People walked, biked and took transit a lot more than usual during the World Cup
Expressway traffic went down, too
In the months ahead of the World Cup, city officials made a concerted effort to ask Torontonians to take transit, walk or cycle during the tournament, hoping to reduce traffic volume amid surges of soccer fans. It seems to have worked.
CBC reviewed data provided by the city, as well as by the TTC and Bike Share Toronto, and concluded that traffic on expressways was 10 to 30 per cent lower than usual on the three match days analyzed by the outlet.
Related: Toronto police arrested a soccer fan for holding up a “FIFA = Greed” sign
On the first match day (June 12), when Canada played against Bosnia-Herzegovina, pedestrian activity near Toronto Stadium was up by 130 per cent, and cycling activity increased by 65 per cent, in comparison to the four weeks prior.
The numbers continued to look good after that. On June 17, during the Panama vs. Ghana game, pedestrian activity near the stadium increased by 70 per cent. On June 20, during Germany vs. Côte d’Ivoire, pedestrian and cycling activity near the stadium showed a 140 per cent increase.
Transit use was also up on the days of all six World Cup matches played in Toronto.
“We’re thrilled that on match days we saw a real spike in transit use,” Josh Colle, the TTC’s chief strategy and customer experience officer, told CBC. “It’s a bit of proof of concept there for what really excellent transit in the city could and should look like.”
Carly Lewis is a journalist whose work has appeared in the New York Times and the New York Times Magazine, Vanity Fair, Wired, Interview Magazine, Pitchfork, Elle, and Maclean’s, where she is a contributing editor. Her work has been recognized by the National Magazine Awards and the Digital Publishing Awards. She reports on city life, culture—including what people do online—politics, art and crime. She received the Dave Greber Freelance Writers Award for “The Murder of Ashley Wadsworth,” an investigative feature about a Canadian teenager who was killed by a man she met on social media, published by Maclean’s.
