Report: Public transit boosts Canadian economy

A new report confirms the importance of public transit in creating economically vibrant and competitive cities in Canada. The report, Transit Means Business, conducted by the Canadian Urban Transit Association (CUTA), shows that transit contributes in large measure to the economic vitality, prosperity and growth of Canada's cities through job creation and public health and safety benefits. Other benefits of public transit included congestion reduction, property impacts, increased labor mobility and personal productivity. Highlights of the CUTA report include:

Without additional investment in transit, the average commute in the Greater Toronto Area could be 50% longer by 2021.

A 15% decline in transit usage in Montreal would result in $150 million in additional costs to the community. Without public transit, Canadians would likely suffer an additional 150 fatal collisions and 11,000 personal injury collisions each year, at a cost of at least $1.1 billion. A summary of the report's findings can be found at www.cutaactu.ca/pdf/issue5.pdf