Travel patterns in Canadian urban areas changed during the twentieth century. No longer is urban travel downtown oriented. In all but the smallest Canadian urban areas, travel has evolved into a polycentric pattern. Despite this Canadian public transit networks remain oriented to the older travel patterns because of shortages in planning capacity. The transit literature on performance monitoring focuses on “system” variables rather than “network” variables like how well transit networks match travel patterns. This research develops a method by which transit planners can monitor the performance of transit networks in their communities. Applying this methodology provides recommendations to planners on how to improve transit network structures to better facilitate polycentric urban travel. Future research should compare the network performance of Canadian transit systems.

Travel patterns in Canadian urban areas changed during the twentieth century. No longer is urban travel downtown oriented. In all but the smallest Canadian urban areas, travel has evolved into a polycentric pattern. Despite this Canadian public transit networks remain oriented to the older travel patterns because of shortages in planning capacity. The transit literature on performance monitoring focuses on “system” variables rather than “network” variables like how well transit networks match travel patterns. This research develops a method by which transit planners can monitor the performance of transit networks in their communities. Applying this methodology provides recommendations to planners on how to improve transit network structures to better facilitate polycentric urban travel. Future research should compare the network performance of Canadian transit systems.