People, Cars and Urban Transit

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Transportation and Pollution in Canada

People, Cars and Urban Transit

There is no greater effect on the environment for the Canadian citizen then his or her choice of personal transportation. By making the choice of either driving or using some other form of transportation will determine the environmental complexion of the community he or she lives in.

It is the choice each of us has to make; either drive and add to the pollution and greenhouse gases or take some other form of public transportation, bicycle or walk and become part of the solution. How we travel to and from work, shopping, school, or any other destination does make a difference.

Canadians love their cars!

In a country of 32 million, Canadians own over 16 million cars, light trucks, and SUVs. Since the 1960s the average miles per day driven by the average driver in Canada has nearly tripled. Despite the improved efficiency of todays engines, the average Canadian driver consumes more than double the fuel than the driver of the 60s. On average, Canadians, live further away from where they work, make more and longer trips to do shopping, and drive more times for entertainment than they did 25 years ago.

The majority of Canadians work in urban centers, commercial centers or industrial parks, but due to availability and affordability, most choose to live in the outlying communities. This phenomenon has placed a tremendous burden on municipal planners to find better ways to move people. Every medium to large community has several forms of public transit yet the majority of people prefer to drive to work, creating the necessity to continually improve highway and road infrastructure.

Car ownership and maintenance costs increase as families move farther from their workplace and downtown core. In 2001, Canadians spent 13% of their household income on cars, 19% on housing and 11% on groceries. With rising fuel prices, the cost of driving is sure to increase. It is estimated that 18% of urban land is dedicated to cars, both for streets to move them and lots to park them. As with households, street maintenance, cars and transport in general, is the second highest priority budget for most communities.

What is the incentive that will get people out of their cars and use some other form of transportation?

Public transportation is one of the most important factors in city planning and provides the means for millions of people to get where they are going. It is also, by far, most environmentally friendly way to get around. The problem with buses and trains is that they don't always go where (or when) we want them to. The problem with carpooling is that it is inflexible and inconvenient. The problem with biking or walking is the distances are too great and the weather in Canada is not often favorable.

Today’s talk about pollution, global warming and the greenhouse effect brings about discussions of trying to find new methods of transportation that will provide both the freedom of the private car while being a lot more environmentally friendly. The solutions are not only of a technological nature but also psychological, changing the way the Canadian public looks upon transportation.

Here is One Novel Idea

As of now, only British Columbia, Québec, and Saskatchewan have Provincially run auto insurance. If all provinces were to make the public liability and second party property damage insurance a Provincial mandatory provision for owning and operating a vehicle and charged a sur-tax onto the price of gas to cover the cost, it would not only ensure that all vehicles were covered for PLPD, it would mean those drivers who drove more would pay more. Those who drove faster, would use more gas and hence, pay more. Extra cost at the pump would also deter people from driving excessively.

For vehicle damage, there are more than 100 private insurers selling auto insurance in Canada. They would compete for customers by offering a different mix of price, coverage and service.

Creating workable and convenient alternatives to private internal combustion driven vehicles would:

• Ease the polluting effects of transportation by about 40% including; smog, greenhouse gases, and wayside pollution to right of ways, and waterways.
• Improve the health of millions of Canadians, especially those with asthma and other breathing disabilities.
• Save billions of taxpayer dollars in infrastructure and maintenance, freeing up monies for hospitals, schools and other emmenities.
• Reduce the budgets for traffic law enforcement and allow police manpower for more important matters, ie -Crime.
• Make urban areas safer, more attractive and appealing.
• Reduce the burden on the household budgets of most Canadian families.

List of countries by vehicles per 1000 capita compiled by the World Resources Institute

• 1 United States 765
• 4 Australia 619
• 7 Canada 563
• 10 Germany 546
• 11 Japan 543
• 12 Sweden 521
• 14 Norway 494
• 20 United Kingdom 426

List of countries ranked by greenhouse-gas emissions, Tonnes of CO2e per 1000 capita in 2000.

• 9 Australia 25.9
• 12 Canada 24.3
• 14 USA 22.9
• 40 Germany 12.3
• 44 Norway 11.4
• 47 UK 11.0
• 50 Japan 10.7
• 76 Sweden 7.5

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