Commuters spending more time in transit: Statistics Canada

The average Canadian spends close to 12 full days a year travelling between work and home, a Statistics Canada study released Wednesday suggests.

The 2005 study found that Canadians spent an average of 63 minutes a day commuting. Thatcompares to 54 minutes in a similar survey in 1992 by the federal agency.

"Many Canadians feel that the time that they take in getting to and from work is continually increasing," wrote the study's author, Martin Turcotte, in The Time it Takes to Get to Work and Back.

"The results of this study show that, in many cases, this subjective impression has a basis in fact."

Nearly 20,000 people aged 15 and over in the 10 provincesparticipated in the study, recordingtheir travel times in a daily journal.

While commuting times jumped across the country, Torontonians spent the longest time in transit in 2005, spending an average of 79 minutes per round trip, the report suggests.

In Montreal, the average round trip between work and home spanned 76 minutes, up from 62 minutes in 1992. Calgarians spent an average of 66 minutes in round-trip travel.

Travel faster by car

Workers in the Atlantic provinces spent an average of 63 minutes commuting, up sharply from 39 minutes in 1992.Similarly, people in the prairie provinces spent an average of 57 minutes travelling between work and home, compared to 45 minutes in 1992.

The study found that in British Columbia, there was only a marginal increase, with an average commuting time of 60 minutes in 2005, one minute more than in 1992.

The study also revealed that despite the widespread problem of traffic congestion, it is much faster to travel by car than by public transportation. On average,Canadiansin cars spent between 51 and 59 minutes on the road, while public transit users endured average travel time of 94 to 106 minutes.

"Above all, the study shows that a sizable gap remains between the two modes from the standpoint of travel times," wrote Turcotte. "It is therefore not surprising that despite higher fuel costs and increased environmental concerns, most workers continue to use mainly their automobile to get to work."