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Transit ridership across Canada increased 3.2 percent during the first six months of 2012 compared with the same period a year ago, the Canadian Urban Transit Association (CUTA) announced today.

"Year after year we observe the same upward trend, with transit ridership growing significantly faster than the population," said CUTA President and Chief Executive Officer Michael Roschlau in a prepared statement.

CUTA officials characterized the increase as "remarkable growth," but not surprising. A recent national survey conducted by Harris Decima on behalf of CUTA found that 94 percent of Canadians say it is important or very important for their communities to have access to public transit. In addition, 91 percent of people who don't use transit think it is important or highly important to have it available in their community.

Over the past year, CUTA has been working closely with the federal government to develop Canada's next long-term infrastructure plan. One of CUTA's key recommendations is for the next plan to include incremental and dedicated funding for public transit.