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CELPIP Practice Reading: Reading for Information ID: #60122 Medium How Canadian cities get around by public transit

Read the following passage.

A. Public transit carries people around Canadian cities by bus, train, subway and even ferry. As cities grew, many people could no longer live within walking distance of work, so urban transportation became more and more important. Governments at all levels continue to expand transit, partly to make cities more liveable. Transit matters more to some groups than to others. In the 2021 census, 9.6 per cent of women commuted by public transit, compared with 6.0 per cent of men. Women made up 57.8 per cent of people who mainly used transit to get to work, but only 46.2 per cent of all commuters.

B. In the largest cities, rapid transit moves many people quickly. Toronto opened Canada's first subway in 1954, and Montreal's metro followed on 14 October 1966. It was also the first subway in North America whose trains ran on rubber tires rather than metal wheels. It runs entirely underground and now has four lines covering 71 km, with 68 stations. In Metro Vancouver, three automated SkyTrain lines link Downtown Vancouver with nearby cities and the airport. The LRT in Edmonton also has three lines, called the Capital, Metro and Valley lines.

C. Other services fill the gaps. Vancouver's SeaBus is a passenger ferry that crosses the Burrard Inlet between Downtown Vancouver and North Vancouver. Each ferry seats up to 395 people, the crossing takes about 12 minutes, and boats leave every 15 minutes during the day. In Calgary, a shared-ride, door-to-door service is available to people who cannot use the regular buses and CTrains, and the regular CTrains and buses have ramps that can be lowered. In Toronto, the Blue Night Network runs on most major routes from about 1:30 a.m. until the subway opens, with service every 30 minutes or better.

D. Statistics Canada counts how much people use these systems every month. In July 2026, riders took about 122.5 million trips on urban transit, 1.6 per cent fewer than in July 2025. June 2026 was different: ridership rose 3.3 per cent as the FIFA World Cup boosted transit use in Toronto and Vancouver. Ridership usually drops from June to July because of summer vacations, fewer students and more active travel. In July 2026 the drop from June was similar, despite steady employment, a steep increase in gasoline prices and a new four-day in-office rule for federal workers.

E. Not given in any of the above paragraphs.

Decide which paragraph, A to D, has the information given in each statement below. Select E if the information is not given in any of the paragraphs.

- 1.
In Calgary, people unable to handle the normal buses and trains can take a shared trip that starts at their door.

- 2.
Trains began running under Toronto twelve years ahead of the system in Montreal.

- 3.
The SeaBus is run by the city government of North Vancouver.

- 4.
A boat for people on foot gets them across the inlet in around twelve minutes.

- 5.
The network in Montreal is made up of four routes with close to seventy stops.

- 6.
Women form a larger part of the people who ride transit to work than of all workers who commute.

- 7.
More people ride the Edmonton LRT each day than ride the SkyTrain around Vancouver.

- 8.
In Toronto, some routes keep running through the night, with a vehicle at least every half hour.

- 9.
In one summer month of 2026, people made slightly fewer transit trips than a year before.

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