Case Study #1
Transportation Infrastructure:
A Business Imperative
Transportation Infrastructure:
A Business Imperative
What
Addressing congestion through a regionally integrated, efficient and comprehensive transportation system.
Why
For over five years, Toronto Board of Trade members have identified transportation infrastructure issues (specifically relieving congestion and expanding our regional transportation system) as their top concern. The reason is clear: transportation infrastructure is essential to a city's viability as a business centre and is the leading driver of an urban centre's global competitiveness.
Surveys of business leaders also consistently reveal transportation infrastructure as their leading concern - because it impacts how and where they conduct their business, the associated cost of operations and their ability to attract top talent.
A study of 25 global metropolises commissioned by Siemens Canada identified "solving transportation issues" as the number one priority for a global city. Specifically for Canada, over 60 per cent of experts identified transportation infrastructure as the most important factor in attracting investment into Canadian cities, with 90 per centof these experts naming transportation infrastructure as being the most in need of investment over the next five to ten years.
In a global survey of C-level executives commissioned by KPMG, 90 per cent of respondents said that the quality and availability of infrastructure directly affects where they locate and expand their business operations. Two-thirds of executives indicated that existing transportation infrastructure increases their operating costs, with substantial numbers also indicating that transportation issues have hurt their companies' competitiveness, ability to grow and attractiveness to qualified employees.
In a similar study commissioned by Philips, almost two-thirds of respondents identified "improving public transport/roads" as the main priority for the city's political leaders to make the city more competitive for business, double the percentage cited for any other priority (such as improving education, public safety or reducing corruption). Transportation infrastructure was second only to the city's job market and cost of living as the most important factor to make a particular city an attractive place to live and work. These global executives see transportation infrastructure investments as key to an urban centre's economic health and vital to economic growth.
As the "Transportation Lens" shows, the state of Toronto's transportation infrastructure is quickly becoming Toronto's biggest impediment to competing on a global stage. This assessment is confirmed in other studies. A study by PricewaterhouseCoopers ranked Toronto's transportation infrastructure in the bottom half of cities and identified this as Toronto's biggest impediment to global competitiveness. In the aforementioned Siemens study, when the Toronto region was ranked against the world's most competitive regions, Toronto's transportation infrastructure was seen as uncompetitive.
A Colliers International study of Toronto region businesses found that transportation infrastructure and competitive rents are the keys to attracting businesses to the Toronto region. Respondents cited transportation infrastructure - in particular, their proximity and/or access to transportation hubs and other transportation infrastructure - as the second most important factor, behind the cost of office space, for their location decision within the GTA.
Addressing congestion through a regionally integrated, efficient and comprehensive transportation system.
Why
For over five years, Toronto Board of Trade members have identified transportation infrastructure issues (specifically relieving congestion and expanding our regional transportation system) as their top concern. The reason is clear: transportation infrastructure is essential to a city's viability as a business centre and is the leading driver of an urban centre's global competitiveness.
Surveys of business leaders also consistently reveal transportation infrastructure as their leading concern - because it impacts how and where they conduct their business, the associated cost of operations and their ability to attract top talent.
A study of 25 global metropolises commissioned by Siemens Canada identified "solving transportation issues" as the number one priority for a global city. Specifically for Canada, over 60 per cent of experts identified transportation infrastructure as the most important factor in attracting investment into Canadian cities, with 90 per centof these experts naming transportation infrastructure as being the most in need of investment over the next five to ten years.
In a global survey of C-level executives commissioned by KPMG, 90 per cent of respondents said that the quality and availability of infrastructure directly affects where they locate and expand their business operations. Two-thirds of executives indicated that existing transportation infrastructure increases their operating costs, with substantial numbers also indicating that transportation issues have hurt their companies' competitiveness, ability to grow and attractiveness to qualified employees.
In a similar study commissioned by Philips, almost two-thirds of respondents identified "improving public transport/roads" as the main priority for the city's political leaders to make the city more competitive for business, double the percentage cited for any other priority (such as improving education, public safety or reducing corruption). Transportation infrastructure was second only to the city's job market and cost of living as the most important factor to make a particular city an attractive place to live and work. These global executives see transportation infrastructure investments as key to an urban centre's economic health and vital to economic growth.
As the "Transportation Lens" shows, the state of Toronto's transportation infrastructure is quickly becoming Toronto's biggest impediment to competing on a global stage. This assessment is confirmed in other studies. A study by PricewaterhouseCoopers ranked Toronto's transportation infrastructure in the bottom half of cities and identified this as Toronto's biggest impediment to global competitiveness. In the aforementioned Siemens study, when the Toronto region was ranked against the world's most competitive regions, Toronto's transportation infrastructure was seen as uncompetitive.
A Colliers International study of Toronto region businesses found that transportation infrastructure and competitive rents are the keys to attracting businesses to the Toronto region. Respondents cited transportation infrastructure - in particular, their proximity and/or access to transportation hubs and other transportation infrastructure - as the second most important factor, behind the cost of office space, for their location decision within the GTA.
LESSONS FOR TORONTO:
For over five years, Toronto Board of Trade members have identified transportation infrastructure issues (specifically relieving congestion and expanding our regional transportation system) as their top concern. The reason is clear: transportation infrastructure is essential to a city's viability as a business centre and is the leading driver of an urban centre's global competitiveness.
Selected Sources:
- PWC. Cities of Opportunity (2010).
- GlobeScan and MRC (commissioned by Siemens). Megacity Report (January 2007).
- GlobeScan (commissioned by Siemens Canada). The Sustainable Cities Challenge in Canada (2010).
- Colliers International. Tenant Sentiment Survey for Toronto (September, 2010).
- KPMG (commissioned by KPMG in cooperation with The Economist Intelligence Unit). The Changing Face of Infrastructure: Public sector Perspectives (November 2009).
- KPMG (commissioned by KPMG in cooperation The Economist Intelligence Unit). Bridging the Global Infrastructure Gap: Views from the Executive Suite (2009).
- The Economist Intelligence Unit (commissioned by Philips). Liveanomics: Urban Liveability and Economic Growth (January 2011).
