Mother Nature.

Santa Claus.

And the Toronto Maple Leafs.

According to the latest ridership numbers and insights released from Metrolinx, when any one of the above pays a visit to Toronto, GO Transit’s ridership numbers take a turn.

The daily numbers are part of the latest ridership map Metrolinx has released, breaking down ridership across the Greater Golden Horseshoe region.

Overall, from April 2018 to January 2019, Metrolinx saw GO ridership increase on all corridors, with overall growth at 5.8 per cent.

“Our ridership analytics and interactive map provide a valuable tool for our team to identify trends, insights and actions demonstrate a customer focus commitment to continuously improve our GO and UP experience and satisfaction,” said Mark Childs, Metrolinx chief marketing officer.

However, the report shows extreme weather and large events can influence ridership in different ways.

Take, for instance, that holly jolly gift-maker Santa, who paid a pre-Christmas visit to Toronto for The Santa Claus Parade on Nov. 18, 2018. Metrolinx ridership data shows an increase in ridership by about 14,000 people that day.

The report also shows the Toronto Maple Leaf weekend home games give a big boost to GO Transit ridership, translating into an average increase of about 3,000 additional rides each game.

“These customer insights are at the foundation of our strategy and mission to help connect our communities, inspiring us to bring to life new reasons and customer offers to encourage travel with GO, UP and transit across our region,” said Childs.

However, nothing puts the chill on a daily commute like a snow storm. Twenty-six centimetres of snow fell on Jan. 29th, leading to the first school closure for the Toronto District School Board in eight years. Many other school districts in the region followed suit.

As a result, GO Transit saw a ridership decrease of 103,000, or 36 per cent, as parents and care givers stayed home to look after their children.

Childs says he’s looking forward to seeing the positive effect another initiative will have on ridership. In March, Metrolinx and the province announced kids 12 and under can ride free on all GO trains and buses.

“Kids GO Free gives customers a fresh reason to take advantage of the increased midday service offerings on the Lakeshore Corridor introduced in September,” Childs said.