Why Commuting in Toronto Makes You Feeling Stress & Angry

Navigating Toronto's commute can be incredibly frustrating, leaving many of us feeling stressed and angry. Drawing on my decade experience as a Torontonian utilizing various transportation modes, I get into the factors contributing to the city's stressful commuting environment. From lengthy commute times to the impact on work-life balance, the financial burdens of commuting, and challenges with public transit, I explore the reasoning that makes Toronto's commuting experience a significant struggle. Despite the city's abundant opportunities, the commute can undeniably take a toll.
See you all in the next one,
-Frank
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🕒 TIMELINE
0:00​​​​​​​​​​ INTRO
1:41 LONG COMMUTE TIMES
3:38 WORK LIFE BALANCE
5:15 COST OF COMMUTING
7:12 PUBLIC TRANSIT CHALLENGES
8:56 CONCLUSION
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[@FrankHuynh]

What's your commute like?

[@edwardlin]

1 hour from Toronto to Toronto

[@FrankHuynh]

@@edwardlin brutal!

[@sportinguista09]

Miserable. 10 KM drive is 40 min 🤦🏽‍♂️

[@NicksDynasty]

A 15-minute drive, airport security, wait for boarding, 30-40min flight, deplane, then a quick walk

[@FrankHuynh]

@@sportinguista09it sounds like you're living in the downtown area

[@mik7652]

Whoever did the city planning for Toronto got some questions to answer. A place that’s 20 mins away by bike shouldn’t take an hour to reach by car

[@FrankHuynh]

i used to bike downtown and found it faster than the street car

[@Geebagmcmuffin]

Toronto is honestly one of the most depressing and stressful places I've ever been in. If you drive, you have to contend with a war-torn country like road conditions, no road markings, and awful/aggressive drivers all over the city. If you take public transportation, you risk getting stabbed, robbed, or seriously delayed because of crazies on the subway and on the tracks. There's a reason why everyone here is miserable.

[@FrankHuynh]

toronto def can be challenging in many ways compared to other cities in canada

[@Byteable]

Don’t forget bedbugs on TTC

[@maddoxmagennis1520]

Toronto is so far from war torn country roads. I’ve been to less developed countries and holy hell they make Toronto roads look like heaven. And I take public transit every day and incidents are rare, not too different from other systems and miles ahead of US cities

[@geckogekko]

I live and work downtown so I walk to work. I would go insane if I have to commute in a car from anywhere further. Hearing from colleagues commuting from Scarborough that they took out the parking lot at Warden Station and planning to do so for Kennedy as well? I hope not…. And I don’t know what they’re adding to University Ave but it looks like they are taking out a chunk for another bike lane? But it’s now half the size it used to be. I don’t why they close the DVP entrance from Simco street. It seems like all these improvements are making it worse for bikes and drivers… 😅 Recently even driving on weekends to Costco from downtown core feels like rush hour.

[@FrankHuynh]

That’s good you’re close by to your work downtown. Commute gets crazy if you had to drive

[@geckogekko]

@@FrankHuynh I’d quit my job if I had to commute downtown from uptown…

[@YouTubeExpertZesan]

waiting for this video

[@FrankHuynh]

nice!

[@dealman3312]

I remember back in the day I could drive all over downtown to get what I needed to do done. Then around 2013 or so that all started to change quite quickly. The city in just a total mess

[@FrankHuynh]

Downtown traffic can be pretty choatic these days for sure! 2013 must've been a lot more quiet

[@zackrose4644]

Nice video! My commute is about 35 min from 1 corner of wpg to the other 😂

[@FrankHuynh]

Thanks man! your wpg commute converted to toronto world would be about 1.5 hours i think lol

[@Drodrod]

Sounds like most cities in NA - dysfunctional public transport. I think the change will come, it will take time but nobody enjoys rush hour car commute. There are alternatives but first the civil engineers have to design for those alternatives and stop premiering just the car.

[@FrankHuynh]

True.. hoping for positive changes that benefit everyone's daily commute lol

[@norshatreshat1097]

Hi Frank, is GO train more reliable on schedule than subway?

[@FrankHuynh]

Hey. It can vary - no straight answer in terms of reliability unfortunately. Subway comes more frequent, while Go Train have actual schedules. There's transit apps that helps too. Go Train, in my opinion, is def more clean lol

[@dealman3312]

Yes it’s way more reliable

[@floxy20]

One way streets in downtown would help a lot. Imagine Manhattan with two way streets. Of course, we're talking about Mayberry North here.

[@FrankHuynh]

perhaps!

[@tylorg7971]

London Ontario, despite being a small city, is one of the most terrible places to drive. It’s taken over a half hour to move maybe 1-2km. Then our family lives in Toronto, so going to visit family was the worst. 2.5hrs very quickly turned into 3.5-4hrs, regularly. SW Ontario is so poorly designed and overcrowded.

[@FrankHuynh]

holy 3.5 to 4 hours is pretty time consuming and dreadful - Hopefully you at least have a good time visiting family in Toronto. Good to hear from you btw, Tylor.

[@StarFyreXXX]

the channel about city planning, etc "Not Just Bikes", the creator is from London (as he calls it, 'Fake London"). Now lives in Netherlands due to their great bike options, and transit. Check it out.

