Assessment of Transport Data Availability and Quality in Latin America

The report is part of an initiative to map the transport data currently available within selected developing countries, looking to evaluate availability and quality of transport-related data in general, and particularly for information gaps affecting estimation of Greenhouse Gas emissions. The assessment of transport data availability and quality is performed by comparing the input information needed to run a transport model that identifies the major drivers for transport activity and emissions. The database requested includes typical transport information like fleet size and composition, passenger and freight activity, and fuel consumption, as well as other types of data related to demographic, macroeconomic, trade or other variables specified by the model. The assessment was carried out in eight Latin American countries, checking the data that has been collected and reviewing gathering procedures. The results show the major data availability and quality gaps, and expose implications beyond the modeling of transport emissions: such data will provide a basis for the implementation of important transport sector policies and planning processes, affecting both the public and private sectors. The analysis has demonstrated that transportation systems in the region are relatively sophisticated, including a great diversity of modes, flows, vehicle types, fuel types, and so forth. Therefore, estimation of sector emissions is expected to be considerably data-intensive.