Newsletter Introduction

The Passenger Transportation Board (Board) is excited to launch our first newsletter to share pertinent information and economic analysis with our many partner groups.

The Board is committed to transparency in our data analysis. Accordingly, as announced in last week’s Industry Advisory, this is the first newsletter in a series of monthly newsletters the Board will use to introduce its key indicators and to share analytical insights with licensees and the public.

The Board uses trip data and other data sources to make objective, data-driven, and evidence-based decisions to support a healthy and sustainable passenger transportation industry. 

Indicators

The Board has developed 10 indicators that provide insight into factors related to public need and sound economic conditions. The newsletter will show one indicator each month until all the key indicators have been featured. This gradual process will provide time for the Board to answer any questions about each indicator. After the Board has published all the key indicators, we will switch to a quarterly regional newsletter format.

It is important to understand that each indicator represents only one aspect of the passenger transportation market. To draw larger conclusions about the status of the industry, it will be necessary to consider several indicators in relation to each other. The Board relies on the advanced economic expertise of its economists and data analysts to ensure quantitative analysis presents an accurate picture of the industry. 

Regional Data

For the purpose of statistical analysis, both taxi and TNS are associated with the same passenger transportation regions. This is to facilitate data analysis of the taxi and TNS sectors at the same regional level. Please see the passenger transportation region policy for more information.

For the Board’s data analysis to be reliable, the coverage[1] and quality[2] of the data must be sufficient. When data submissions in a region reach 90% coverage with satisfactory quality levels, the Board considers the data reliable for economic analysis. 

Currently, data submissions from regions 1 (Lower Mainland, Whistler) and 2 (CRD) meet these standards, so the Board newsletters will focus on data analysis for these regions. As data coverage and quality improves in the rest of the province, the Board will expand publication of its economic analysis for regions 3 (Vancouver Island except CRD), 4 (Interior), and 5 (Northern/Coastal).

Each newsletter will share aggregated and anonymized data analysis only. The data of individual businesses will not be shared. By aggregating or combining the data, the Board’s goal is to provide licensees and the public a broad picture of what is happening within the taxi and TNS sectors in their region.
 

Taxi Fleet Utilization Indicator

Taxi fleet utilization rate is an indicator used by the Board to support data-driven decision-making. This indicator is primarily related to the sustainability factor, as described in the sound economic conditions policy.

The taxi fleet utilization rate represents the proportion of taxi vehicles that are active in an area over a month. This is determined by dividing the number of average active vehicles in the region by the maximum fleet size approved by the Board.

A relatively stable taxi fleet utilization rate over time can indicate long-term stability for the taxi sector. On the other hand, a significant decline in fleet utilization rate may suggest unsustainable economic conditions, as licensees choose to operate fewer and fewer vehicles in their fleet.

For more information on this indicator, please see the Board’s Indicators webpage.

Region 1 Analysis

The following is analysis of the taxi fleet utilization rate indicator for Region 1 (Lower Mainland, Whistler). 

In September 2024, Region 1 recorded a taxi fleet utilization rate of 68.0 per cent, a 2.0 percentage point year-over-year decrease from September 2023. Year-to-date to September 2024, taxi fleet utilization rate was 64.7 per cent in 2024, a 2.7 percentage point decrease compared to the same period in 2023.

Overall, taxi fleet utilization did not significantly change in the reporting period in Region 1 and stayed above 60.0 per cent. This suggests that demand was consistently lower than the maximum fleet size, but that the taxi fleet utilization rate was stable. 

Region 2 Analysis

The following is analysis of the taxi fleet utilization rate indicator for Region 2 (CRD). 

In September 2024, Region 2 recorded a taxi fleet utilization rate of 95.0 per cent, a 3.0 percentage point year-over-year decrease from September 2023. Year-to-date to September 2024, the taxi fleet utilization rate was 95.2 per cent, a 0.8 percentage point decrease from the same period in 2023.[3]

Overall, the taxi fleet utilization rate in Region 2 remained close to its full fleet capacity at above 90.0 per cent. This suggests that the fleet was well utilized to respond to the existing demand, and that there was strong demand relative to the maximum fleet size.