Sort yourselves into groups of five. Review Nickerson’s Guideposts for Sustainability (above).

1. Sustainability and Transportation • Sort yourselves into groups of five. • Review Nickerson’s Guideposts for Sustainability (above). • Think about all aspects of transportation by private automobile. • Based on Nickerson’s sustainability criteria, is transportation by private automobile sustainable? Why or why not? Provide specific examples!!

2. Sustainable Transportation Performance Indicators

3. What is Sustainable Transportation? • Literature definitions somewhat imprecise • Definition reviewed in 2005: Centre for Sustainable Transportation. 2005. Defining sustainable transportation. Prepared by Al Cormier and Richard Gilbert for Transport Canada (doc. No. T8013-4-0203). March 31, 2005 – 22 pp. Available online at http://cst.uwinnipeg.ca/completed.html#dst

4. What is Sustainable Transportation? • SeeGilbert and Myrans, 2003: Sustainable Transportation Performance Indicators

5. Environment Environment Economy Economy Equity Equity A sustainable transportation system is one that: • Allows the basic access needs of individuals to be met safely and in a manner consistent with human and ecosystem health, and with equity within and between generations.

6. Environment Economy Equity A sustainable transportation system is one that: • Is affordable, operates efficiently, offers choice of transport mode, and supports a vibrant economy.

7. Environment Economy Equity A sustainable transportation system is one that: • Limits emissions and waste within the planet’s ability to absorb them, minimizes consumption of non-renewable resources, limits consumption of renewable resources to the sustainable yield level, reuses and recycles its components, and minimizes the use of land and the production of noise.

8. Indicators

9. What are Indicators? • Indicators are numbers that tell a story about variables of significance • Indicators usually have an explicit or implicit time component • May be in the form of an index (i.e., a group of indicators aggregated into a single value). Everyday examples: • National unemployment rate (number of unemployed persons expressed as a percentage of the labour force at a given time) • Consumer Price Index (Statistics New Zealand, Statistics Canada)

10. Indicators: Aggregate vs. Per Capita • Per-person measures are not often used when sustainability is a consideration, because the environment responds to overall rather than relative impacts. E.g.: Though fuel efficiency of individual cars or per-capita fuel consumption may decline (scale of the individual), the overall impacts may still increase due to the aggregate effects of more drivers driving further distances (scale of the collective)

11. Use of indicators * *VMT = Vehicle Miles Traveled Source:Litman, Todd. 2009. Sustainable Transportation Indicators.

12. Use of indicators Source: Todd Litman and David Burwell (2006), “Issues in Sustainable Transportation,” International Journal of Global Environmental Issues, Vol. 6, No. 4, pp. 331-347; at www.vtpi.org/sus_iss.pdf.

13. Towards consistent indicators? • There is no universally accepted definition of sustainability, sustainable development or sustainable transport (Litwin 2009) • There are currently no standardized indicator sets for comprehensive and sustainable transport planning (Litwin 2009)

14. Towards consistent indicators? • In recent correspondence (14 Jan 2014) , Richard Gilbert stated that no further work had been done on transportation indicators using his approach • Most recent comprehensive attempt is therefore Gilbert and Myrans (2003) -> old data, but still the best overall example!

15. Sustainable Transportation Performance Indicators Gilbert and Myrans 2003

16. Energy use for transport Greenhouse gas emissions Other transport emissions Injuries and fatalities Movement of people Movement of freight Travel by cars and planes Personal vehicle movement Urban land use Length of paved roads Household spending Relative transit costs Energy intensity Emissions intensity Sustainable Transportation Performance Indicators

17. What the STPI can be used for • a means of tracking from year to year whether transport in Canada is becoming more sustainable (like the definition), or moving away. • can tell us about the effects of government policies, by looking at how specific STPI change after the policies are implemented. • can help shape new policies, by showing the kinds of change that the policies should produce. • can also guide the private sector, by showing what is needed for sustainability.

18. 1. Energy use for transport • Almost 100% of energy used for transport in Canada (and Thailand) is from oil • Energy used for transport in Canada increased by 21.5% between 1990 and 2000, from 1,878 to 2,282 petajoules (1015 j).

19. 2. Greenhouse gas emissions • A sustainable transportation system“limits emissions … within the planet’s ability to absorb them”

20. 2. Greenhouse gas emissions • Transport contributes about a third of total GHG emissions directly, and much more if its share of emissions from fuel production is counted. • When these emissions decline, there is progress towards sustainable transportation.

21. 2. Greenhouse gas emissions • Emissions of GHGs from transport increased by 21.0% between 1990 and 2000, from 135.0 to 163.4 megatonnes of CO2 equivalent.

22. 3. Other transport emissions • Index of locally acting emissions from road transport: CO, SO2, NOx, and VOCs • Index fell by 9.1% between 1990 and 2000, due to improvements in vehicle technology

23. 4. Injuries and fatalities • Injuries and fatalities from road transport comprise almost 90% of all transport fatalities and almost 100% of all transport injuries • Index fell throughout the1990s, with a total decline of 21.8%

24. 4. Injuries and fatalities • Injuries and fatalities from road transport comprise almost 90% of all transport fatalities and almost 100% of all transport injuries • Index fell throughout the1990s, with a total decline of 21.8% • Traffic death rate per 100,000 inhabitants • Canada: 9.2 • Thailand: 19.6 • Worst in world: Togo (48.4) • Best in world:Sweden (2.9)

25. 4. Injuries and fatalities

26. 4. Injuries and fatalities Motor vehicle accident deaths per 100,000 population per year in Thailand

27. 4. Injuries and fatalities Contributing factors: • drunk-driving laws • seat-belt laws • safety features in vehicles (e.g., airbags and better brakes) • safety features in highway design (e.g., better alignments and signage) • enforcement of speed limits and safe-driving requirements

28. 5. Movement of people Modes of travel in Canada (2000): • 74.3% - personal vehicle • 17.1% - air • 3.9% - urban transit • 2.7% - school bus • 1.8% - inter-city bus • 0.3% - inter-city rail

29. 5. Movement of people • Most movement of Canadians is in personal motorized vehicles • As this movement increases, the unsustainable effects of transport tend to increase. • Motorized movement increased 14.7% (1990 – 2000), from 509 to 583 billion person-kilometres.

