7 ROAD TRANSPORTATION
PASSENGER TRANSPORTATION
LIGHT VEHICLE FLEET AND USE
According to the 2004 Canadian Vehicle Survey, 17.7 million light vehicles were registered in the 10 provinces (data refer to in-scope vehicles with a gross weight less than 4,500 kilograms). Of this total, 10.1 million were classified as passenger cars and station wagons, 2.8 million vehicles were listed as vans, 1.3 million were classified as sport-utility vehicles, and 3.4 million vehicles were defined as pickup trucks. As a group, light trucks and vans represented nearly 43 per cent of the light vehicle fleet. As shown in Table 7-5, vans and light trucks were driven nearly 11 per cent more on average than passenger cars, amassing nearly 17,000 kilometres per year versus about 15,300 kilometres for cars and station wagons. Total vehicle-kilometres driven amounted to 154 billion for cars and station wagons (54 per cent) and 128 billion for vans and light trucks (45 per cent). Vans and light trucks also had slightly higher vehicle occupancies than passenger cars, accounting for nearly 48 per cent of light-vehicle passenger-kilometres. This equates to an average occupancy of 1.75 persons per light truck or van versus 1.57 for cars and station wagons.
TABLE 7-5: LIGHT VEHICLE FLEET STATISTICS, 2004
| |
|
Light trucks/vans |
|
|
| |
Car /
station
wagon |
Van |
Sport-
utility |
Pickup
truck |
Sub-
total |
Other |
Total
light
vehicles |
Vehicles
(Millions) |
10.1 |
2.8 |
1.3 |
3.4 |
7.6 |
0.1 |
17.7 |
| Per cent share |
56.9 |
16.1 |
7.5 |
19.2 |
42.8 |
0.3 |
100.0 |
Vehicle-km
(Billions) |
154.0 |
47.8 |
24.0 |
56.2 |
128.0 |
1.4 |
283.4 |
| Per cent share |
54.3 |
16.9 |
8.5 |
19.8 |
45.2 |
0.5 |
100.0 |
Passenger-km
(Billions) |
242.2 |
95.9 |
41.8 |
87.0 |
224.7 |
2.6 |
469.5 |
| Per cent share |
51.6 |
20.4 |
8.9 |
18.5 |
47.9 |
0.6 |
100.0 |
Litres of fuel
(Billions) |
14.4 |
6.2 |
3.2 |
7.9 |
17.2 |
0.1 |
31.7 |
| Per cent share |
45.2 |
19.4 |
10.0 |
24.9 |
54.3 |
0.5 |
100.0 |
Distance driven
(Thousands of km) |
15.3 |
16.8 |
18.1 |
16.5 |
16.9 |
23.2 |
16.0 |
| Persons per vehicle |
1.57 |
2.01 |
1.74 |
1.55 |
1.75 |
1.87 |
1.66 |
Fuel efficiency
(L/100km) |
9.3 |
12.9 |
13.1 |
14.1 |
13.5 |
10.6 |
11.2 |
Note: Figures exclude the territories.
Source: Canadian Vehicle Survey, 2004 Annual Averages
Heavier trucks and vans are much less fuel efficient than cars. Calculated fuel efficiency for cars and station wagons averaged 9.3 L/100 km, more than 30 per cent lower than the corresponding consumption rate of 13.5 L/100 km for vans and trucks.
The distribution of light vehicles, vehicle-kilometres, and passenger-kilometres by province/territory followed the distribution of population with few exceptions (see Table 7-6). In terms of motorization (number of vehicles per capita), most jurisdictions were clustered around the overall average of 555 vehicles per 1,000 population, except for Alberta, Saskatchewan and the Yukon with rates over 10 per cent higher, and Newfoundland and Labrador, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut with rates at least 13 per cent below average. Annual average vehicle use was 16,000 kilometres nationally, with a low of about 14,500 for Newfoundland and British Columbia to a high of 17,500 in Nova Scotia. Nunavut continued to average less than 9,000 kilometres per year. Average vehicle occupancies were bunched around the national average of 1.7 persons per vehicle. Average light vehicle fuel efficiency varied from a low of 10.3 L/100 km in Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Quebec to 12.4 L/100 km in Saskatchewan and Alberta.
