Three in Four (76%) Employed Canadians Would Bike or Walk to Work, in a Perfect World

Toronto, Ontario, March 25, 2024 — In a perfect world, three in four (76%) employed Canadians would walk or bike to work, according to a new Ipsos poll conducted on behalf of Earth Day Canada. Moreover, two in three (66%) would like to have more sustainable travel options or commuting to work, and half (49%) would like their employer to organize ride sharing among their employees.  

Monday April 22 is Earth Day, and one in four (27%) Canadians say they typically do something to recognize or participate in Earth Day. If their employer organized ride-sharing for Earth Day, upwards of two in three (67%) employed Canadians say they would consider participating in the program and try it for the day. Most (71%) are looking for a less expensive travel option for commuting to work, so this type of initiative could kill two birds with one stone: helping the environment and saving money in the process.

Two in three (68%) working Canadians typically commute to work on Mondays. A majority (54%) say they get to work by driving themselves, far and away the most common means of commuting. One in five (19%) take public transit, while just 9% walk, 5% carpool with others, 3% cycle, 1% use an electric scooter, and 2% employ some other method of getting to work. And while 47% acknowledge that driving themselves remains their preferred method of getting to work all things considered, 17% would like to walk (compared to 9% who do), 7% would like to carpool (5% do), and 7% would like to cycle (3% do).

Thinking about what prevents working Canadians from making the move to a more sustainable commute to work, nearly half (44%) cite the fact that it would take them too long to get to work to do so. Others say that there is no public transit system or that the current system does not meet their needs (26%), that they often have to make multiple stops on their way to and from work (22%), that there is a lack of infrastructure and facilities like bike paths and showers at work (20%), or that they are not physically able (10%) to commute by some other means.

Indeed, relatively few employers currently offer facilities or services that would make it easier to commute by alternate means. While 37% offer bike racks and storage facilities, even fewer offer showers (25%), incentives or allowances to travel by transit (15%), priority parking for carpoolers (13%), or other options. However, between 30% and 50% of employed Canadians would take advantage of various incentives to use more sustainable commuting options if such options were offered by their employer. The chart below outlines the proportion who say their employer already offers these options compared to the proportion who would use these options if provided. In most cases, the gulf between the two is large, indicating a significant opportunity for employers.

The fitness benefits are also apparent to Canadians when it comes to alternative methods of commuting. A majority of working Canadians (56%) say they count walking or biking to work as part of their weekly workouts/exercise regime. A similar proportion (55%) maintains that one of the benefits of walking or biking to work is that they can skip “leg day” when they work out!

These are the findings of an Ipsos survey conducted on behalf of Earth Day Canada. Fieldwork was conducted between February 12 to 16, 2024. A total of n=1,000 Canadians aged 18+ participated in the survey which was fielded via the Ipsos’ panel. Quotas and weighting were used to ensure the sample's composition reflects that of the Canadian population according to census parameters. This survey has a credibility interval of +/- 3.5 per cent 19 times out of 20, of what the results would have been had all Canadian adults 18+ been surveyed.

For more information on this Factum, please contact:

Mike Colledge
President, ESG Lead, Ipsos Canada
[email protected]

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