C ON S U M E R O L O GY

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INTRO
CONTRARY TO WHAT WE MIGHT THINK,
CANADIAN COMMUTERS ARE ACTUALLY
MUCH MORE LIKELY TO LOOK FORWARD
TO THEIR COMMUTE THAN TO DREAD IT.
IN FACT, TO THE EXTENT THAT COMMUTING
HAS ANY IMPACT ON CANADIANS HEALTH
AND WORK, HOME, AND SOCIAL LIVES,
IT IS A RESOUNDINGLY POSITIVE ONE.
Drivers are least likely to think their commute is the most stressful part
of their day, in part because their commutes tend to be shorter and in less
dense communities.
Transit users tend to face a more difficult commute, but use their commuting
time to rest and relax, and report being exposed to more interesting,
entertaining and useful advertising.

ABOUT THE STUDY

For the 23rd Consumerology Study, a nationally representative sample of 1,500
Canadians were asked about their commutes, defined as a regular commute
where you travel from your home to another location, such as work or school or
volunteering, at a set time. 82% of the sample qualified as commuters. Other
studies on commuting often only deal with commutes to work although our
findings are in line with other studies such as those by Statistics Canada, this
distinction should be kept in mind.
Among our sample of commuters, one quarter arrive at their final destinations
in less than 15 minutes and two-in-five take 15-30 minutes. So while two thirds
of Canadian commuters have a commute of 30 minutes or less, one third have

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commutes over 30 minutes. As their primary mode of transportation, half said

they drive a car, truck or van, 25% use public transit (15% bus or streetcar, 8%
subway or elevated train, 2% commuter train), 14% are automobile passengers
and the remainder walk (6%) or bicycle (2%).

COMMUTING IS GOOD
FOR YOU (?!)
Canadian Commuters, as a whole, experience commuting very differently than the
media lead us to believe. Canadian commuters are three times more likely to look
forward to their commutes than to dread them. Three quarters report they are usually
in a better mood after their commute. Everything from commuters mental, emotional,
and physical health and their work, home, and social lives are six times more likely to
be positively affected by the commute than to be negatively affected by it.
Only 15% of commuters said their commute is the most stressful part of their day, and
only one-in-five said they are frustrated with how much time they spend commuting
each day. We can confidently lay to rest the myth of the grueling, unhealthy,
and soul-crushing Canadian commute. At most, one-in-ten commuters have a
dreadful and unhealthy commute.

DENSITY, MODE AND DURATION

Density, mode of transportation, and duration of commute all had significant impacts
on the way Canadians feel about their commute. Those commuting to or from rural
communities generally had more positive experiences with commuting, while those
coming from or going into urban communities were more likely to have negative
experiences. Similarly, those who mostly drive were more positive than those who
primarily depend on public transit. Tying both of these factors together is the fact that
urban transit commutes tend to be longer, whereas driving in rural or suburban areas
tend to be shorter. Only commuters who face a commute over an hour long (regardless
of mode) are as likely to dread their commute as they are to look forward to it.

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The major exception to the rural/urban divide is that those who are able to walk or
bicycle for their commute tend to have very enjoyable and short commutes, despite
being almost entirely confined to urban areas.
An oversample conducted in the Greater Toronto Area echoes these trends. Since
commutes in the GTA tend to be longer, are more likely to be on public transit and
are in denser communities (relative to the national average), attitudes are a bit more
negative but still overwhelmingly positive on balance. GTA commuters are slightly
less likely to be in a better mood after their commute (72%) relative to the national
average (77%), and are slightly more likely to dread their commute (16% GTA vs. 11%
national). Similarly they are more likely than the national average to report that their
commute has negative impacts on their health, although commutes still have a
strongly net positive impact on health.
Interestingly, outer GTA commuters are almost twice as likely to dread their
commutes as City of Toronto residents, in spite of the fact that they are twice as likely
to drive, tend to have shorter commutes, and are more likely to live in and commute
to suburban rather than urban communities.
Feelings Before Commute
And on a scale from 1 to 9 where 1 means you dread your commute and 9 means you look forward to your commute,
how do you usually feel about your commute?
Total

