COVID-19 Tackling public transit’s funding gap during the recovery

Public transit ridership in Canada has collapsed amid the COVID-19 crisis, leading to huge financial shortfalls for transit operators across the country. As attention turns toward economic recovery, provincial and municipal policymakers must work together with transit operators to address transit’s short-term revenue crunch—and the long-term changes needed in a post-pandemic world.

In COVID-19: Tackling public transit’s funding gap during the recovery, Deloitte explores the following key areas:

• Why public transit matters
• Factors affecting demand
• The short-term financial response
• Reimagining transit post COVID-19

Public transit deserves financial support in the short and medium-term to buy operators the time they need to work on long-term competitiveness in a post-pandemic era. Withholding financial support would risk sending the transit sector into a downward spiral of higher fares, reduced services and further reductions in passenger demand.

Read COVID-19: Tackling public transit’s funding gap during the recovery to learn more.