NS transportation system becoming unsustainable: Study

DARTMOUTH, N.S. — Transportation is the single highest cost for Nova Scotians — more than housing, food, living expenses, or health costs, says a new report on sustainable transportation by GPI Atlantic.

The 565-page report says transportation is becoming unaffordable, reports the Halifax Chronicle Herald. The average Nova Scotian, according to the report, spends about $3,036 a year on direct costs such as vehicle ownership and operation and another $4,562 in indirect costs, like taxes and health costs associated with traffic accidents and pollution.

The study found three main factors that are making the province’s transportation system less sustainable, including higher truck freight traffic, which has jumped 66 percent from 1990. Other factors cited were increased low-density urban and suburban sprawl; and the increase of minivans and SUVs on the roads.

To counter such trends, GPI recommends increasing fuel and vehicle taxes while lowering non-transportation taxes; and “pay-as-you-drive” pricing that would convert fixed vehicle charges, such insurance premiums and registration fees, into mileage-based fees.

The report concludes that such policies would reduce vehicle mileage and fuel consumption and increase the use of alternative transportation.

— from the Halifax Chronicle Herald