[@blackmamba6938]

I personally never find the commuting that bad, but I also try to avoid rush hour. I mean if you're going to drive during rush hour, you already know what to expect.

[@FrankHuynh]

thats true!

[@metalema6]

Politicians think it's funny when you have to waste 2 hours of your life every day just to get to work

[@FrankHuynh]

2 hours is quite a bit every day

[@dougpatterson7494]

I’ve never driven in Toronto but, between Calgary and Vancouver, I have found Calgary drivers less aggressive and rude.

[@FrankHuynh]

I tend to agree. More people on the road / long commute = greater likelihood for aggressiveness drivers

[@kellyhou9594]

I think the problem is that they lower the speed limit from 60 to 50. They claim lower speed will result less traffic accident. If that is the case, they should lower the speed limit to 20.

[@FrankHuynh]

that could contribute to part of the problem. Thx for watching too

[@VAPOURIZE100]

Ayeee which is why live in Mississauga work in Mississauga usually.. at least driving experience is a lot better than Toronto main ugh it’s so jarring and bike lanes tho good for locals already make narrow streets more narrow for drivers and bikes don’t stop at alll way stops either

[@FrankHuynh]

nice i imiagine living in sauga def cuts a few minutes out from your commute

[@meme-ei3yq]

i recorded the entire commute on my go pro and put on the youtube so that all can see/feel it

[@FrankHuynh]

nice!

[@blackmamba6938]

Also, I noticed your mic is peaking constantly. You should lower your gain and if you see the audio meters hitting the red on your editor, it means the gain is set too high.

[@FrankHuynh]

thanks for the advice! I tried adjusting it, guess it still peaks

[@Armor23OnPatrol]

“Dw guys we will just add another lane on the 401!” -Doug ford probably

[@FrankHuynh]

401 is quite chaotic already !

[@dealman3312]

Do you miss working face to face with your colleagues? At least on occasion?

[@FrankHuynh]

Occasionally I would say!

[@PatKitchen]

Hearing the second T from a local feels so wrong.

[@FrankHuynh]

lol i actually didnt notice i did that, good catch.

[@NicksDynasty]

I wish Columbus had a subway.. It's not going to happen sadly

[@FrankHuynh]

If i ever find myself somehow in columbus in the future, i will for sure visit your food truck!

[@NicksDynasty]

@@FrankHuynh sounds like a plan!! Who knows I may open a location in Canada one day 🤔

[@FrankHuynh]

@@NicksDynastythat'd be cool if you did. Confident your food truck will blow up one day!

[@tns-rox]

Toronto and Los Angeles have the same population, yet Toronto covers only half the land area of LA. I did not expect that. It's understandable that crowding the same number of people in half the land area is going to create tremendous crowding on subway platforms and bus stops, and it explains the gridlock situation in the downtown area. I'm glad to know that you're working mostly from home. I made that decision 27 years ago and have never looked back: no commute stress, lots of extra time at home, love looking out at a beautiful view of trees, flowers and grass instead of roads and freeways, and not having to be exposed to exhaust fumes. Great video, and enjoyed the maps and graphs you provided. Thanks, Frank! 👍 Freedom from:🚗🚊🚍

[@FrankHuynh]

Yup, working from home def helps! Interesting, I went to LA years ago and did get the feel that it was more spacious compared to Toronto. Glad to hear where you are now seems much more peaceful and more green. Thanks for watching, as always!

[@RichardHartl]

Sorry but Toronto has a smaller population, not the same as LA

[@spd_bird]

The good thing about taking up less area is that assuming you can afford to live in the area, you'll probably be much closer to downtown so the commute is at least tolerable (especially if you're taking transit). With LA, the region is so sprawled out that a transit trip takes significantly longer since you have to cover more distance. Drivers also have to drive farther, making congestion no better while worsening air quality and eating up more green space (not to mention requiring more infrastructure costs).

[@kareshi2k]

Poor urban planning and design is the problem

[@FrankHuynh]

I wonder what's the solution!

[@kareshi2k]

@@FrankHuynh move out of downtown

[@gholamhassani758]

10 years ago, half of the downtown lanes were cut in half for bikes, in a city with 6 months of winter! Now the population has doubled and lanes have only been reduced… go figure!

[@FrankHuynh]

good for bikers, bad for drivers i guess lol

[@Drodrod]

It sounds counter intuitive but they are doing the right thing. Those places that get improved bike infrastructure can now become less car dependent, also they can with time and new development become denser since you can reach places without a car, improving tax revenue, reducing cost for the city and making sure traffic that has to get places have less traffic to compete with.

[@torontoriddlah590]

AND they lowered the speed limit on every street by 10km 🤦🏽. It's like they want a slower community 😂

[@FrankHuynh]

damn!

[@samanthathompson9812]

My GTA commute is making me suicidal

[@FrankHuynh]

I'm really sorry to hear that

[@Yenaled1]

CITIES NEED TO BAN CARS

[@merc340sr]

You need a helicopter!....loll...

[@FrankHuynh]

hahah right..! that's how u beat the traffic

[@__BlacklotuS__]

lmao people who move to populated cities then bitch about traffic, humans are funny

[@FrankHuynh]

i be sorry!

[@__BlacklotuS__]

@@FrankHuynh nah not you the vid was good, but some people

[@vighneshkoalapunani8851]

i blame brampton

[@FrankHuynh]

yikes!