With changes to the trip log introduced in 2004, trip purpose has been revised to reflect origins and destinations visited rather than a stated reason for making the trip. The distribution of light vehicle travel by trip origin is presented in Table 7-7. Nearly half the vehicle-kilometres driven started at the driver's home. Commuting to the normal place of work accounted for nearly 15 per cent of the vehicle-kilometres, followed by trips to shopping centres or visits to someone else's home, each with about 8.5 per cent of the vehicle-kilometres. Trips to leisure-type destinations accounted for a little over five per cent of travel.
TABLE 7-6: LIGHT VEHICLE STATISTICS BY PROVINCE/TERRITORY, 2004
| |
|
|
|
|
Averages |
| |
Vehicles
(Thousands) |
Vehicle-
kilometres
(Billions) |
Passenger-
kilometres
(Billions) |
Litres of fuel
purchased
(Billions) |
Vehicles
per 1,000
population |
Average
distance
driven
(Thousands) |
Passengers
per vehicle |
Average
fuel
efficiency
(L/100km) |
| Newfoundland and Labrador |
247 |
3.6 |
6.2 |
0.4 |
477 |
14.5 |
1.7 |
10.9 |
| Prince Edward Island |
75 |
1.1 |
1.9 |
0.1 |
544 |
15.3 |
1.7 |
10.3 |
| Nova Scotia |
518 |
9.1 |
16.4 |
0.9 |
553 |
17.5 |
1.8 |
10.3 |
| New Brunswick |
437 |
7.1 |
12.0 |
0.8 |
581 |
16.3 |
1.7 |
11.4 |
| Quebec |
4,144 |
66.4 |
108.2 |
6.8 |
549 |
16.0 |
1.6 |
10.3 |
| Ontario |
6,599 |
112.4 |
184.3 |
12.5 |
532 |
17.0 |
1.6 |
11.1 |
| Manitoba |
609 |
8.8 |
15.9 |
1.0 |
521 |
14.5 |
1.8 |
11.5 |
| Saskatchewan |
635 |
10.0 |
17.3 |
1.2 |
639 |
15.8 |
1.7 |
12.4 |
| Alberta |
2,137 |
32.0 |
51.3 |
4.0 |
667 |
15.0 |
1.6 |
12.4 |
| British Columbia |
2,285 |
32.8 |
55.9 |
3.9 |
544 |
14.4 |
1.7 |
11.9 |
| Yukon |
23 |
0.4 |
N/A |
N/A |
760 |
17.1 |
N/A |
N/A |
| Northwest Territories |
19 |
0.2 |
N/A |
N/A |
449 |
12.4 |
N/A |
N/A |
| Nunavut |
3 |
0.0 |
N/A |
N/A |
99 |
8.9 |
N/A |
N/A |
| Canada |
17,733 |
284.1 |
469.5 |
31.7 |
555 |
16.0 |
1.7 |
11.2 |
| Percentage distribution |
| Newfoundland and Labrador |
1.4 |
1.3 |
1.3 |
1.2 |
86.0 |
90.4 |
105.8 |
97.8 |
| Prince Edward Island |
0.4 |
0.4 |
0.4 |
0.4 |
98.1 |
95.7 |
102.1 |
92.1 |
| Nova Scotia |
2.9 |
3.2 |
3.5 |
2.9 |
99.6 |
109.1 |
109.3 |
92.4 |
| New Brunswick |
2.5 |
2.5 |
2.6 |
2.6 |
104.8 |
101.6 |
102.2 |
102.4 |
| Quebec |
23.4 |
23.4 |
23.0 |
21.5 |
99.0 |
100.0 |
98.6 |
91.9 |
| Ontario |
37.2 |
39.6 |
39.3 |
39..4 |
95.9 |
106.3 |
99.2 |
99.5 |
| Manitoba |
3.4 |
3.1 |
3.4 |
3.2 |
93.9 |
90.6 |
108.5 |
103.3 |
| Saskatchewan |
3.6 |
3.5 |
3.7 |
3.9 |
115.2 |
98.7 |
104.2 |
110.6 |
| Alberta |
12.1 |
11.3 |
10.9 |
12.5 |
120.3 |
93.4 |
97.1 |
111.4 |
| British Columbia |
12.9 |
11.6 |
11.9 |
12.4 |
98.1 |
89.7 |
103.1 |
106.9 |
| Yukon |
0.1 |
0.1 |
N/A |
N/A |
137.0 |
106.9 |
N/A |
N/A |
| Northwest Territories |
0.1 |
0.1 |
N/A |
N/A |
80.9 |
77.5 |
N/A |
N/A |
| Nunavut |
0.02 |
0.01 |
N/A |
N/A |
17.9 |
55.3 |
N/A |
N/A |
| Canada |
100.0 |
100.0 |
100.0 |
100.0 |
100.0 |
100.0 |
100.0 |
100.0 |
Source: Canadian Vehicle Survey, 2004 Annual Averages
TABLE 7-7: LIGHT VEHICLE VEHICLE-KM BROKEN DOWN BY TRIP ORIGIN, 2004
| Place |
Vehicle-km |
Share
(per cent) |
| Drivers home |
132.3 |
46.7 |
| Someone elses home |
24.5 |
8.6 |
| Driver's regular workplace |
41.7 |
14.7 |
| Another workplace |
10.4 |
3.7 |
| School/day care |
4.2 |
1.5 |
Shopping centre/bank/other
place of personal business |
24.0 |
8.5 |
| Medical/dental facility |
3.8 |
1.4 |
Leisure/entertainment/recreational
facility/restaurant |
14.8 |
5.2 |
| Gas station/rest stop |
13.7 |
4.8 |
| Other |
14.0 |
4.9 |
| Total |
283.4 |
100.0 |
Note: Figures exclude the territories.
