A Longitudinal Study of the Impacts of Public Transit Improvements on Commute Patterns and Physical Activity Levels of Queen's University Employees in Kingston, Ontario

To curb greenhouse gas emmisions and reduce the burden on aging street infrastructure, North American municipalities are (re)investing in public transit to increase ridership. Meanwhile, studies have shown that riding public... [ view full abstract ]

To curb greenhouse gas emmisions and reduce the burden on aging street infrastructure, North American municipalities are (re)investing in public transit to increase ridership. Meanwhile, studies have shown that riding public transit offers valuable opportunities for daily physical activity (PA), since walking is usually required at both ends of the journey. Thus, public transit offers a valuable option for improving urban health at individual and population levels.

In the automobile-dependent midsized city of Kingston Ontario, three new express bus routes have been introduced to improve the network and increase ridership. The objective of this study was to longitudinally examine changes in commute patterns and physical activity levels since the introduction of these routes among an employee group that has been a primary focus of Kingston’s Transit Redevelopment Strategy.

An online survey was administered to the same population of Queen’s University employees in October 2013 (RR=43%), 2014 (RR=33%), and 2015 (RR=43%). 443 employees completed the survey in all three years, and are the focus of our analysis.

We observed a 3.7% increase in year-round transit ridership from year 1 to year 2, and a further 2.0% increase from year 2 to year 3, representing a total increase of 5.7% in 2 years (p<0.001). Most of the mode shifting was observed among employees who drove/carpooled, parked off-site, and walked in (p=0.02), though there were modest reductions in those using entirely passive and active modes in previous years. Transit riders reported the lowest number of leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) minutes per week. However, when leisure time physical activity (LTPA) was combined with their commute-related physical activity, transit riders accrued 30 more minutes of PA per week than entirely passive commuters.

Our study demonstrates that investments in public transit do stimulate transit ridership and provide physical activity opportunities, even in automobile-oriented midsized cities.