Alternative fuel
Alternative fuels include all fuels other than standard ones (gasoline and diesel) used in road transportation. The most common alternative fuels in Canada are propane and compressed natural gas.
Fuel consumed
In the Canadian Vehicle Survey (CVS), fuel consumed is the fuel used to operate a vehicle. This variable is determined for each vehicle based on declared fuel purchases and distance travelled.
Fuel consumption rate
The fuel consumption rate is the amount of fuel (in litres) used by a vehicle to travel 100 kilometres. This rate is expressed in L/100 km and can be calculated based on actual road conditions or in the laboratory.
Fuel type
The fuel type is based on the information provided by the respondent or from the registration lists. All vehicles are divided into three classes: vehicles powered by gasoline, by diesel and by other energy sources (e.g. natural gas, liquid petroleum gas and propane).
Heavy trucks
In the CVS, the heavy truck category includes all heavy vehicles with a gross vehicle weight of 15 tonnes or more.
Heavy vehicles
In the CVS, this combined category includes medium trucks and heavy trucks that share several traits in terms of use.
In-scope vehicles
In-scope vehicles include all motor vehicles – except buses, motorcycles, off-road vehicles (e.g. snowmobiles, dune buggies, amphibious vehicles) and special equipment (e.g. cranes, street cleaners and backhoes) – registered in Canada during the survey reference period that have not been scrapped or salvaged.
Light trucks
In the CVS, light trucks is a subcategory of light vehicles and includes pickup trucks, vans and sports utility vehicles.
Light vehicles
In the CVS, the light vehicle category includes all vehicles with a gross vehicle weight of less than 4.5 tonnes.
Medium trucks
In the CVS, the medium truck category includes all heavy vehicles with a gross vehicle weight of 4.5 tonnes or more but less than 15 tonnes.
Number of in-scope vehicles in the CVS
The number of in-scope vehicles is an estimate of the average number of vehicles registered during the quarter based on the registration lists from jurisdictions and survey responses. This estimate may differ slightly from the number of vehicles on the registration lists because it includes all survey findings. The number of in-scope vehicles includes both vehicles used and those not used on the roads during the reference period.
Other (heavy vehicles)
Other (heavy vehicles) has no specific definition as it is a catch-all for types not fitting the other categories. However, some examples are dump truck, cement mixer truck, tanker truck and fuel truck.
Other (light vehicles)
Other (light vehicles) has no specific definition as it is a catch-all for types not fitting the other categories. However, some examples are taxi, ice-cream truck, tow truck and courier truck.
Passenger-kilometres
Passenger-kilometres are the sum of the distances travelled by individual passengers, the driver being considered one of the passengers (e.g. total passenger-kilometres for a specific vehicle would be the sum of the distances travelled by individual passengers in that vehicle). For light vehicles, respondents must report the number of passengers for each trip. For heavy vehicles, the number of passengers is calculated as the average of the number of passengers at the beginning of each trip and the number of passengers at the end of each trip.
Passenger vehicles
Passenger vehicles is a subcategory of light vehicles and includes cars and station wagons.
Straight truck
A straight truck is a complete unit – a power unit and a box that cannot be detached. A truck that is all one piece; the front part (engine) and back trailer do not come apart.
Tonne-kilometre
A tonne-kilometre (tkm) is the transportation of one tonne over a distance of one kilometre.
Tractor
The tractor is the cab where the driver is located. A road tractor is designed to pull a trailer containing freight. If a truck comes apart, the road tractor is the front end (the engine).
Vehicle-kilometre
A vehicle-kilometre is the distance travelled by vehicles on roads (e.g. total vehicle-kilometres for a specific vehicle would be the distance travelled by that vehicle on the road).
Vehicle type
Vehicle type is the weight classification created for the CVS and is based on the information available on the vehicle registration lists. The vehicles are divided into three weight types: Light vehicles with gross vehicle weights below 4.5 tonnes, medium vehicles with gross vehicle weights between 4.5 and 15 tonnes and heavy vehicles with gross vehicle weights of 15 tonnes or more.