Transport Canada working to protect the environment

Transport Canada is working to protect the environment and develop a more sustainable transportation system. The department works with many partners throughout the transportation system to address important environmental issues such as climate change

Green travel tips - what you can do

If you want to do your part for the environment, here are some green travel tips to help you:

• Where possible, walk, bike, skate, use public transportation or carpool when you travel. If you commute 30 km to work (each way), you could prevent more than one tonne of greenhouse gas emissions annually.
• Take your car to a free vehicle emission testing clinic sponsored by a community group in your neighbourhood - there's no fee, no fine, just helpful tips on keeping your car as green as possible.
• Check the mileage rating when buying a new or used car, and choose more energy efficient models (more information on mileage ratings can be found at the Office of Energy Efficiency's Personal Vehicle Initiative website)
• Keep your car well-maintained, and check the oil, tire pressure and wheel alignment on a regular basis - you can cut gas consumption by up to 10 per cent.
• Use your air conditioner sparingly or open the window or fresh air vents to cool your vehicle, and park in the shade if you can. Using your air conditioner in stop-and-go traffic can increase fuel consumption by as much as 20 per cent.
• Respect the speed limit — driving 100 km/h instead of 120 will reduce fuel consumption by 20 per cent.
• Slow down and accelerate smoothly.
• Remove roof racks when not in use. Even empty racks increase aerodynamic drag and boost fuel consumption.
• Use a block heater on a timer during the winter. It warms the oil and engine coolant, making it easier to start your vehicle, and can improve winter fuel economy by 10 per cent.
• Consider selling your second car — the dollar savings alone could be $600/month or more.
• Use ethanol-blended gasoline.
• Reduce idling - if every Canadian motorist cut idling time by five minutes a day, carbon dioxide emissions would be reduced by 1.6 million tonnes a year.

Transport Canada supports a number of programs designed to develop new technologies for transportation, build greener infrastructure, and educate Canadians on how to travel in ways that better respect the environment.

The Moving On Sustainable Transportation (MOST) program seeks to stimulate the development of innovative methods for decreasing the impact of transportation on the environment, and also aims to provide Canadians with practical information and tools to adopt “sustainable transportation” thinking in their daily lives.

The Urban Transportation Showcase Program demonstrates, evaluates and promotes effective strategies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from urban transportation. Through this program, Transport Canada works with provinces and municipalities to fund a number of transportation showcases in selected cities. The impacts of these strategies on other urban challenges such as smog reduction and congestion are also evaluated. This new information is laying a foundation for the adoption of effective, integrated greenhouse gas emission reduction strategies in urban centres across Canada.

Transport Canada's Advanced Technology Vehicle Program tests new, more environmentally friendly vehicles, such as new diesel and hybrid cars, with a view to adapting them to Canada's high safety standards and incorporating them in the Canadian market. The program travels the country showcasing the vehicles to raise public awareness of advanced technology vehicles and new developments in engines, power trains, construction materials and methods, and fuels. So far, attendance at the program showcase has exceeded 8.2 million Canadians. Under Freight Efficiency and Technology Initiative, new and cleaner technologies are being tested across all freight modes — truck, air, rail and marine. A voluntary agreement with the Air Transport Association of Canada targets to reduce GHG emissions from aviation in Canada, and Transport Canada is working with associations in other modes to conclude similar agreements.

Since 1999, Transport Canada has been actively promoting Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) by providing more than $10 million in support of Canadian projects and research. Intelligent Transportation Systems make up a broad range of diverse technologies, which are applied to the transportation sector to make systems safer, more efficient, more reliable and more environmentally friendly. ITS makes it possible to implement a number of government regulations and processes (e.g., customs and immigration clearance, transportation safety compliance, road/bridge toll collection) more economically, and to improve corporate productivity through time savings, reduced operating costs and energy consumption, and enhanced reliability and safety.

Through the Canada Strategic Infrastructure Fund (CSIF), the Government of Canada works with provincial, territorial and municipal governments, as well as with the private sector, to meet strategic infrastructure needs throughout the country. This Infrastructure Canada program supports public transit, water and wastewater treatment, improvements to the national highway system, access to broadband Internet, and tourism and urban development infrastructure. Under CSIF, Transport Canada and Infrastructure Canada are working together to deliver major public transit expansion projects in Ottawa, the Greater Toronto Area, and Vancouver.

Find out more about Transport Canada’s environmental programs.

July 2006