Highlights
- In 2011, the percentage of trips taken by adults in Ontario that involved active transportation varied widely between regions, ranging from 1.3 to 43.7%.
- Adults who use active transportation have higher overall physical activity levels.
- Provincial and municipal policies and community-wide programs, including those that enhance the built environment, may increase active transportation.
In 2011, adults (age 19+) in Ontario’s Greater Golden Horseshoe regions used active transportation (walking or bicycling) in 21.6% of the trips they took to or from work; however, the proportion of trips that involved walking or bicycling varied widely across regions. Toronto (43.7%), Peel Region and York Region (both 14.7%) had the highest percentage of trips that used active transportation, while Peterborough County (1.3%), Dufferin County (1.4%) and Brant County (1.9%) had the lowest.
Active transportation can be used as someone’s only mode of transportation, or it can be used to connect to or from public transit. Adults used active transportation as their only mode of travel less often (4.8% of trips) than as a way to get to or from public transit (16.8% of trips), which highlights the importance of public transit in contributing to overall physical activity.
Regional variation in the use of active transportation is linked, in part, to the availability of public infrastructure that supports walking or bicycling, as well as geographic and economic factors that influence how people get to or from work. The percentage of trips that used walking or bicycling to get to or from public transit was highest in Toronto (34.2%), likely because of the city’s extensive public transit system. Some regions that were surveyed have minimal or no public transit, or are predominantly rural. Active transportation may not be feasible in these regions for several reasons, including large geographic areas that make active transportation impractical, or walking and cycling routes that are unsafe, underdeveloped or non-existent.
Adults who use active transportation have higher overall physical activity levels.[1]Physical activity reduces the risk of colon cancer, and probably reduces the risk of post-menopausal breast cancer and endometrial cancer.[2][3][4]Experts recommend that adults ages 18 to 64 be moderately physically active, which is equivalent to brisk walking for at least 30 minutes every day.[5]
Implementing provincial and municipal policies and community-wide programs that enhance the built environment to support walking and bicycling may increase physical activity levels within the population. The built environment may be improved by ensuring that a variety of destinations (e.g., businesses, schools and workplaces) are within walking distance of residences, that streets and sidewalks connect well to these destinations and are easy to navigate, and that bicycle lanes are available and appropriate for the population density of neighbourhoods.[6]Expanding the number of regions tracked through the Transportation Tomorrow Survey and similar surveys would inform planning at the provincial and municipal levels across the province.
More information can be found in the 2016 Prevention System Quality Index (PSQI), Cancer Care Ontario’s second report on system-level policies and programs that can reduce the prevalence of cancer risk factors and exposures in the population. The 2016 PSQI reports on 21 indicators related to tobacco, alcohol, healthy eating, physical activity, ultraviolet radiation, environmental carcinogens, occupational carcinogens and infectious agents. The report is intended to inform the development and implementation of policies and programs that can reduce the risk of cancer.