The proportion of workers using public transit to get to work is growing slowly in Greater Montreal, according to a study released Sunday.
The study, conducted by the Communauté métropolitaine de Montréal (CMM), indicates that the area represents the third-largest proportion of workers using public transit, behind New York City and Toronto.
However, the slow rate at which new users are turning to public tranist could see the city fall in those rankings.
Commuter rail, metro and buses have been generally increasing in popularity over the past 15 years, but their use has fallen in nearly a third of Greater Montreal's municipalities.
As well, their growth has come at the expense of carpooliong and walking, but not the automobile, which remains the preferred form of travel for 65% of commuters. In fact, the cohort of commuters who choose to drive to work has actually grown, by over 142,000.
Between 2001 and 2016, the portion of commuters travelling by public transit increased from 22.1% to 23.5%. Cyclists grew from 1.3% to 2.1%, with most of those gains coming in and around the downtown core.
The CMM's Philippe Rivet says it aims to raise the rate of people using public transit to 2031.
"We do not escape, we will need investments to increase the modal share (of public transit)," he said, in an interview with The Canadian Press.
The head of the Greater Montreal Observatory is confident that the REM lightrail network will encourage the gradual abandonment of the automobile.
Philippe Rivet points out that, unsurprisingly, in the municipalities and boroughs where the public transit system has recently benefited from significant investments, more workers have opted for this sustainable means of transportation. He cites as an example the case of Laval, where the orange line was extended in 2007.
Part of the solution is also in his eyes in urban development, with the development of neighborhoods around the access points of the Réseau de transport métropolitain, because in Deux-Montagnes and McMasterville, for example, the presence of railway stations has made all the difference, according to him.