One-Quarter of Canadians Do Not Feel Safe Riding Public Transit, Rising to 44 Percent for Toronto Residents: Survey

One-Quarter of Canadians Do Not Feel Safe Riding Public Transit, Rising to 44 Percent for Toronto Residents: Survey
Police cars surround a TTC streetcar on Spadina Ave. in Toronto on Jan. 24, 2023, after a stabbing incident. The Canadian Press/Arlyn McAdorey
Marnie Cathcart
Updated:

After a series of violent attacks on Toronto’s public transit system, a new poll by Ipsos finds 44 percent of Toronto residents do not feel safe taking a bus alone.

About one-quarter, or 27 percent, of Canadians responded that they feel “unsafe taking public transit alone,” according to the poll released March 6, with 19 percent reporting they feel somewhat unsafe and 8 percent saying they felt very unsafe. Of those who responded to the survey, 75 percent said they felt safe if they were accompanied by friends or family, 40 percent said they felt somewhat safe, and 33 percent said they felt very safe.