The National Household Travel Survey

1. The National Household Travel Survey Heather Contrino US Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration

2. About the NHTS… • Only national data source on travel demand and travel behavior of the American public. • Measures travel by US households for all modes and all purposes • Survey conducted since 1969

3. NHTS uses a classic travel diary as a memory jogger…

4. And obtains trips from one address to another by all modes…

5. NHTS Core Data Content • Households • Persons • Geography • Vehicles • Trips Major Contribution Linkage between people, travel and vehicles

6. 2008 NHTS provides trends over 40 years of core content…

7. 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 • Intermodalism • Access, egress, and travel party size • Frequency of walk and bike • Motorcycle ownership and use

8. The NHTS Program • 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) 2008 NHTS Travel Data for 150,000 Households

9. 2008 Add-On Program 125,000 Add-On Samples Vermont DOT Wisconsin DOT South Dakota DOT New York State DOT Cedar Rapids, IA Iowa DOT Indiana DOT Omaha, Nebraska California DOT Virginia DOT North Carolina DOT Tennessee DOT Piedmont Region Maricopa, AZ South Carolina DOT Pima, AZ Georgia DOT Texas DOT Florida DOT

10. 2008 NHTS Schedule • April 2009 - Data collection completed • June 2009 - Final unweighted data for QA • August 2009 - Add-On GIS files • August 2009 – Draft final weighted file for QA • October 2009 – Final weighted data and documentation • Add-Ons receive final data • January 2009 – Public use data set • On-line analysis tool available for 2008 • March 2009 – Final full documentation and users guide

11. How can NHTS help you?

12. Identifying Trends in Demand Huge growth in travel since 1969, however demand (number of trips) has leveled off over the past decade Base: NHTS data series, travelers 16+

13. Understanding Mode Use Purpose Distribution of Transit Trips Source: 2001 NHTS

14. For interpreting and using JTW looking at mode loyalty:

15. Measure how access impacts behavior… Source: NHTS series since 1969

16. Quantify the link between demographics and mobility This is the daily range of travel for a high income African American This is the daily range of travel for a low-income African American

17. And demographics and safety… Base: NHTS data on driver miles by age and FARS fatalities

18. See how the transportation system works together Source: 2001 NHTS

19. Commute Fam/Pers (inc. Shop) School/Ch Soc/Rec 14,000 12,000 10,000 8,000 Person Trips in Millions 6,000 4,000 2,000 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Start Hour And when and why people drive

20. To look at changes in the fleet mix… Hybrid/Alternative Fuel Vehicles by State Source: NHTS 2008 preliminary

21. And forecast future demand Estimated on current VMT/person from NHTS and Census population forecast

22. How other areas use the NHTS…

23. Safety Planning - California Pedestrian Fatalities per Mile of Exposure Source: 2001 FARS pedestrian Fatalities and NHTS 2001 miles walked

24. Model Calibration - Wisconsin HBW Observed Vs Predicted Trip Length Frequency Source: 2001 NHTS Bruce Aunet, WI DOT & Cambridge Systematics Inc.

25. Air Quality - New York Vehicle Starts, Trip Lengths by Time of Day and Vehicle Utilization Source: 2001 NHTS

26. Performance Measures - Virginia Mode Trip Length Distribution Trips by time of day Source: 2001 NHTS

27. Special Studies - Florida • Hurricane Evacuation Planning • Weekend and Holiday Travel Planning • Event Planning • Seasonal Resident Impact

28. NHTS Products • State Profiles • Policy Briefs • Trends Database • Transferability • On-line Analysis Tool • Risk Assessment Tool • AAA Traffic Safety Foundation NHTS Trends CD-ROM

29. Accessing NHTS Products Contact Heather Contrino, FHWA • State Profiles • Policy Briefs: http://ornl.gov/publications.shtml#issueBriefs • Trends Database: To be posted soon • Transferable data for trip generation • http://fmip.ornl.gov/nhts/ • Risk Assessment Tool: • http://www.aaafoundation.org/trafficSTATS/ • On-line Analysis Tool: http://nhts.ornl.gov • SAS Data Set: http://nhts.ornl.gov/download.shtml

30. Thank You! Heather Contrino Heather.Contrino@dot.gov

31. Future Program 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