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TRANSPORTATION:
Road distance
traveled
The
transportation
sector is responsible
for significant
environmental
impacts, particularly
in the areas
of air pollution,
water pollution
and greenhouse
gas emissions.
Transportation
 uses
about 30% of
the energy consumed
in Canada, almost
entirely through
burning fossil
fuels.36
As
previously noted,
the construction
and maintenance
of road networks
also causes extensive
environmental
damage. Canada’s
public road network
is approximately
900,000 km in
length, more
than 23 times
the distance
around the planet.
Roads used to
access natural
resources (e.g.
logging roads)
add hundreds
of thousands
more kilometres
to the national
total.37
Canada’s
OECD Ranking
Canada ranks
26th out of 29
OECD countries
in distance traveled
by road vehicles
per capita. Only
residents of
the United States,
Australia and
Luxembourg travel
further via road
vehicles. Canada’s
large geographic
size is apparently
not the determining
factor, as “the
largest proportion
of the travel
[in Canada] occurs
within cities
or the urban
region surrounding
the major cities.”38
It
is worth noting
that 23 out of
26 other OECD
countries charge
higher taxes
on gasoline than
Canada.
Canadians
travel an average
of 8954 km per
person annually
in road vehicles.
In total, the
distance traveled
by road vehicles
in Canada is
274 billion km,
placing Canada
24th out of 29
OECD nations.
Only the United
States, Germany,
France, the United
Kingdom and Italy
tallied greater
total distances
of road vehicle
travel.
Trend
The per capita
distance traveled
by road vehicles
in Canada increased
by 33% between
1980 and 1997.
The total distance
traveled by road
vehicles increased
by 117% between
1970 and 1997,
reflecting growth
in population,
growth in the
number of vehicles
on the road and
greater distances
traveled per
person.
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