Toronto World Cup shifts travel

Toronto’s World Cup travel story was not just about crowding near Exhibition Place. Data reviewed by CBC from the City of Toronto, the Toronto Transit Commission and Bike Share Toronto showed that on match days, more people got around by transit, bicycle and on foot, while expressway traffic fell on several of the dates analyzed. The shift came during a tournament period that ran from Toronto’s first match on June 12 to its last on July 2, with the city also operating a downtown fan festival through July 19. Toronto had prepared for that stretch with road restrictions, temporary traffic measures and a mobility plan built around transit and active transportation. ### So what actually changed on match days? (cbc.ca) CBC reported on July 8 that walking, cycling and transit use all rose on World Cup match days compared with non-event periods, based on data obtained from the city, the TTC and Bike Share Toronto. The outlet said the pattern was visible across the dates it examined. Toronto Life, summarizing CBC’s reporting, said expressway traffic was 10% to 30% lower than usual on the three match days analyzed. (cbc.ca) That points to fewer car trips on roads that normally carry commuter and regional traffic into the core. ### Where was the biggest transit effect? The TTC said ridership on routes serving BMO Field and Exhibition Place rose 42% from a year earlier after service was increased for World Cup matches. (cbc.ca) Global News and an MSN-carrying report both cited the transit agency’s figures on the jump. The TTC had planned for that demand months earlier. A March service notice said the agency would add service, run express shuttles and extend subway hours on game days, while a match-day service map listed extra service for June 12, 17, 20, 23, 26 and July 2. (torontolife.com) ### Why were people pushed out of cars? The City of Toronto said in its March 26 mobility plan release that the event would rely on measures meant to support accessible travel and reduce broader travel impacts. (globalnews.ca) Those measures included road restrictions near Toronto Stadium and the fan festival area, along with guidance steering residents and visitors toward transit and other travel options. (cbc.ca) A city business guide for the tournament said temporary road closures would affect Liberty Village, Fort York and the Exhibition Place area. CBC also reported before the tournament that Toronto expected six matches and a 22-day fan festival, conditions that concentrated demand in a few parts of the city. ### Was this only about the stadium? (toronto.ca) Toronto’s World Cup footprint extended beyond the stadium gates. The TTC said after Toronto’s matches concluded that it would continue enhanced service to the FIFA Fan Festival at Fort York National Historic Site and The Bentway until the tournament’s final whistle on July 19. Metrolinx also increased service between June 10 and July 19, according to CBC’s reporting from Hamilton and Niagara, as regional agencies tried to absorb visitors and regular commuters during the event period. (toronto.ca) Toronto had warned before kickoff that the tournament could add 10% to 15% more vehicles to downtown roads. ### What does this leave behind after the matches? (ttc.ca) The City of Toronto’s mobility plan names the TTC, Metrolinx and the Ontario transportation ministry among the agencies responsible for moving residents and visitors during the tournament. The plan and the city’s road-restrictions page remain the main public record of the temporary operating changes used during the event. (cbc.ca) July 19 is the next fixed date in Toronto’s World Cup transport calendar. The TTC says enhanced fan-festival service continues until then, and the city’s mobility and road-restriction materials remain available for residents tracking the final days of tournament operations. (ttc.ca) (toronto.ca)