42

11

Commutes to Urban

38

13
12

Suburban
Rural

42
54

GTA outside Toronto

39

20

City of Toronto

44

11

Car, driver

39

12

Car, passenger

43

10

Public transit

40

13

Walk/Bike

53

11

<15 min. commute

57

15-30m

41

31-60m

33

17

26

60m+

10
Look forward to commute (7-9)

20

29
30

40

50

60

Dread your commute (1-3)

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Feelings After Commute

And after your commute, generally speaking, would you say you are usually in a

77
77

Total

75
75

Commutes to Urban
Suburban
Rural

73
72

GTA outside Toronto

City of Toronto

86

<15 min. commute

81

15-30m

72

31-60m

54

60m+

78
75
74
80

Car, driver
Car, passenger
Public transit
Walk/Bike

20

40

60

80

100

Better mood

COMMUTING GOALS
AND IDEALS
Three quarters of Canadian commuters say they would prefer to be alone during
their commute than with others. Not surprisingly then, even among transit
users, driving is considered to be the ideal mode of commuting, assuming that
cost and accessibility were not a factor.
As a result of this alone time, drivers are slightly more likely to strongly
agree (56%) that their commute is an opportunity to have some quite time by
themselves, than transit users (49%).
Although driving is the most commonly-mentioned ideal mode of commuting
among all commuters, transit users are actually much more likely to relax and
rest on their commute, relative to drivers.

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To Dos during Commute Transit & Drivers

And would you say that given your current method of commuting, in addition to the commute itself,
how often is each of the following the aim of what you are doing?
Relaxing

48

31

Resting

42

15

41
40
40
36
39
37

Planning what you need to do later that day

Enjoying
Reflecting on your day
Working

20

27
25
23

Catching up on news
Learning

12

Scheduling

20

Shopping

13

Visiting

9
0

28

19
18

10

20

% of public transit users that do this often

30

40

50

60

70

% of drivers that do this often

GENDERED COMMUTE
INTERRUPTIONS
The only aspect of commuting in which there is a significant difference between
the sexes is the kinds of activities for which they interrupt their commutes. Women
are more likely to often interrupt their commutes to run household or personal
errands (50%) and go shopping (42%), relative to men (38% and 33% respectively).
When running errands, women more often go to pharmacies (66%) and grocery
stores (46%), while men are more likely to often stop at convenience stores (59%),
liquor or other alcohol retailers (39%), and sporting goods (32%) stores.

MEDIA CONSUMPTION
As we might expect, the media consumption habits of commuters significantly
depends on the mode of transportation.

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Nearly three quarters of drivers say they listen to AM or FM radio often, if not
always. This is by far the most popular activity for drivers while commuting.
Only one-in-five listen to music they own or playlists they have curated, and
only 15% say they listen to satellite radio often.
Frequency of Media Consumption Among Drivers
Given your current method of commuting, how often do you do the following during your commute?

49

Listen to AM or FM radio

8
10
8

Eat or drink
Listen to music playlists or podcasts on a mobile device
Listen to satellite radio
Make personal phone calls
Texting or emailing
Prepare for work or school
Read news stories online
Browse the internet on a tablet or smartphone
Look at or posting on social media
Make business phone calls
Read a print copy of a newspaper or magazine
Listen to audio book
Use a laptop computer
Sleep
Visit with a friend or co-worker
Read a print copy of a book
Meet new people
Read an e-book
Shop online

4
9
4
8
4
7
3
8
3
6
8
3 5
8
2 6
11
2 4
8
2 4
8
2 4
6
2 4
6
1 5
14
2 3
8
1 4
10
1 3 5
1 3
7
0

21

16
11

15

30
13

10
18
13
12
11

10

20

Almost always

30

Often

40

50

60

70

80

90

Sometimes

Frequency of Media Consumption on Public Transit

Given your current method of commuting, how often do you do the following during your commute?

