Toronto ranked worst city for commuting in North America: study

Toronto is often cited as among the world’s very best cities in which to live, but a new study suggests Canada’s most populous urban centre lags far behind when it comes to commuting.

A report released by U.K.-based business solution company Expert Market reveals Toronto is the worst in North America when it comes to commuting times and sixth worst in the world.

READ MORE: Toronto ranked safest city in North America by the Economist

The study, which looked at 74 cities globally with a population size of more than 300,000, compared average time spent commuting each day, average time waiting for a bus or train, average journey distance and data from living and traffic indexes for a weighted score.

The top five worst cities for commuting are Rio de Janeiro, followed by Bogota, Sao Paulo, Istanbul and Salvador.

VIDEO: U.K. study deems Toronto one of the worst commuter cities in the world. Mark Carcasole reports.

“Rio ranks bottom in our list because of the high cost of public transport relative to earnings,” the report said. “A monthly travel card is priced around £42, which works out as 9.4 per cent of the average net monthly salary.” (£42 is roughly $74 in Canada).

READ MORE: Traffic survey ranks Montreal and Toronto among world’s 20 best cities to drive in

Meanwhile, the top five best cities for commuting are Nice, Cuenca, Bilbao, Toulouse and Catania.

“Workers in Nice enjoy fantastic value for money from the city’s transport network, paying on average just 1.25 per cent of their monthly salary for a travel card — over four times less than commuters in London,” the study said.

The report said an average commuter in Toronto spends 14 minutes waiting for a bus or a train each day. But even worse, the average person spends a staggering one hour and 36 minutes for their daily commute with an average journey distance of 10 kilometres.

READ MORE: Toronto, Vancouver among top 10 cities to live, but lag in business and tourism: Ipsos global poll

A commuter in Toronto also spends 6.5 per cent of the monthly income on a monthly transit card and the average person spends 47 hours in congestion over 240 commuting days.

The next worst North American city behind Toronto is Miami, followed by Washington, D.C., Philadelphia and Los Angeles.

Vancouver is ranked 33rd as the top Canadian city with the best commuting, followed by Ottawa at 38th and Montreal and 46th.

VIDEO: Toronto ranked the best city in the world by The Economist