When Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) urged Montrealers to limit outdoor activity during Canada’s worst wildfire smoke episodes, the city’s travel patterns shifted – but far less than public health officials might have hoped, according to a new McGill University study.
When Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) urged Montrealers to limit outdoor activity during Canada’s worst wildfire smoke episodes, the city’s travel patterns shifted – but far less than public health officials might have hoped, according to a new McGill University study.
Researchers at the University’s Platial Analysis Lab examined how Montrealers were moving during 27 days, in 2022 through 2025, when smoke-related air quality advisories were in effect. They found that, on those days, bikeshare (BIXI) trips fell by 5.8 per cent, while bus ridership rose by 6.7 per and metro ridership rose by 4.7 per cent.
“While people moved from open-air travel into enclosed modes, which is what the bulletins ask for, the size of the change was small,” said study co-author Daniel Romm, a PhD candidate in the Department of Geography.
Read more at: University of McGill
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