Source: Canadian Vehicle Survey, 2004 Annual Averages
If origin and destination are classified by primary purpose, the result is a different distribution (see Table 7-8). Work trips accounted for nearly 23 per cent of vehiclekilometres while shopping trips accounted for over 13 per cent and leisure trips for 8.5 per cent. All other purposes account for 37 per cent of vehicle-kilometres with nearly 20 per cent of the travel unspecified round trips or tours from driver's home to driver's home.
TABLE 7-8: DISTRIBUTION OF VEHICLE-KM BY TRIP PURPOSE, LIGHT VEHICLES, 2004
| Trips involving: |
Vehicle-km |
Share
(per cent) |
| Work |
65.0 |
22.9 |
| Shopping |
37.7 |
13.3 |
| Leisure/entertainment |
24.0 |
8.5 |
| Other |
104.1 |
36.7 |
| Unspecified |
52.7 |
18.6 |
| Total |
283.4 |
100.0 |
Notes: Figures exclude the territories.
Trip purpose is computed by adding up travel to each trip destination and all travel running from the destination to the driver's home (e.g., "Work" includes all vehicle-kilometres with work as the destination plus all vehicle-kilometres from work to the driver's home).
Unspecified refers to all trips where both the trip origin and destination was recorded as the driver's home.
Source: Canadian Vehicle Survey, 2004 Annual Averages
TABLE 7-9: LIGHT TRUCK STATISTICS, BY AGE OF TRUCK, 2004
| |
Vehicles |
Vehicle-km |
Litres of fuel consumed |
Average distance
driven
(Thousands
of km) |
Fuel
consumption
ratio
(L/100 km) |
| |
Millions |
Share |
Billions |
Share |
Billions |
Share |
| Less than 3 years |
3.2 |
18.3 |
64.9 |
22.9 |
7.2 |
22.8 |
20.1 |
11.2 |
| 3-5 years |
4.2 |
23.5 |
73.9 |
26.1 |
8.0 |
25.3 |
17.8 |
10.8 |
| 6-9 years |
4.4 |
24.9 |
71.6 |
25.3 |
8.1 |
25.6 |
16.3 |
11.3 |
| 10-13 years |
3.3 |
18.4 |
45.2 |
15.9 |
5.0 |
15.8 |
13.9 |
11.1 |
| 14+ years |
2.6 |
14.9 |
27.8 |
9.8 |
3.3 |
10.5 |
10.6 |
12.0 |
| Total |
17.7 |
100.0 |
283.4 |
100.0 |
31.7 |
100.0 |
16.0 |
11.2 |
Note: Figures exclude the territories.
Source: Canadian Vehicle Survey, 2004 Annual Averages
According to Table 7-9, over 40 per cent of the light vehicle fleet was five years of age or less while about one third of the fleet was 10 years of age or older. Younger vehicles were driven more on average than older vehicles, ranging from about 20,000 kilometres per year for vehicles under three years old to 16,000 kilometres per year for vehicles six to nine years old to only 10,600 for vehicles 14 years or older. Average light vehicle fuel efficiency was very similar for all vehicles less than 14 years of age at a little over 11 L/100 km. Vehicles 14 years or older had a fuel consumption ratio seven per cent higher than the average.
Major Events
Infrastructure
Industry Structure
Passenger Transportation
Freight Transportation
Trucking Freight Transportation
Price, Productivity, Financial Performance
