This Monitor first updates energy matters discussed in previous Monitors. The updating concludes that reducing transport fuel use should be the overriding goal of Canada's transport policies, more important than reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and perhaps a better strategy for making progress towards sustainable transport.

This issue then discusses three of the many ways in which transport fuel use could be dramatically reduced. The first would allow short-term gains. It is to make more efficient use of trucks on the road. The second would have its main impacts in the medium term. It is to achieve major reductions in fuel use by new personal vehicles. The third is for the longer term. It is to secure much greater use of tethered vehicles (which get their energy from a rail or wire rather than from an on-board source such as a gasoline tank, a hydrogen storage device or a battery).

Some interesting thoughts on fuel usage: the rise in fuel use associated with freight transportation, and the low loading-levels of trucks; the need for a return to tethered transport.

Keywords: canada, energy, goods movement, transit

detailed annotation

This was my real introduction to transport planning, and now in retrospect I can see that this document represents a very progressive stance on transportation planning. See some of my detailed comments on cycling at the VACC website; I've been the lead person on downtown issues for the VACC for the last several years.

Keywords: transport planning, bicycle planning, pedestrian planning, goods movement, transit, canada