Every day, hundreds of container trucks travel across the 1,560 km of major truck routes serving the Port of Vancouver, moving goods and products for all of us. Yet, as with other heavy-duty diesel equipment, emissions from container trucks—especially older ones—impact air quality and pose a risk to community health. That’s why the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority has developed the Rolling Truck Age Program to cap container truck age, to support safer, more reliable trucks serving the port and cleaner air for communities in the Lower Mainland.
What is the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority?
The Vancouver Fraser Port Authority is the federal agency responsible for the stewardship of the lands and waters that make up the Port of Vancouver. As a Canada Port Authority, our mandate is to enable Canada’s trade through the port, while protecting the environment and with consideration for local communities.
What is the Rolling Truck Age Program?
Old, diesel-powered trucks are a significant source of particulate matter, which is known to cause cancer. As a region, we still have some very old container trucks—some more than 20 years old—serving the Port of Vancouver. The port authority’s Rolling Truck Age Program caps the age of container trucks serving the port to support safer, more reliable trucks and cleaner air for our communities. The port authority has been developing this program for a decade, while engaging with industry. In 2015, to provide industry with plenty of notice, we advised we would be implementing the program. We are currently working with industry toward implementation of the program, and we look forward to working together to deliver cleaner air for local communities.
How does the program support livability across the Lower Mainland?
Cleaner air means healthier, more livable communities, for all of us. Once implemented, the Rolling Truck Age Program is expected to significantly reduce air emissions from port-related trucking activities in the region, by delivering an estimated:
How will the program impact the supply chain?
The COVID-19 pandemic, global supply-chain challenges and extreme weather events have focused Canadians’ attention on supply-chain reliability. As the port authority moves toward implementation of the Rolling Truck Age Program, we do not anticipate supply-chain impacts, as approximately 80% of container trucks serving the port are already compliant. We commend and thank local truck owners and companies for working with us on this important program, and we look forward to seeing this program deliver cleaner air for our communities.