What major events reveal about transit readiness

Right now, we have the chance to layer key learnings from the World Cup into everyday transit readiness right across the country. Getting this right can help build the trust people need to travel differently going forward. The benefits could be huge.

We know Toronto has a congestion problem. You have to dig further to uncover the true costs. In 2024, the Toronto Region Board of Trade pegged traffic congestion as the top regional and economic challenge; one that limits productivity and growth. The 98 hours commuters spent navigating rush hour traffic racked up $44.7 billion in annual economic and social costs. The tally also earned Toronto the title for longest average travel time in North America. 

By comparison, densely populated Hong Kong is one of the world’s clearest examples of transit supporting economic productivity. More than 90% of daily trips are made using public transport. ^{1 2} Most Hong Kong commuters prefer public transit over cars, rail reliability is extremely high and more than 10 million passenger trips are handled daily. ³ The result? Hong Kong moves people so efficiently that congestion doesn’t become the same kind of constraint experienced in many North American cities. 

Toronto’s congestion isn’t unique. Still, it’s costly. So, how do we take what worked well this summer and keep that momentum going for the long haul?

During events, transit becomes a visible test of operational readiness, infrastructure resilience and — this is the big one — public trust in rider safety. To rely on transit, people must have confidence in the system itself. That’s true whether we’re talking about reaching the Eras Tour or a special family gathering on the other side of the city; making the Blue Jays’ playoffs or a critical client meeting in the downtown core.

Expand that lens, and the Canadian Centre for Economic Analysis shows our inability to curb congestion over the last decade has had a snowball effect. If we’d cut the number of heavy traffic days down to two per week in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area, real GDP would now be $27.9 billion higher, private capital investments would have climbed by $5 billion and 88,000 more regional jobs would have taken shape. These factors have a direct impact on both quality of life and Canada’s place on the world stage.

A stronger, more productive Canada starts with stronger, more productive cities; and stronger cities start with trusted transit. The key lies in taking what we’ve learned this summer and using it as the basis for continuous improvement. We faced down the transit pressure points. Now, we must use them to inform future-ready, modern operations. Trusted transit must be comfortable and convenient. Leveraging smart technology can enable that.

Around the world, EY is piloting programs that use NVIDIA technology to significantly advance traffic control and incident response on highways. By integrating AI-driven analytics with real-time data, visual AI agents can now predict traffic congestion, detect accidents and even optimize traffic signals to reduce response times and improve traffic flow all while protecting personal privacy. 

Across Canada, municipalities are coming on board, drawing on AI to improve traffic flow on congested boulevards, map and prioritize accessibility inequities on city streets and more. 

In Toronto, Vancouver and every other Canadian metropolis, we have a clear runway to ramp up progress, too. 

Soccer mania has given us an important glimpse into what transit readiness can look like. Technology, and AI in particular (think digital twins, for example), provide new ways for transit agencies to make trusted decisions based on solid data. This moment could be our kick-off to the connected operations and system integration necessary to modernize transit — and tap into so many upsides. It cannot pass us by.