IN a dazzling glimpse of the obvious, Statistics Canada recently released numbers showing most commuters in Metro Vancouver are still getting to work in their cars.
In the more urban areas, where transit options are better, the number of car commuters is certainly fewer.
However, North Shore residents are mostly doing the same thing as other suburban commuters: gassing up and ignoring campaigns to get them out of their vehicles.
Their reluctance to park the car and embrace transit are primarily the dual factors of travel time and convenience.
Neither of which is surprising. Once outside the urban core - hinterlands less occupied by urban planners and more by ordinary folk - getting to and from many destinations remains a lengthy headache on transit.
That issue isn't about to go away. Outlying suburbs are among the fastest-growing areas of our region. Contributing to the problem is that drivers continue to enjoy the lion's share of provincial dollars that go to transportation. Expansion of transit service to make it faster and more convenient for outlying areas is key to getting more people out of their cars. But that won't happen without money - which is where the rubber really hits the road.
Road pricing is one option that's been suggested by local mayors to raise cash for transit expansion. But Victoria has been cool to the idea, insisting it be tied to a doomed-to-fail referendum.
The likely result - more people continuing to drive more cars until political will makes transit a more viable option.
