The Cost of Congestion in the Greater Toronto Area

In large urban areas, congestion has become one of the most important problems facing commuters and economic growth. Congestion results in wasted time and energy (fuel consumption), more gas and particle emissions, increased accident frequency as well as additional costs to truck and passenger transportation. Governments have to be aware of the magnitude of the cost of congestion in their territories as it affects economic prosperity and the welfare of the population. Congestion cost should be one of the important performance measures in large urban areas as systems of infrastructure, land-uses and economic activities. The Greater Toronto Area (GTA), in southern Ontario, Canada, is defined as the City of Toronto and the Regional municipalities surrounding it (Durham, York, Peel, Halton and Hamilton). The objective of this paper is to study congestion in the (GTA) and estimate its cost. The approach developed in this study is based on a combination of field measurements and mathematical modelling. The developed procedure should be of help to many other cities that need to implement a similar exercise. The study estimates the cost of congestion in the GTA to be about $5.5 billion in the year 2006. As population and employment continue to grow, the increasing congestion trend is also expected to continue unless significant steps are taken. Managing congestion should be, like the phenomenon itself, area-wide and multi-jurisdictional.