9208.0.55.003 - Information Paper: Survey of Motor Vehicle Use Fitness for Purpose Review, Jan 2005  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 18/02/2005   
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Contents >> 3.0 Data issues this review will not address

3.0 Data issues this review will not address


This section outlines the issues relevant to the SMVU that this review will not address. The review stakeholders have indicated that while these issues exist, they are not significant. Therefore, they will not be a focus of this review given timing constraints. It may be possible to address these issues at a later date. These issues will also be passed on to ABS and external organisations working on future IDP processes to consider progressing in the context of wider transport data needs.

Appendix C lists wider transport issues that are out of scope for this review that will be progressed separately by ABS staff and external organisations.


3.1 Capturing transport activity by industry

Description of the data issue
The current SMVU produces estimates at the national and state/territory levels for the entire economy. It was noted at the July 2003 TSUG meeting that users would benefit from being able to identify transport activity (by transport mode) of each specific industry. Data is needed on both which industry the vehicle is operated by and which industries the vehicle serves.

Most stakeholders who require an industry based dimension of transport data, commented during the consultation process, that the SMVU is currently meeting this requirement. Although detailed and quantified industry based data would be advantageous, an industry dimension to these data is derived from the SMVU commodity information. To this end, increased commodity information would be helpful, but is not essential. The stakeholders who indicated that an industry dimension of SMVU data is needed, also acknowledged that a Transport Industry Survey may be a more appropriate mechanism by which to deliver this data requirement. This data would be required roughly every five years. The NTC have indicated a willingness to coordinate a proposal for user funding to finance such work.

TSUG have suggested identifying industry activity via the reporting of ABNs associated with main operating company of commercial vehicles sampled in the SMVU. The objective here would be to identify the industry code associated with the ABN. Since stakeholders are able to use SMVU commodity data to identify industry of origin, the ABS will choose to devote initial resources to improving other aspects of the SMVU. In the medium term the ABS will be working on a strategy involving liaising with the State and Territory MVRs to develop the incorporation of ABNs on survey frames. The NTC have indicated a willingness to participate in such a strategy and the ABS welcomes working in partnership with other key stakeholders to foster this objective.

Links to policy and decision making
The majority of stakeholder feedback indicated that this data gap was not obscuring decision making and policy formation.

One key stakeholder indicated that the effectiveness of land transport based economic modelling was reduced, in the absence of this data. For example, there are legislative restrictions on vehicle types (area restrictions, gross mass limits etc.) which are industry specific. It is not possible to determine the full impact on specific industries (therefore the entire economy), resulting from policy review/proposition work, in the absence of industry specific transport data.

Recommendations

  • Other than including the requirement of ABNs to be included on the MVR strategy, as discussed in the recommendations of section 2.2 Data volatility, the ABS will not pursue other solutions for an industry dimension to SMVU data as part of this review.

The requirement for an industry dimension to SMVU data was not very significant. Since those stakeholders who do require an industry dimension, are deriving it from the published commodity detail, the ABS will not pursue other solutions for this data need as part of this review. The ABS is willing to reconsider this data need at a later time, should users indicate that inadequate information is available for specific decision making and policy formation.


3.2 Cross sector use of transport data: environmental impacts

Description of the data issue
Environment statistics have an important and emerging role in transport data considerations, with the estimation of pollution emissions becoming increasingly important in research and modelling work. Environmental modellers/researchers require data to enable the production of estimates and forecasts on greenhouse gas emissions by industry and households. Researchers require data on road congestion and vehicle noise pollution for the purposes of assessing 'states of the local environment'. Researchers also require measures of the economy's 'eco-efficiency', which encompasses the identification of transport related environmental externalities attributable to economic growth and consumption.

TSUG members do not consider that the ABS has a substantial role other than providing core data that might be used by analysts and modellers. Quantitative description of pollution emissions at low levels of geography was judged by TSUG, to be clearly outside the scope of ABS' national statistics activities. TSUG also considered that measurement of transport wastes is an issue of minor importance and beyond the scope of the ABS transport statistics collections. This was confirmed during the stakeholder consultation process.

Environmental researchers' primary SMVU data requirements relate to modelling needs of accurate VKT estimates and average fuel consumption by vehicle type. An important input into emission modelling work is a detailed age-based breakdown of fuel consumption by vehicle type. This is important for updating the fuel consumption parameters of these models. Other than using population density data for identifying significant regions of planning and policy importance, stakeholders are not currently analysing/combining transport data with social data.

Links to policy and decision making
See the data issue description above.

Recommendations

  • The ABS will not pursue solutions for providing specific transport related environmental data as part of this review, as stakeholders have indicated this is not within the scope of the SMVU. (General data accuracy investigations will seek to improve the quality of existing data items that are used in environmental models, this will indirectly partly address this issue.)

The ABS will seek to address issues relating to data accuracy, as specified in section 2.2 'Data volatility'. The ABS will not pursue solutions for providing other transport related environmental data as part of this review, as stakeholders have indicated this is not within the scope of the SMVU.


3.3 Cross sector use of transport data: measuring financial performance

Description of the data issue
Users would benefit from being able to identify the correspondence between measures of transport activity with measures of associated financial performance. The absence of data that identifies the in-house transport activity (by transport mode) of non-transport industries, means that modellers cannot accurately forecast the derived physical transport task (by mode) associated with industry forecasts. While noting that the primary emphasis of the SMVU should be transport activity, TSUG have also noted that the ability to link financial data with transport activity data would be desirable.

With the exception of one key Stakeholder, feedback revealed that this particular data need is not at all significant for planning or modelling purposes. As discussed in section 3.1, this data need is best achieved via conducting a Transport Industry Survey.

Links to policy and decision making
Deemed not significant on the basis of stakeholder feedback.

Recommendations
  • ABS will not pursue solutions for providing data on the transport industry financial performance from the SMVU as part of this review as stakeholders have indicated this is not a significant issue for the SMVU.

The requirement for data on financial performance of the transport industry is not significant. Stakeholder feedback indicates that no data gap exists in this area. The ABS will not pursue other solutions for this data need as part of this review. The ABS is willing to reconsider this data need at a later time, should users indicate that inadequate information is available for specific decision making and policy formation.



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