Survey of the Taxi and Limousine Services Industry

Detailed information for 2007

The survey collects financial and operating data needed to produce statistics for the Canadian taxi and limousine services industry.

Data release - May 7, 2009 (This is the final release of the Survey of the Taxis and Limousine Services Industry as the survey has been discontinued.)

• Description
• Data sources and methodology
• Data accuracy

Description

The survey results represent fiscal year estimates of financial statistics for the Canadian Taxi and Limousine Services Industry.

Results from this survey provide information on the major categories of revenue and expenses.

The results are used to produce national and provincial / territorial economic production estimates in Canada. They are also used by regulatory organizations to evaluate the financial health of the industry and private sector businesses for industry performance measurement.

Statistical activity

This statistical activity is part of a set of surveys measuring various aspects of activities related to the movement of people and goods. These surveys are grouped as follows:

Transportation by air includes records related to the movement of aircraft, passengers and cargo by air for both Canadian and foreign air carriers operating in Canada as well as the financial and operating characteristics of Canadian air carriers. These data are produced by the Aviation Statistics Centre.

Transportation by rail includes records relating to rail transportation in Canada, and between the United States and Canada.

Transportation by road includes records relating to all road transport in Canada. In addition to surveying carriers and owners of registered motor vehicles, certain programs rely on aggregation of provincial and territorial administrative records.

Reference period: Most recent 12 month fiscal period

Subjects

• Business performance and ownership
• Financial statements and performance
• Transportation
• Transportation by road

Data sources and methodology

Target population

Classified under the North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) code 4853, this industry comprises establishments primarily engaged in providing passenger transportation by taxi and limousine, not operated on regular schedules or routes. Taxicab fleet owners and organizations that provide dispatch services are included, regardless of whether drivers are hired, rent their cabs or are otherwise compensated. Owner-operated taxicabs (self-employed drivers) are also included.

• Additional documentation

Instrument design

This methodology does not apply.

Sampling

This survey is a census with a cross-sectional design.

Data are collected for all units of the target population, therefore, no sampling is done.

Data sources

Data are extracted from administrative files.

Data are extracted from administrative files from Canada Revenue Agency (CRA).

A census of incorporated enterprises on Statistics Canada's Business Register (BR), using financial data as reported on the General Index of Financial Information.

A census of unincorporated enterprises found on the CRA's Assessed Record file (ARF), a larger frame than the BR, using financial data as reported on the T1 individual income tax returns forms.

Error detection

At the collection stage, reported data are examined for completeness and inconsistencies using automated edits coupled with analytical review.

Imputation

The tax file of incorporated enterprises is passed through an edit and imputation system that balances the financial data. Also, for units not received from Canada Revenue Agency, or with very poor data, donor imputation was used to create a complete and balanced financial statement.

Estimation

A census of incorporated and unincorporated enterprises is obtained from tax data. The values of all incorporated enterprises belonging to a given estimation domain are summed to obtain the estimates. For unincorporated enterprises, we used a statistic model based on the E-file (respondents using electronic declaration) to estimate the share of information not available (respondents using paper declaration). Then, the values of the estimated part (paper respondents) and the received part (electronic respondents) belonging to a given estimation domain are summed to obtain the estimates for unincorporated enterprises (see document "Estimation T1 - SAT-2006"(Oyarzun, 2007)). The final industry estimates are obtained by combining the final estimates for incorporated and unincorporated enterprises.

• Additional documentation

Quality evaluation

Prior to dissemination, survey results are analyzed for comparability; in general, this includes a detailed review of individual responses (especially for the largest companies), general economic conditions, historic trends, and comparisons with other data sources.

Disclosure control

Statistics Canada is prohibited by law from releasing any information it collects which could identify any person, business, or organization, unless consent has been given by the respondent or as permitted by the Statistics Act. Various confidentiality rules are applied to all data that are released or published to prevent the publication or disclosure of any information deemed confidential. If necessary, data are suppressed to prevent direct or residual disclosure of identifiable data.

Revisions and seasonal adjustment

Annual estimates are provided for the reference year. The data for the previous reference year are revised if necessary. As this is an annual program, seasonal adjustments are not applicable.

Data accuracy

The methodology of this survey has been designed to control errors and to reduce the potential effects of these.

Since the survey is a census of the target population, only non-sampling errors are possible. Examples of non-sampling error are coverage error, data response error, non-response error and processing error. A discussion of these types of errors and the steps taken to address them follows.

Coverage errors can result from incomplete listing and inadequate coverage of survey population. To reduce this type of error, two survey frames are combined: Statistics Canada's Business Register (BR) and the Canada Revenue Agency Assessed Record file (ARF). This second frame allows for better coverage of the small establishments, which are the majority of the survey population.

Data response errors may be due to misinterpretation of the information requested by the income tax forms or definitional problems, or inability or unwillingness of the respondent to provide correct information. For the survey, these errors are controlled through consistency checks.

Non-response error is related to respondents that may refuse to answer, are unable to respond or are too late in reporting. For the survey, this type of error is mitigated since filing income tax returns is mandatory in Canada and severe penalties in cases of refusal or failure to report by the deadline.

Processing error may occur at various stages of processing such as data entry, editing and tabulation. For the survey, various measures have been taken to minimize these errors. For instance, historical ratios aid in eliminating outliers created by data entry. Also, tabulation is automated to eliminate human error.