TORONTO — Public transit ridership in Canada increased in 2006 by just over three per cent to set a record for the fourth year in a row.

The Canadian Urban Transit Association says preliminary figures for 2006 show there were 1.7 billion trips nationally, a 3.21 per cent increase.

On a year-over-year basis, ridership grew by 52.7 million trips, which is close to the entire ridership on a transit system the size of Edmonton.

Association president Michael Roschlau says the upward trend is expected to continue partly due to Canadians' concern about the environment.

The association last year called for $20.7 billion in upgrades for public transit infrastructure for the period of 2006-2010.

It says it is encouraged by Federal Transport Minister Lawrence Cannon's recent commitment to developing a national transit strategy and looks forward to helping meet the growing demand for public transit.