North Shore Transportation Survey

This fall TransLink is conducting a transportation trip diary survey with randomly selected households in Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley. The purpose of their survey is to collect data for regional transportation and land-use planning purposes. Selected City residents are welcome and encouraged to participate in both the 2023 TransLink Trip Diary survey, and our 2023 North Shore Transportation Survey

The North Shore municipalities (City of North Vancouver, District of North Vancouver, and District of West Vancouver) partnered in 2019 to undertake a transportation panel survey to provide in-depth insight into the travel patterns and behaviours of North Shore residents, and to inform decisions on transportation. This survey provides a more localized and frequent overview of mobility patterns to compare to the Regional Trip Diary administered by TransLink, and the Journey to Work survey by Statistics Canada, which occur every 4 to 5 years. 

The questions in the North Shore Transportation Survey (NSTS) have been developed to align with the questions posed in the Regional Trip Diary to enable a deeper understanding and comparative analysis. Transportation planning on the North Shore considers data from each of these data sources, and relies heavily on the NSTS.


About the NSTS

Every two years in the fall, we invite a panel of North Shore residents aged 15 and older to participate in the NSTS using a random recruitment method that includes sending invitations in the mail, and calling phone numbers.

Residents who choose to participate are registered into the survey by answering a few questions about their current travel behaviour and mobility preferences. The participant also tells us about their previous day of travel, including where they went and how they got there. On average, the survey takes approximately twenty minutes to complete.

This fall, select North Shore residents will be invited to participate in the 2023 North Shore Transportation Survey. B.C.-based research firm R.A. Malatest & Associates Ltd. will be conducting the survey on behalf of the North Shore municipalities. If you have questions, please contact NSTS@cnv.org and one of the project representatives will get back to you shortly.

 

Key Findings from the 2021 Survey

Read the full 2021 North Shore Transportation Survey Report.

icon for COVID COVID-19 continues to influence travel patterns. An overarching theme throughout the report is the continued impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on travel behaviours of North Shore residents. Two key factors behind the changes in travel are the continued work and education from home due to pandemic restrictions and precautions, and an ongoing shift of employees in hybrid work arrangements where commuting to a traditional office or work place only occurs a few days a week.
icon for fewer trips North Shore residents made fewer trips in 2021 than in 2019. Despite a 4% increase in population during this period, North Shore residents are travelling less than two years ago. Proportionally, auto and walking trips increased while transit trips decreased from 2019 for all municipalities. Despite auto mode share increasing, average annual vehicle kilometres travelled decreased for all North Shore municipalities compared to 2019.
icon for telecommuting More people are telecommuting than ever before. More people are telecommuting (e.g., working from home) than ever before. Prior to the pandemic in the 2019 survey, nearly one-half of participants never telecommuted. This has dropped to 33% never telecommuting, and 20% of participants working exclusively from home in 2021.
icon for active travel Active travel remained relatively stable. Active mode share (the amount of people walking and cycling compared to other modes) remained relatively stable between 2019 and 2021, with a decrease of 0.8% across the North Shore.
icon for active modes There is considerable potential to convert auto trips to active modes. The survey asked residents about their trip distances and found that almost 40% of current auto trips are bikeable (within 4.6 km) and another 14% are walkable (within 1.6 km).

Questions?

Please contact staff at NSTS@cnv.org.

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