Monthly Passenger Bus and Urban Transit Survey (MBUS)
Detailed information for August 2024
Status:
Active
Frequency:
Monthly
Record number:
2745
This survey is conducted by Statistics Canada in order to collect the necessary information to support the Integrated Business Statistics Program. This survey collects data essential for the statistical analysis of the passenger bus industry and its impact on the Canadian economy. Your information may also be used by Statistics Canada for other statistical and research purposes.
Data release - October 17, 2024
Description
This survey collects total operating revenues and passenger trip data from the largest urban and intercity passenger transit companies across Canada. Those companies represent at least 75% of provincial revenue for urban transit and intercity bus activity in Canada. These data are intended as a leading indicator of trends in the urban transit sector and are one input to monthly GDP estimates. Aggregate data nationally and by region are available, as well as data by urban transit agency for select transit agencies that have agreed to make this data available.
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: Month
Collection period: During the month following the reference month.
Subjects
- Transportation
- Transportation by road
Data sources and methodology
Target population
The survey covers the operations of establishments which have urban and/or inter-city transit operations. An establishment is defined as the smallest reporting unit capable of reporting all elements of basic industrial statistics.
Instrument design
The questionnaire collects data on two variables: total operating revenues (excluding subsidies) and total number of passengers (passenger trips).
Sampling
This is a sample survey with a cross-sectional design.
The sampling design of this survey is a stratified cut-off census of business establishments with a cross-sectional design with monthly follow-up. Data are collected for all units whose revenue exceeds the 25th percentile by industry and province. Survey specific fields on the Business Register are used to include targeted business establishments without a main business activity related to passenger bus transit.
Data sources
Responding to this survey is mandatory.
Data are collected directly from survey respondents.
Collection is done through an electronic questionnaire.
View the Questionnaire(s) and reporting guide(s) .
Error detection
Edit rules at the microdata level have been incorporated into the electronic questionnaire to ensure the submitted data are consistent as much as possible at the time of capture. Remaining inconsistencies will be corrected during the edit and imputation process. Other inconsistent data can be identified and corrected manually, after verification with the respondent.
Imputation
Various methods for imputation, such as donor imputation, ratio analysis and trend analysis are utilized. Trends from tax data are also used when applicable.
Estimation
This survey uses the Generalized Estimation System developed at Statistics Canada to produce its domain estimates and quality indicators. It is a SAS-based application for producing estimates for domains of a population based on a sample and auxiliary information. Estimates are computed at several levels of interest, such as the North American Industry Classification System and province, based on the most recent classification information for the statistical entity and the survey reference period.
Population totals are calculated.
Quality evaluation
The subject matter analysts at Statistics Canada examine the data, verify the results, perform coherence analysis, study changes across cycles, and compare the results with other sources/surveys.
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.
Data for a specific industry or variable may be suppressed (along with that of a second industry or variable) if the number of enterprises in the population is too low.
The random tabular adjustment (RTA) technique was introduced in 2023 for estimates expressed in total amounts. This alternative technique aims to increase the amount of data made available to users while protecting the confidentiality of respondents.
Rather than using suppression techniques, RTA changes estimates by a random amount and adds a degree of uncertainty to the accuracy of the estimate to prevent the disclosure of individual values. As a result, estimates that could disclose an individual's response are not released. Note that if the adjusted estimates are part of a table with totals or sub-totals, the related total and sub-total estimates will also be adjusted.
For more technical information on random tabular adjustment, please see Disclosure control and random tabular adjustment by Mark Stinner from the Statistical Society of Canada's 2017 annual meeting. https://ssc.ca/en/2017-annual-meeting-winnipeg
Revisions and seasonal adjustment
Monthly estimates are provided for the reference month. The data for previous months are revised if necessary. The data are not seasonally adjusted.
Data accuracy
Quality ratings are derived from the sampling coefficient of variation and imputation rates.
Coverage rates are evaluated after the sampling process.
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