30. 5. Movement of people • Main contributing factor: 11.2% increase in Canada’s population (1990 – 2000). • Small (3.1%) overall increase in travel per person • Decline noticed in late 1990s

31. 6. Movement of freight Freight Movement in Canada (2000): • 43.9% by rail • 28.7% by water • 27.4% by road • less than 0.1% by air

32. 6. Movement of freight • Freight increased by 37.1% (1990–2000), from 541 to 741 billion tonne-kilometres • Contributing factors: • growth in road freight by 94.3% (1990-2000) • use of ‘just-in-time’ delivery methods

33. 6. Movement of freight • Movement of freight uses energy, causes globally and locally acting emissions. • On balance, reducing the movement of goods represent progress towards sustainable transportation.

34. 7. Travel by cars and planes • Index shows % of all travel by two most polluting motorized modes: aviation and personal vehicles. • No clear trend • Share of travel by plane and personal vehicle remained >90% every year. Note narrow rangeof percentages!

35. 8. Personal Vehicle Movement • Personal vehicles account for > 82% of vehicles on road (2000). • Measured in vehicle kilometres (vkm) • Increased by 13.6% (1990-2000) from 230 to 261 billion.

36. 8. Personal Vehicle Movement • Average occupancy of personal vehicles fell by 4.8%,from 1.74 to 1.66 persons / vehicle. • Each car driven an average of 17,500 km/year in Canada. • Main change in 1990s: growth in SUVs, minivans, and pick-up trucks: increased from 16.8% in 1990 to 28.4% in 2000. • SUVs use about 35% more fuel per km than passenger cars (US CAFE fleet average data, 2005)

37. 9. Urban Land Use • A sustainable transportation system minimizes the use of land. • Transport uses land directly (roads, driveways, transport corridors, parking) • Personal transport allows low-density development of urban areas ->urban sprawl. • Low residential densities make it economically impossible to justify public transit… • -> the cycle of car dependency increases.

38. 9. Urban Land Use • Developed land per urban resident increased by 28.9%, (1971 -1996), from 971 to 1,251 square metres • Highest rate of growth occurred 1991 - 1996

39. 10. Length of paved roads Impacts of new roads: • direct land use • energy consumption (construction, maintenance, use) • Adding new roads encourages driving, enhances sprawl and car dependency, and results in inefficient use of infrastructure.

40. 10. Length of paved roads • Length of paved roads increased by 23.6% (1985-1995), from 243,800 to 301,300 two-lane-kilometre equivalents.

41. 11.Household transportation spending • The share of after-tax household spending on transport increased from 16.1% to 19.2% (1982 – 2000)

42. 11.Household transportation spending Average household spending (2000): • Personal vehicles:$6,906 ($4,430 fixed costs, $2,476 operating costs) • Urban transit: $216 • Other transport (mostly air): $454 • Just over 90 minutes of each day’s employment is dedicated to paying for personal vehicles -> 390 hours per year, or 48.75 work days • Average Canadian commuting time is just over 60 minutes per day-> 260 hours per year, or 32.5 work days

43. 11.Household transportation spending Equity dimension: • If transport is too cheap, it could be used too much (i.e., unsustainably) • If transport is too expensive, poorer people may have inadequate access

44. 12. Relative transit costs • Part of the reason people may use their cars once they own them is that the marginal operating cost of driving is less than the cost of urban transit. • Indicator examines cost of urban transit in relation to the main operating cost – fuel - for a personal vehicle you already own -> a decline in transit cost relative to gasoline cost should indicate progress towards sustainability

45. 12. Relative transit costs • Indicator rose by 23.2% (1990-2000), representing movement away from sustainable transportation. Increase between 1990 and 1998 was 49.1%, but it fell steeply between 1998 and 2000.

46. 13. Energy intensity: cars and trucks • Indicator examines the technical performance of road vehicles, specifically energy used per unit of distance covered. • Cars and trucks account for almost 75% of all transport energy use -> basis of this indicator. Energy intensity varies greatly among personal vehicles: 1 l/ 100 km (prototype car in front) vs. 11 l/ 100 km (van behind).

47. 13. Energy intensity: cars and trucks • Energy intensity of cars and trucks increased by 6.3% (moved away from sustainability) between 1990 and 1995 (with dip in 1991), then declined to 5.4% above1990 level in 2000. • Main contributing factor was growth of proportion of fuel-hungry sport-utility vehicles (SUVs), minivans, and light trucks. • In the second half of the decade, this factor was offset by reductions in the fuel intensity of other vehicles, notably heavy trucks.

48. 14. Emissions intensity • Indicator is concerned with the technical performance of road vehicles, specifically the amount of locally acting emissions per unit of transport activity. • Lower emissions per unit of transport activity is desirable -> goal of ZEV (zero emissions vehicles)

49. 14. Emissions intensity • Index fell by 25.7% between 1990 and 2000 • Represents substantial improvement in the performance of road vehicles and progress towards sustainable transportation.

50. Conclusions