15

Texting or emailing

28
19

19

Listen to music playlists or podcasts on a mobile device

15

Browse the internet on a tablet or smartphone

17

11
9
9

Read a print copy of a newspaper or magazine

Look at or posting on social media
Read a print copy of a book

18
16

10

12

7
7

Sleep
Read news stories online

Use a laptop computer

4
4
4
4
5

Visit with a friend or co-worker

Make business phone calls
Shop online
Listen to audio book
Listen to satellite radio

26
22
22

16
10

7
6

Read an e-book

19

14
14

Meet new people

32
27
30

18

Listen to AM or FM radio

21
23

18
15

Make personal phone calls

19
27

18

Eat or drink
Prepare for work or school

24
20

14

9
11
11
9
9
6

12
21
16
13
11
11

10
Almost always

20
Often

30

40

50

60

70

Sometimes

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Public transit users, in contrast, tend to consume a much wider range of media.
One quarter of transit commuters often send text messages or email, listen to
personal music or podcasts, browse the internet on tablets or smartphones, read
a print newspaper or magazine, look at social media, or read a (print) book.

ADVERTISING EXPOSURE
Not surprisingly, most public transit users are exposed to billboards or bus
shelter ads and ads on transit while the majority of drivers are frequently
exposed to radio ads.
Exposure to Types of Ads Transit
Thinking about the advertisements you see or hear during your commute, how frequently do you recall seeing
the following types of advertisements?

70

Billboards or bus shelter ads

69

Ads on transit

47

Newspaper ads

Ads on social media,

like Facebook, Twitter or Snapchat

43
40

Ads on webpages, such as banner or pop-up ads

38

Ads that come before videos you watch online

34

Radio ads

Ads that appear in the games or apps

you use on your phone

33

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

% saying they see or hear each frequently

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Exposure to Types of Ads Drivers

Thinking about the advertisements you see or hear during your commute, how frequently do you recall seeing
the following types of advertisements?

63

Radio ads

39

Billboards or bus shelter ads

27

Ads on transit

21

Newspaper ads

Ads on webpages, such as banner or pop-up ads

20

Ads on social media,

like Facebook, Twitter or Snapchat

20
19

Ads that come before videos you watch online

Ads that appear in the games or apps

you use on your phone

15

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

% saying they see or hear each frequently

Only one-in-five Canadian consumers said they see or hear too many ads during
their commute. One third see an acceptable amount, and another third say they
see very few, if any, ads. Transit users are less likely to think they see or hear too
many ads, relative to drivers, and are also nearly twice as likely to report seeing
or hearing interesting, entertaining, and useful ads, relative to drivers.
In terms of advertising content, the presence of humour, discounts or deals, or
products or services they find useful are most likely to make commuters view an
ad favourably.
In short: radio advertisers need to make their spots more interesting, useful, and
in tune with the alone time mentality of car commuters.

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WE NEED TO UNDERSTAND
WHAT COMMUTING MEANS TO
CANADIANS
We need to accept that not only is commuting a generally positive time of
peoples day, it is important alone time that Canadians use to unwind or prepare
themselves for the next phase of their day. The demands of our work and
personal lives are as intense as they are different. Having some time to relax and
rest, or a few quiet moments to reflect on your day and plan what you need to do
next is what makes commuting so important.
Whether one is seeking to engage commuters with advertising, media content,
personal interaction, or commerce, it is crucial to bear in mind that commuters
are seeking useful information, relaxation, or time and space to themselves.
The better we understand this mind-frame, the better we can connect with
Canadian commuters.

METHODOLOGY
The findings discussed in this report are based on an online survey conducted by
The Gandalf Group, among 1,500 Canadian (n=1,212 commuters), proportionate
to the gender, age and regional distribution of the Canadian population.
We also surveyed Quebec in proportion to the provinces distribution of English
and French speakers. The survey was conducted September 17th to 29th, 2014,
in both English and French. An oversample of n=500 GTA residents was
conducted November 10th to 13th, proportionate to the gender and age
distribution of the region.

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