1. University of Virginia 2009 NHTS Survey Results
Center for Survey Research Team:
Thomas M. Guterbock, Director
Jim Ellis, Director of Research
Deborah Rexrode, Research Analyst
Kien Le, Research Analyst
Presented to VDOT February 23, 2010

2. Protocol Advance Postcard
Survey packet (cover letter, travel diary and $3 incentive)
notice, reminder, telephone reminder
Rescheduled travel date 14 days after original travel date
notice, reminder for rescheduled travel date
Travel days: Monday Sep. 14 – Sunday Oct. 11, 2009
Rescheduled days: Monday Sep. 28 – Sunday Oct. 25, 2009
Closeout November 4, 2009
Data collection closed: November 10, 2009
Thanks to Susan Willis-Walton at Virginia Tech for programming and hosting the UVA survey 2 2

3. Sample Six strata of students:
Students with listed address outside of Virginia
All students on-Grounds (almost all undergrad)
Undergraduate students off-Grounds but near
Graduate students off-Grounds but near
Undergraduate students off-Grounds but far
Graduate students off-Grounds but far 3

4. Response Rate Targeted response rate of 40%
Crude response rate of 40.1% (1003/2500)
Final response rate of 41.7% (1003/2407) 4

5. Process issues
UVA no longer uses postal service for official communication with students, therefore mailings suffered from undeliverable addresses.
A total of 205 students reported only one trip, but most of these students completed the back end of the survey. This occurred even when the students started the travel day at home. This indicated a potential problem with reporting or recording data.
We developed a protocol with other members of the research team to differentiate 23 that legitimately had only one trip from the 182 that were deemed incomplete.
We excluded the incomplete cases from the trip-level analyses but retained them in the respondent-level analyses. 5

6. Student Respondent Profile

7. Demographics Variable Survey Data UVA Population Male/Female 38%/62%
44%/56%
Age (Average)
23.0 --
Race (White, Black, Other)
72%/5%/23%
62%/7%/31%
Undergraduate/Graduate
61%/39%
64%/36%
Live off Grounds
65%
78%*
Married
13%
Professional Students
19%
24%
*University records do not maintain current local addresses so this number varies. 7

8. If “Yes”: Type of University Housing
Student Residence
Live in University Housing
Live in Charlottesville Year Round
If “Yes”: Type of University Housing
Residence Hall – 84.9%
Family Living, Apt – 13.2%
Other – 1.9% 8

9. Living Situation N Percent Living alone 158 16% Living w roommates 682
69%
Living w family members 71 7%
Living w someone else as a couple
102
10%
Note: Respondents could select more than one choice. 9

10. Working Situation
Currently employed?
Hours Worked Per Week

11. Income

12. Survey Results

13. Driver’s License and Vehicles
Vehicle Available for Use 13

14. Typical Commute to the University

15. Commuting Distance and Time
Commuting Distance (Miles) N
Min
Max
Mean
Median
S.D.
918
300
4.88
1.00
20.1
Commuting Time (Minutes) N
Min
Max
Mean
Median
S.D.
979
300
15.18
10.00
21.2 15

16. Number of Trips N
Min
Max
Mean
Median
S.D.
3802 15
4.67
4.00
3.09

17. Trip Mode
Living on grounds
Living off grounds 17

18. Trip Purpose

19. Trip Departure/Arrival Time

20. Trip Type NHB: Non home based HBU: Home based University
HBW: Home based Work
HBO: Home based Others

21. Trip Duration by Type 21

22. Information Usage
How often do you seek information about traffic and general travel conditions in your area?

23. Source of Information
Top three sources of information about traffic and general travel conditions in the area
94.9% use the internet
19.3% find information on television
13.9% listen to the radio
Effect of this information
62.7% change time of departure
51.3% change route of travel
46.2% change means of transportation

24. Summary The production protocol performed as expected.
The respondents represent the UVA student population fairly well.
The data provide a reliable source for expanding TDM to include university students.
Geocoding of destinations is in progress.
As expected, UVA students differ from the general population in demographics, mode choice and trip type.
Valuable lessons were learned to apply to future surveys of this type.

25. For more information Contact:
Thomas M. Guterbock, Director UVA Center for Survey Research
Jim Ellis, Director of Research
Deborah Rexrode, Research Analyst
Kien Le, Research Analyst