Chapter 5 - Transportation Sector
The Data Situation
The aggregate data on transportation energy use by energy source are from Statistics Canada’s Report on Energy Supply and Demand in Canada (RESD) (Cat. No. 57-003-X). Other sources that have more specific data enable the Office of Energy Efficiency (OEE) to allocate energy use by transportation mode as outlined below.
Using stock, fuel efficiencies and average distances travelled, the Transportation End-Use Model (TEUM) calculates preliminary estimates for road energy use by vehicle type. These preliminary estimates are then calibrated to match the RESD road information to obtain final road energy use estimates.
Aggregate non-road energy use data (rail, air and marine) are obtained directly from the RESD. Rail and air are further disaggregated into passenger and freight transportation based on data from the following Statistics Canada’s reports: Rail in Canada (Cat. No. 52-216-X), Canadian Civil Aviation (Cat. No. 51-206-X) and Service Bulletin: Aviation (Cat. No. 51-004-X), as well as Canadian Socio-Economic Information Management System (CANSIM) updates. The Climate Change Air Sub-Group Report by Sypher: Mueller International Inc., July 1999, is also used in the allocation of air energy use to passenger and freight modes.
Data for vehicle stock in the TEUM were obtained mainly from R. L. Polk & Co. and DesRosiers Automotive Consultants Inc. Specifically, the data were extracted from two databases: Canadian Vehicles in Operation Census (CVIOC) and Trucking Industry Profile (TIP). Statistics Canada’s Road Motor Vehicles, Registrations (Statistics Canada’s Table 23-10-0219-01), its Canadian Vehicle Survey (CVS) (Cat. No. 53-223-X), and the U.S. Department of Energy’s Transportation Energy Data Book, Edition 25 are used to develop historical car and truck stock data for years in which data from the CVIOC and/or the TIP were not available. The bus stock information is further disaggregated by bus industry based on two Statistics Canada reports, namely Passenger Bus and Urban Transit Statistics (PBS) (Cat. No. 53-215-X), Service Bulletin: Surface and Marine Transport (Cat. No. 50-002-X), as well as Statistics Canada’s updates.
Car and truck sales are derived from new vehicle registrations from R. L. Polk and from Statistics Canada’s New Motor Vehicle Sales (Cat. No. 63-007-X).
Laboratory-tested fuel efficiencies for new cars and light trucks are obtained from Transport Canada’s Vehicle Fuel Efficiency Information System (VFEIS). Information from the VFEIS is then used in conjunction with provincial sales data obtained from DesRosiers Automotive Consultants Inc. to attain average provincial values for each model year. Medium and heavy truck fuel consumption for the years before 1998 are based on the Heavy-Duty Truck Fuel Economy and Annual Mileage in Canada report (Energy and Environmental Analysis, Inc., March 2001) produced for Natural Resources Canada (NRCan). Data for more recent years are obtained from the CVS while historical data are developed to match the previous data source. On-road fuel efficiency for buses is based on data from the PBS.
The National Private Vehicle Use Survey – October 1994 to September 1996 and the CVS, conducted by Statistics Canada on behalf of NRCan and Transport Canada, provide average distances travelled for cars and trucks. The medium and heavy truck average distance travelled from 2000 onward follows the CVS data, while previous years are based on trends from Trucking in Canada (Cat. No. 53-222-X) for heavy trucks and the TEUM (2004) for medium trucks. Motorcycle estimates are based on information from the U.S. Department of Transportation and the TEUM assumptions.
Occupancy rates are essential for calculating the passenger-kilometres travelled for cars and light trucks. Since 1999, occupancy rates have been obtained from the CVS data. Observed trends in Transport Canada’s seat belt survey (1992–2002), total population and vehicle stock were used to develop historical data from 1976 to 1998. Motorcycle occupancy rates are based on U.S. Department of Transportation data. Finally, bus occupancy rates are taken from the CVS and the PBS. In the non-road portion, passenger-kilometres are taken directly from Rail in Canada for rail and from the Canadian Civil Aviation report for air.
Light truck and medium truck tonne-kilometres are calculated using a TEUM assumption on load factor, while heavy truck tonne-kilometres are from the Trucking in Canada: Trucking Commodity Origin and Destination Survey and then adjusted using a TEUM assumption. Non-road tonne-kilometres are taken from the Canadian Civil Aviation, Rail in Canada report and from Transport Canada’s Surface and Marine Statistics Division for air, rail and marine, respectively.
Transportation energy prices (motor gasoline and diesel fuel oil) are weighted averages of regional prices from Statistics Canada’s Table 18-10-0001-01. Other transportation price indices are from Statistics Canada’s Table 18-10-0005-01.
In Canada, the availability of biofuel data is limited (not reported). In the 2016 edition of this handbook, it is assumed that no biodiesel fuel was consumed before 2001. Starting in 2001, there might have been biodiesel fuel available in Canada, but there are no published data available. For ethanol, there were no published data before 2005, even though ethanol might have been available at that time. Also, no data for ethanol was published for 2015 and 2016.