Average weekly - 67%
Peak Day - Wednesday 78%
Low Day - Friday 35%
The slow down in the return to the office in the summer comes as no surprise. Early data in September, however, has some interesting new developments. Most notably the increase in both Mondays and Fridays, we expect to report more on this in the next Index.
Companies are beginning to implement policies with a noticeable increase in in-office work and the data is beginning to show that. The number one objection to returning to the office we are observing is the length of time it takes to commute. Road blockages, due to construction, maintenance and other factors are central to the conversation in the news today.
This is only part of the problem. Transit operators are increasingly challenged to provide better service a critical component of the commute. More transit use less congestion on the roads. Please feel free to send in your comments and thoughts on these important challenges facing the region. They will be treated in confidence and will contribute to the research SRRA is conducting on solutions.
Your SRRA team
Links to Articles of Interest
Globe Columnist Skewers Public Service Union for Its Stance on Remote Work
“Okay, team, what’s the best way to make the case that we shouldn’t go back to the office, two years after everyone else did? .... Why don’t we call for a boycott of Ottawa small businesses that are still trying to scrape themselves off the pavement after COVID-19 shutdowns, the convoy siege and the abandonment of downtown?” “This tone-deaf and spiteful campaign got the blowback it deserved. A day later, PSAC changed the post, replacing “Buy nothing” with “Buy local,” but what were they thinking?
Special Delivery! Amazon Ramps Up Requirement for Attendance to Office
Three days didn’t do it for Amazon’s management team. CEO Andy Jassy stated that “The change is necessary to “invent, collaborate and be connected.” Other moves include modifying the ratio of managers to “contributors” and getting rid of the provision that allowed employees to work from anywhere four months of a year.
Has Toronto Lost Its Way? Better Transit Seen as One of the Necessary Fixes
While praising Toronto’s many strengths, this spirited opinion piece also cites a growing reputation as one of the most congested, least efficient downtown on the planet. The city’s “Dysfunctional public transit and traffic have become synonymous with Toronto.” This is a problem.
Amid Confusion Over The One, Pinnacle’s SkyTower Project On Track to be Tallest Yet
With 2,500 condos, 1.5M office space and room for a hotel, SkyTower at 1 Yonge Street will eventually be the city’s tallest mixed-use building at 95 storeys. Although The One continues to grow in height, its future is mired in mystery.
New York’s Payroll Mobility Tax Might Not Stretch to Cover $65B Investment
The MTA laid down a significant marker to signal the size and scale of the investment needed to upgrade and expand the city’s aging transit system. Officials will be looking to senior levels of government to plug the gap but are taking credit for the bold move to institute a new payroll tax to help fund the MTA’s needs.
“The Occupancy Index is supported by the City of Toronto, Downtown Yonge BIA, and Downtown West BIA. It is a measure of the percentage of office employees returning to the office compared to the number of employees who would normally have come to their offices pre-COVID. For a detailed description of the calculation please contact Iain Dobson at [email protected],”