Comment 120717

By RobF (registered) | Posted February 07, 2017 at 19:30:58 in reply to Comment 120710

Labour Force growth itself isn't enough to explain this. You need to know more about the geography of employment and how it might be changing. Locations such as downtowns or central business districts generally have favorable modal splits (in terms of transit ridership). Dispersed concentrations of employment such as Office Parks near major highways do not. If we are still experiencing faster job growth in car-oriented locations then you won't find the answer from Labour Force numbers.

That is aside from possible changes in the nature of the jobs ... i.e. the possible shift from 9-5 full-time jobs with a regular place of work.

We do know that historically the TTC in Toronto went thru a period of declining ridership during the 1990s in response to falling employment levels as the economy restructured. That may well explain ridership declines in Calgary ... falling oil prices led to pretty significant job losses in Calgary.

Don't know what would explain Hamilton's numbers ... demographics may be part of a wider trend continent wide. So Haveacow has a point.

And yes for certain riders the fare increases may tip the balance in favour of another mode of transportation, or simply dissuade them from making a trip period.

You also need to look at per-capita distances driven ... is car usage also falling?

Comment edited by RobF on 2017-02-07 19:34:47

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