Presentation - Biking in Canada-09.10.2025H O P I N !
E x p l o r i n g C a n a d a ’s C o o l G r e e n R i d e s
By : Raas h i Sac h d ev a
Sep t e m ber 10 , 202 5
i n V a n c o uv er & To r ont o
C O N T E N T S
0 1 . W h y C a n a d a ?
0 2 . P a r t 1 : V a n c o u v e r
0 3 . P a r t 2 : T o r o n t o
0 6 . F i n a l I n s i g h t s
WHY CANADA?
Safe Routes to School Rep (3 years)
Active transportation builds
community
Summer of 2024: Vancouver
Inspired Summer of 2025 trip to
Toronto
Focus: Canada’s (“sister country”)
infrastructure, planning & policy
V A N C O U V E R
1.Connected AAA Network
2.Bike Share &Parkades
3.Translink
B i k e I n f r a s t r u c t u r e & P u b l i c T r a n s p o r t
CONNECTED AAA
NETWORK
Connected system of bicycle facilities
Neighbourhood bikeways
Off-street pathways and trails
Separated bike lanes
Tailored for broad array of users
M e t r o V a n c o u v e r
BIKE SHARE
Public bike share system -
launched in 2016
2023 recorded a total of 1.2
million rides
PARKADES
Convenient bicycle day storage
facilities located at transit hubs
12 TransLink stations so far
CANADA SKYTRAIN
Widely used to get around Vancouver
Ridership increased by +7.7 million in
2024
Every 100 people who take SkyTrain or
an electric bus = 229 kg of CO emissions
avoided
2
Fun Fact: Vancouver had the longest
driverless rapid train transit system in
the world until 2021
T O R O N T O
1.Bikeways
2.Bike Share
3.Vision Zero Police
B i k e I n f r a s t r u c t u r e & P u b l i c T r a n s p o r t
BIKEWAYS
151.615 total miles of on-street cycling
infrastructure
Toronto < Vancouver when it comes to
biking infrastructure
Many areas of downtown remain under
construction and are dangerous to ride
around
BIKE SHARE
800+ stations across Toronto
Ridership of more than 15.9 million
since its inception in 2011
Fun Fact: Run by Toronto Parking
Authority (city agency)
VISION ZERO
Vision Zero Enforcement Team (VZET)
created by Toronto Police Service
Focus: intercepting driving behaviours
responsible for most serious types of
collisions
Statistical data to create deployment
schedule
Focus on areas with increased traffic
issues
TTC’S STREETCAR
Eleven streetcar routes
Concentrated primarily in Downtown
Toronto and in proximity to the city's
waterfront district
Fun Fact: Third busiest light-rail system
in North America
TTC’S SUBWAY
Rapid transit system - 70 stations
Three underground rail lines
Connects to The PATH
331,788,000 boardings in 2024
Fun Fact: Toronto is ranked as #1 in
Canada for transit
THE PATH
Underground pedestrian walkway
network
Spans more than 30 kilometres
Facilitates pedestrian linkages to public
transit
Accommodates >200,000 business-
day commuters
D o w n t o w n T o r o n t o
T A K E W A Y A S
01. Higher Cycling Rates
Canadians 3× more likely
than Americans to bike to
work
1.2% of Canadians bike to
work
Only 0.4% of Americans
02. Key Reasons
Higher urban densities →
shorter trips
Stricter land-use laws →
compact, bikeable
communities
Safer cycling conditions,
more bike lanes, and traffic
calming
Higher car costs
04. Safety & Training
Cycling fatalities dropped
45% in Canada since 1988
(vs. 25% in U.S.)
Traffic-calmed
neighborhoods in
Vancouver, Toronto, etc.
European model:
mandatory school training +
police tests
03. Infrastructure & Policies
Canadian businesses
required to provide bike
parking
Bike parking prioritized at
sidewalks and transit stops
U.S. invests heavily in
highways vs. minimal funds
for biking
Differences come from policy choices, not culture/history. U.S. could increase cycling by adopting Canadian-style policies
T h a n k Y o u !
f r o m t h e P a s s i o n a t e P e d a l e r :)