major economic benefits that come from a healthier workforce.”
Increasing funding may be difficult
Rights groups are pushing for governments to rethink their approach to public transport, arguing it is an essential service and requires more stable funding.
2024 Mobility Canada's flagship report found that Canada's major cities are struggling to keep their transit systems running and a “downward spiral” in services is “inevitable” without major new operating revenue streams.
But in practice, such a shift is unlikely to be politically popular.
“I've long argued that we need a dedicated revenue source for public transit systems,” said Jeff Casello, a professor at the University of Waterloo's school of community planning.
Casello notes that public transit currently competes with other essential services for property taxes, making it difficult to argue for more spending through taxes.
Internationally, cities such as London, New York and Singapore have introduced road tolls to raise funds to improve public transport systems, he said.
Citing the successes of some of these programs, including measurable reduction in pollution and New York's traffic jams, he suggests Canadian cities could similarly charge tolls to enter downtown, although he admits that would also be difficult.
“Of course it’s politically unpopular,” he said.
Safety. Availability. Trains and buses that run on time. Ahead of municipal elections, voters are saying what they want from their transportation system.
To ensure that public transport users are not excluded from the system at the same time, it is important to focus on subsidizing costs for the lowest income riders, Casello said. This is something that Canadian cities do in different ways, but it offers something similar to the food stamp system in the US. Pilot program in Philadelphia which provides the keys for free travel to people living at or below the poverty line.
Previously, the Canadian federal government offered tax breaks on public transit passes, but eliminated it in 2017which Casello said was a “mistake”.
Some cities have fare caps, so people who spend a certain amount on a single fare travel for free after reaching the monthly limit. Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow recently hit the water a limit of 47 trips per month in Canada's largest city, which works out to about $156, or the cost of a monthly pass. Global Study 2023 found that Toronto's monthly pass is the fourth most expensive among major cities as a percentage of average net wage, behind only Sao Paulo, Istanbul and London.
How about a $0 rate?
In Durham, Ontario, and starting January 1 in Gatineau, Quebec, riders pay $4.75 cash to ride the bus. Halifax has the lowest one-way fare of any major Canadian city at $3.
But some smaller municipalities have made public transit completely free, deciding that the extra municipal spending would provide a net benefit to residents.
In Orangeville, Ontario, ridership increased by 150 to 160 percent in the first year of toll elimination in 2024. The city mayor previously told CBC News this move had a positive impact on the entire community. Lisa Post reported that some residents of the city of 30,000 say free transit “makes a difference in being able to get bread and milk.”
Canmore, Alta., a mountain city of 17,000, is offering free transit starting in 2022.
But while this may be more difficult to scale for a city the size of Toronto or Vancouver, large American cities such as Albuquerque, New Mexico (population approximately 560,000) offer free municipal public transit.
New York City Mayor-elect Zoran Mamdanni promised free bus service for the city of 8.5 million people, saying it would finance it in part by raising taxes on the wealthiest corporations and individuals.
Sprawl stresses the system
Thiago Carvalho, a graduate student at McGill University's school of urban planning, says rising transit costs are a global problem—very few public transit systems actually turn a profit—but urban sprawl and the low density of most Canadian cities make it especially difficult to contain costs.
“The more sparse your transportation system is, the more expensive it tends to be… because you have to provide more service,” he said.
In extremely dense Tokyo, developers have essentially built an entire “downtown” around most subway stations, Carvalho said. Private companies often own the line and the land around their stations, so income from real estate, retail and other commercial properties helps maintain and expand the routes.
Carvalho says Canadian cities could do this on a smaller scale, and cities typically consider transit-oriented development when building new rail routes, which can help reduce transit costs in the long term.
Ultimately, experts who spoke to CBC News say fares will likely continue to rise and funding will likely remain unstable unless the way we think about the role of public transit in Canadian society changes.
“Transit should not be profitable. This is a vital service. It has a very important social function: getting people to work and getting people to their desired destination,” Carvalho said.
“We need to identify secure funding streams that will enable this service to be sustainable and allow it to thrive. And the better the service, the more people will use transit.”
