For a Greater Region: How Has Rail Coverage Changed in the Greater Toronto & Hamilton Area?

The population of Toronto and the surrounding municipalities in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA) has been growing with time, and so the transit network should grow accordingly. As such, the growth of the rail transit network in this area of Canada was investigated to determine how the population near rail stops changed over time as a proportion of total population. It was found that, within Toronto, residents within 800m of a rail stop grew from 29% to 34% from 1986 to 2021. However, in the same timeframe outside of Toronto, the GTHA population proportion within 800m of a rail stop stayed steady at 4%. Policy was found to focus on rail, not bus service, and to treat Toronto as a separate planning problem needing different transit solutions than the rest of the GTHA. Because of the low population densities in the municipalities around Toronto, bus transit should be embraced more than it currently is in order to facilitate efficient use of the regional and local transportation systems. Metrolinx, the regional transit provider, should work to improve coverage using collaborations with local municipalities and its own bus network, especially in the context of the planned increased frequency of trains on its rail lines.