Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Of the 6 Canadian cities with over a million population each one has some type of urban system (though Ottawa's is pretty small). Seems like they are making better headway than the U.S., but I don't know if it is the political will, available funding, or built environment that makes the difference. Ideas? This comes to mind:
There's 292.6km of heavy and light rail in Canada vs 2687.7km of heavy and light rail in the US. The US has 9.3 times the population so the two countries are pretty equal in per capita terms. Some smaller US cities have light rail too, like Portland, Salt Lake, Jersey City, Buffalo, Newark and Norfolk...
Also it seems like some of the larger cities have rather large systems, New York and DC have a lot of kms of rapid transit per capita.
I think most Canadian cities have a higher percentage of jobs in their downtowns than the average American city, and the residential densities are higher, and there are often fewer highways, which means the transit that does exist in Canadian cities is more heavily utilized. I'm pretty sure transit in Canada actually gets less funding from the federal government than in the US, and it's mostly funded by the provinces and municipalities.
Canada also has a much healthier intercity bus network than the United Sates. Greyhound/Trailways, which has been shrinking in scope for years, has drifted into the control of the Laidlaw group, the same entity which operates many school bus systems, and is viewed by too many as a "poor peoples' carrier of last resort".
The emergence of the "Chinatown" buses in the most densely populated cities and "corridors" may offer some respite, but the phenomenon is in large part tied to the recent surge in petroleum prices. Only time and the free exchange of both services and human opinion will determine how this all plays out.
There's 292.6km of heavy and light rail in Canada vs 2687.7km of heavy and light rail in the US. The US has 9.3 times the population so the two countries are pretty equal in per capita terms. Some smaller US cities have light rail too, like Portland, Salt Lake, Jersey City, Buffalo, Newark and Norfolk...
Also it seems like some of the larger cities have rather large systems, New York and DC have a lot of kms of rapid transit per capita.
I think most Canadian cities have a higher percentage of jobs in their downtowns than the average American city, and the residential densities are higher, and there are often fewer highways, which means the transit that does exist in Canadian cities is more heavily utilized. I'm pretty sure transit in Canada actually gets less funding from the federal government than in the US, and it's mostly funded by the provinces and municipalities.
That's true, but as you know despite the lengths of the systems, the ridership is much higher pretty much across the board. Calgary and Edmonton don't have that many kilomtres of light rail, but the ridership on those lines is enormous. Also, buses have pretty good ridership. I think one of the most important reasons for higher transit ridership in Canadian cities vs. US ones is cultural. There's very little stigma associated with riding transit in most of Canada, and perhaps that came from a different history with race relations, red lining etc.
I am impressed by Montreal and its rubber tire subway. No earplugs required! Stained glass windows in stations. But I understand they ran their intercity rail system into the ground.
Canada also has a much healthier intercity bus network than the United Sates. Greyhound/Trailways, which has been shrinking in scope for years, has drifted into the control of the Laidlaw group, the same entity which operates many school bus systems, and is viewed by too many as a "poor peoples' carrier of last resort".
A lot of the intercity buses in Canada are run by Greyhound, at least in the more rural areas. The service didn't seem much different if not worse from the US, at least the Northeast US.
transit in Montreal and Toronto is fairly comprehensive. Outside of that it's not all that great which is similar to the US in that the biggest cities have great transit systems but it quickly tapers off after that.
Re: mode share. It's higher in Canada for the same reasons it's higher in Australia. Municipal consolidation/regional governments (aka - stricter planning controls) means a larger % of regional jobs and retail are in the CBD, gas and parking are more expensive, and most of the big cities are also state capitals and much more important regionally in an economic and cultural sense.
transit in Montreal and Toronto is fairly comprehensive. Outside of that it's not all that great which is similar to the US in that the biggest cities have great transit systems but it quickly tapers off after that.
Re: mode share. It's higher in Canada for the same reasons it's higher in Australia. Municipal consolidation/regional governments (aka - stricter planning controls) means a larger % of regional jobs and retail are in the CBD, gas and parking are more expensive, and most of the big cities are also state capitals and much more important regionally in an economic and cultural sense.
Canada also had less of the inner city emptying out/flight to the suburbs and then the subsequent highway clearances that happened and then continuing emptying of the city, right?
I am impressed by Montreal and its rubber tire subway. No earplugs required! Stained glass windows in stations. But I understand they ran their intercity rail system into the ground.
Yeah, I remember riding their subway system when I visited Montreal once. It was definitely impressive, and the look of most of its stations reminded me of the subway systems in Atlanta and DC. Though dunno how it compares to Toronto's system, since I've never had a proper chance to visit that city. I wonder if I did hear correctly that Montreal's system was the first one that used rubber tires in the whole world? I know it was the inspiration(to use that over traditional metal wheels) for subway systems in different parts of the world, like Mexico City's system and certain ones in France.
Curious though, could someone explain better how Montreal ran its intercity rail system into the ground? If not, I wouldn't mind reading some articles that explain the history behind that better, as I never had gotten around to reading up about that myself. But I wonder if the number of Canadian cities/towns that used to have rail service and no longer do, is as high as the surprising number I've sadly discovered in America that once did, and no longer do today?
That's true, but as you know despite the lengths of the systems, the ridership is much higher pretty much across the board. Calgary and Edmonton don't have that many kilomtres of light rail, but the ridership on those lines is enormous. Also, buses have pretty good ridership. I think one of the most important reasons for higher transit ridership in Canadian cities vs. US ones is cultural. There's very little stigma associated with riding transit in most of Canada, and perhaps that came from a different history with race relations, red lining etc.
This. Canadians are also more likely to care about the environment. .
Fuel is also more expensive, and land use policies in many cities ensured that the core didn't hollow out.
Last edited by HandsUpThumbsDown; 05-15-2013 at 06:51 AM..
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
