During the 2026 World Cup hosted in Toronto, there was a notable increase in the use of walking, cycling, and public transit, according to data provided by the city, TTC, and Bike Share. The tournament began on June 12 with a match between Canada and Bosnia-Herzegovina and concluded on July 2 with a game featuring Portugal and Croatia.
On the first match day, data indicated a 130% rise in pedestrian activity around Toronto Stadium and a 65% increase in cycling compared to the preceding four weeks. Additional data for two more match days showed significant spikes in pedestrian and cycling activities around the stadium.
During these match days, traffic volume on expressways decreased by 10 to 30% compared to regular levels, as per city records. While it remains unclear how this traffic data compares to other major events like the 2015 Pan Am Games or the Jays’ World Series playoffs last year, inquiries have been made by CBC Toronto.
Michael Longfield, the executive director of Cycle Toronto, viewed the data as a success and emphasized the importance of maintaining these positive transportation trends as the new norm for the city. Public transit use also surged on all six match days according to TTC data, with over 200,000 trips taken on routes servicing FIFA Fan Fest on the opening match day.
Josh Colle, chief strategy and customer experience officer at TTC, expressed satisfaction with the increase in transit use during match days and highlighted the importance of providing ample capacity for both World Cup visitors and regular commuters. Similarly, Bike Share data revealed a rise in overall usage during Toronto’s World Cup hosting period, with spikes in usage on match days.
Overall, the transportation plan for the World Cup was deemed successful by Eric Miller, a transportation engineering professor at the University of Toronto, who emphasized the need to apply the lessons learned from the event to enhance daily city transportation strategies.