The National Household Travel Survey Heather Contrino US Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration, Office of Highway Policy Information

The NHTS Program – Two Components  National Study  Serves the department, congress, and administration  Resource for State and metropolitan areas (MPOs) and transportation community  40 years of trend data on U.S. travel behavior  Sample size of 25,000 households  Add-On Program  Service to States and MPOs since 1990  Allows States and MPOs to purchase additional samples for their local area  Program participation has doubled every survey year (Sample size of 125,000 households for 2008)

Study Design - New for 2008  Minimum State samples (n=250)  Cell Phone only sample  Add-On specific questionnaire content  New data items for national study

NHTS Program Structure NHTS Program National Study n = 25,000 List Assisted RDD Add-On Program n = 125,000 List Assisted RDD Some Additional Questions Cell Only n = 1,250 National coverage

2008 Add-On Program Participants 125,000 Add-On Samples Florida DOT Georgia DOT South Carolina DOT North Carolina DOT Piedmont Region Virginia DOT New York State DOT Indiana DOT Omaha, Nebraska Cedar Rapids, IA Iowa DOT Maricopa, AZ Pima, AZ California DOT Wisconsin DOT Tennessee DOT Texas DOT South Dakota DOT Vermont DOT

NHTS Core Data Content  Household  Income, composition, location  Person  Age, sex, race, ethnicity, worker and student status, citizenship, education  Geography  High level geography – urban, rural, suburban, state and national analyses  Vehicles  Make, model, year, mileage, alternative fuels, commercially licensed  Trips  Mode, time of day, purpose, vehicle occupancy, distance, trip length

New 2008 NHTS Content  Congestion  Interstate use and tolling  Telecommuting – opportunity and frequency  Work arrival time and flexibility  Safety  Safe Travel to School  Travel impacts of disability  Energy and Environment  Shopping by Internet and deliveries to the household  Hybrid/Alternative fuel vehicles  Fuel costs by vehicle type and travel behavior  Vehicle age, odometer reading, and annual mileage  Alternative Modes  Access (to transit) travel party size  Frequency of walk and bike  Motorcycle ownership and use

The NHTS obtains information on the public’s use of the transportation system Highway Statistics, 2001 Highway Statistics Total VMT (000,000s) 2,781,462 Highway Statistics Passenger Travel2,282,890 NHTS 2001 VMT2,281,863

Transportation is a large consumer of oil The transportation sector’s use of energy, which is overwhelmingly petroleum, more than tripled from 1949 to Motor gasoline accounts for about two-thirds of the petroleum consumed in the sector. Source: Energy Information Administration, 2001 Annual Energy Review, Table 2.1A. Quadrillion Btu

There has been amazing growth in travel by the American Public Growth in Travel and Related Issues, Base: NHTS series since 1969

Base: NHTS data series, travelers 16+ In the last decade, total trips have leveled off…

For the first time in Census history the number of families without children dominate– 2/3 of households are without children Base : Decennial Census 2000, US Census Bureau Household composition is changing…

Annual Miles in Billions MenWomenAll The driving population is aging… Projections show a doubling of VMT by 2040 for drivers aged 65 and over Base:Census projections and VMT/person from NHTS 2001

Older drivers are more likely to be in a fatal accident… Base: NHTS data on driver miles by age and FARS fatalities

Source: Current Population Survey, 2005 Annual Social and Economic Supplement In addition, the distribution of the U.S. population is changing…

Which changes the distribution of demand… Estimated on current VMT/person from NHTS and Census population forecast

2008 NHTS Status  Data collection began in March 2008  Approximately 56,000 households recruited to date  Quality assurance completed on first quarterly cumulative file  A weighted interim data file will be developed using the 6-month cumulative file  Methods research (for next NHTS) and work for reauthorization is ongoing

2008 NHTS Schedule  Data Collection  March 2008 thru April 2009  Full year to capture day of week and month of year distribution  Interim Weighted Data File  Internal use file available by January 2009  6 months of travel data  Final 2008 Data  Full national plus add-ons (n=150,000)  Available summer/fall 2009

Future Design Goals  Methods  Coverage and Response Rates  Cellular phones and non-contacts  Periodicity  Real time reporting environment  Continuous study design/annual reporting  Relevant Content  Establishing regular, reliable performance measures  Maintaining trends while addressing new policy and planning questions

NHTS Program Goals  Institutionalize the Study  Specific program authorization and regular funding cycle  Maintain Add-On Program  Regular State and MPO participation – federal, local and community gains  Serve User Community  Clear link to policy and planning questions  National and State travel indicators  On-line Analyses  Annual reporting of Key Measures  Modeling and data integration to provide annual estimates  Annual/continuous data collection  Feed into performance measurement, annual reporting to Congress (C&P), and other data programs (e.g. FARS)

Thank You! Heather Contrino