The number of commuters on Canadian roads is steadily increasing, a new report says, and transit advocates expect it to only get more challenging as fall approaches.
For the fourth year in a row, the proportion of Canadians primarily working from home has declined, with just 17.4 per cent of employed people reporting remote work in May 2025, down from 18.7 per cent in May 2024, according to Statistics Canada data released on Tuesday.
The data also shows that transit riders have the longest commute times in comparison to drivers, where surveyed workers taking public transit took 44.1 minutes in contrast to car commuters taking 24.7 minutes.
While a shift toward in-person work may feel like a positive step toward the pre-pandemic “normal,” advocates are warning that this trend could bring major consequences for travel times, traffic congestion, and public transit reliability throughout the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA).
Cameron MacLeod, Executive Director of CodeRedTO, a volunteer-led transit advocacy group in Toronto, says these changes aren’t uniform throughout the week, which is a major part of the problem.
“Increases will be inconsistent throughout the week,” MacLeod explained to Now Toronto in an email on Wednesday. “Many employers still offer work-from-home flexibility, so Mondays and Fridays will be less busy. But we’re also seeing more workers choosing private vehicles than previously, creating more congestion since cars are so inefficient.”
The return-to-office trend set by several Canadian companies (and even supported by Ontario Premier Doug Ford), paired with the forthcoming back-to-school rush, is expected to push more commuters back onto already-busy roads and transit systems in September. But MacLeod warns of potential challenges ahead, like how a rise in car traffic at the expense of reliable transit options could affect funding and service reliability.
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“The increase in car traffic, combined with fewer weekdays being busy for commuters, creates large funding pressures,” he said. “Transit agencies are gradually adapting but only if their governmental boards allow. Some cities are cutting service instead, which creates a damaging negative spiral for transit.”
MacLeod says that travel times will become less reliable, especially as the region continues to “privilege inefficient cars over mass transit,” which is particularly evident in the downtown core, where transit ridership is typically the busiest. The uneven return of riders has also made it harder to allocate vehicles effectively across routes and times of day, he adds.
WHAT’S THE SOLUTION?
MacLeod believes cracking down on congestion at all comes down to long-term investments, even if they aren’t immediately profitable.
“It’s important to create space for ridership to grow, and improve service reliability, so that as our cities continue to grow we can shift travel modes to more efficient and sustainable options,” he said. “Adding service, even when half-empty, is an investment in the economic ‘blood system’ for our cities, and should not be considered optional.”
Starting on Sept. 2, the TTC will be increasing service on 32 bus routes to aid in the back-to-school rush for students boarding at multiple locations in school zones, the transit agency announced on Wednesday.
