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Meter CalculationTrend in automobile use between 1990 and 2000.
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Context
Transportation is part of the daily lives of most Canadians, providing the access and mobility demanded by our society and economy. Along with these benefits, motorized transportation can stress the environment in a variety of ways. Exhaust emissions contribute to urban air pollution, including smog events, climate change, and acid rain. Spills and leaks of fuel and other materials contaminate soil and water. Demands for fuel deplete fossil fuel resources. Transportation infrastructures (roadways, rights-of-way, maintenance lots) fragment the land, removing it from other uses, such as agriculture, and alter wildlife habitat. Transportation also affects human wellbeing directly through increased noise and congestion and vehicle-related injuries and death. A prominent aspect of the transportation issue is passenger transportation.
Indicators
Automobile travel has grown by 9% over the last decade. In 2000, for every 100 kilometres travelled by Canadians, 74 kilometres were travelled by automobile. Air travel also grew, experiencing a 50% increase over the last decade. The rise in automobile and air travel reflects the displacement of travel by bus and rail. Total fossil fuel use by automobiles increased by 21% between 1990 and 1999. Fuel efficiency rose dramatically between 1973 and 1982, but has not improved since. Meanwhile, there has been an increased use of less fuel efficient light-duty trucks (including sport utility vehicles). The percentage of automobile passenger-kilometres travelled in light-duty trucks has almost tripled in the last 25 years, from 10% in 1976 to 27% in 2000. Urban transit passenger - kilometres increased by 6% over the last decade, but have remained a steady 8% of the total urban passenger - kilometres travelled.
Actions
In winter 2001, Canada's environment minister outlined a series of measures over the next decade to reduce transportation emissions, including the development of new regulations. Canada is using intelligent transportation systems to apply advanced technology to improve the functioning of transportation systems, such as traffic flow, mobility in congested corridors, and transfers between different modes of transport, such as automobiles and rail. In spring 2000, Canada's transportation minister announced funding to revitalize Canada's rail service. The federal Auto$mart Program provides Canadian motorists with helpful tips on buying, driving, and maintaining their vehicles to reduce fuel consumption.
Linkages
Transportation is mostly dependent on fossil fuel use, which is linked to air quality, acid rain, and climate change.
Because passenger transportation makes up a large part of total transportation, any changes to reduce its volume and make it more energy efficient will have a direct effect on issues related to air quality and the atmosphere as well as human health. Reducing dependency on automobile use would reduce the need for more expensive, environmentally invasive infrastructure. As global inventories of fossil fuels deplete, the cost of transportation will increase, creating a significant economic impact.
Challenges
Passenger transportation is a growing issue, as urban centres grow and Canadians have farther to travel to work. Efforts made to encourage commuters to shift to public transit have not worked in a significant way. Despite government initiatives in place to increase and encourage energy efficiency, energy efficiency in the passenger transportation sector decreased 1.1% between 1990 and 2002, mainly due to Canadians' growing preference for minivans and sport utility vehicles. More investment will be needed to make public transportation more accessible, efficient, and affordable, in order to shift Canadians' preference away from private passenger transportation. Incentives to adopt green transportation, such as carpooling and bicycling, could assist this shift. Also needed is further work to improve vehicle and fuel efficiencies, develop alternative fuels and vehicles, and implement intelligent transportation systems.
Websites of interest
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