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How We Travel: A Sustainable National Program for Travel Data (2011)

Chapter: 4 Designing a National Travel Data Program

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Suggested Citation:"4 Designing a National Travel Data Program." Transportation Research Board. 2011. How We Travel: A Sustainable National Program for Travel Data. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13125.
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Suggested Citation:"4 Designing a National Travel Data Program." Transportation Research Board. 2011. How We Travel: A Sustainable National Program for Travel Data. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13125.
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Suggested Citation:"4 Designing a National Travel Data Program." Transportation Research Board. 2011. How We Travel: A Sustainable National Program for Travel Data. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13125.
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Suggested Citation:"4 Designing a National Travel Data Program." Transportation Research Board. 2011. How We Travel: A Sustainable National Program for Travel Data. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13125.
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Suggested Citation:"4 Designing a National Travel Data Program." Transportation Research Board. 2011. How We Travel: A Sustainable National Program for Travel Data. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13125.
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Suggested Citation:"4 Designing a National Travel Data Program." Transportation Research Board. 2011. How We Travel: A Sustainable National Program for Travel Data. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13125.
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Suggested Citation:"4 Designing a National Travel Data Program." Transportation Research Board. 2011. How We Travel: A Sustainable National Program for Travel Data. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13125.
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Suggested Citation:"4 Designing a National Travel Data Program." Transportation Research Board. 2011. How We Travel: A Sustainable National Program for Travel Data. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13125.
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Suggested Citation:"4 Designing a National Travel Data Program." Transportation Research Board. 2011. How We Travel: A Sustainable National Program for Travel Data. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13125.
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Suggested Citation:"4 Designing a National Travel Data Program." Transportation Research Board. 2011. How We Travel: A Sustainable National Program for Travel Data. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13125.
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Suggested Citation:"4 Designing a National Travel Data Program." Transportation Research Board. 2011. How We Travel: A Sustainable National Program for Travel Data. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13125.
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Suggested Citation:"4 Designing a National Travel Data Program." Transportation Research Board. 2011. How We Travel: A Sustainable National Program for Travel Data. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13125.
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Suggested Citation:"4 Designing a National Travel Data Program." Transportation Research Board. 2011. How We Travel: A Sustainable National Program for Travel Data. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13125.
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Suggested Citation:"4 Designing a National Travel Data Program." Transportation Research Board. 2011. How We Travel: A Sustainable National Program for Travel Data. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13125.
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Suggested Citation:"4 Designing a National Travel Data Program." Transportation Research Board. 2011. How We Travel: A Sustainable National Program for Travel Data. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13125.
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Suggested Citation:"4 Designing a National Travel Data Program." Transportation Research Board. 2011. How We Travel: A Sustainable National Program for Travel Data. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13125.
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Suggested Citation:"4 Designing a National Travel Data Program." Transportation Research Board. 2011. How We Travel: A Sustainable National Program for Travel Data. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13125.
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Suggested Citation:"4 Designing a National Travel Data Program." Transportation Research Board. 2011. How We Travel: A Sustainable National Program for Travel Data. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13125.
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Suggested Citation:"4 Designing a National Travel Data Program." Transportation Research Board. 2011. How We Travel: A Sustainable National Program for Travel Data. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13125.
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Suggested Citation:"4 Designing a National Travel Data Program." Transportation Research Board. 2011. How We Travel: A Sustainable National Program for Travel Data. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13125.
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Suggested Citation:"4 Designing a National Travel Data Program." Transportation Research Board. 2011. How We Travel: A Sustainable National Program for Travel Data. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13125.
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Suggested Citation:"4 Designing a National Travel Data Program." Transportation Research Board. 2011. How We Travel: A Sustainable National Program for Travel Data. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13125.
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Suggested Citation:"4 Designing a National Travel Data Program." Transportation Research Board. 2011. How We Travel: A Sustainable National Program for Travel Data. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13125.
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Suggested Citation:"4 Designing a National Travel Data Program." Transportation Research Board. 2011. How We Travel: A Sustainable National Program for Travel Data. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13125.
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Suggested Citation:"4 Designing a National Travel Data Program." Transportation Research Board. 2011. How We Travel: A Sustainable National Program for Travel Data. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13125.
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Suggested Citation:"4 Designing a National Travel Data Program." Transportation Research Board. 2011. How We Travel: A Sustainable National Program for Travel Data. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13125.
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Suggested Citation:"4 Designing a National Travel Data Program." Transportation Research Board. 2011. How We Travel: A Sustainable National Program for Travel Data. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13125.
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Suggested Citation:"4 Designing a National Travel Data Program." Transportation Research Board. 2011. How We Travel: A Sustainable National Program for Travel Data. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13125.
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Suggested Citation:"4 Designing a National Travel Data Program." Transportation Research Board. 2011. How We Travel: A Sustainable National Program for Travel Data. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13125.
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Suggested Citation:"4 Designing a National Travel Data Program." Transportation Research Board. 2011. How We Travel: A Sustainable National Program for Travel Data. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13125.
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Suggested Citation:"4 Designing a National Travel Data Program." Transportation Research Board. 2011. How We Travel: A Sustainable National Program for Travel Data. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13125.
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Below is the uncorrected machine-read text of this chapter, intended to provide our own search engines and external engines with highly rich, chapter-representative searchable text of each book. Because it is UNCORRECTED material, please consider the following text as a useful but insufficient proxy for the authoritative book pages.

4 Designing a National Travel Data Program T his chapter begins with a description of the committee’s proposal for a National Travel Data Program that would better meet the current and emerging travel data needs of transportation policy and decision makers. Program costs are summarized, followed by a dis- cussion of who should manage the program, at what funding level, and with what funding sources. A final section considers ways to build con- stituency support and help ensure program implementation and account- ability. The chapter ends with a brief set of findings. Concept and Content of a National Travel Data Program The committee recommends a broad and sustained National Travel Data Program, built on the collection of a core of essential nationwide passenger and freight travel data sponsored at the federal level and well integrated with travel data collected by the states, metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) and other local agencies (e.g., transit), and the private sector. Figure 4-1 provides a schematic of the program, including the proposed management structure, which is discussed later in the chapter. Program Content The proposed National Travel Data Program builds on many existing travel data collection activities and adds new initiatives to fill data gaps,   75 

76  How We Travel: A Sustainable National Program for Travel Data National Travel Data Program U.S. DOT Advisory Secretary of Transportation Council Other Federal RITA/BTS: Coordinating U.S. DOT Modal Agencies Functions Administrations National Travel Data: Core Federal Data Collection Passenger Travel Freight Travel Data Component Data Component • Next-generation NHTS • Next-generation CFS State, MPO, and • Intercity passenger • Supply chain survey Other Local travel survey • International freight Agency (e.g., • International travel data transit) Travel passenger travel data • Local operations Data Private-Sector • National panel survey surveys (linked to but • Shares data Travel Data not part of federal collection • Shares data program) • Adds on to collection federal surveys • Provides and/or Other National Travel Data • Provides state, sells private • VIUS for all vehicles regional, and travel data to • Modal travel data local data for the public integration with sector Partnerships with States, MPOs and Other national data Local Agencies, and the Private Sector Data Development and Management • Data design and development • Data clearinghouse and archiving function • Data analysis, product development, quality assurance, and dissemination FIGURE 4-1 Schematic of a national travel data program. (Note: BTS = Bureau of Transportation Statistics; CFS = Commodity Flow Survey; MPO = metropolitan planning organization; NHTS = National Household Travel Survey; RITA = Research and Innovative Technology Administration; U.S. DOT = U.S. Department of Transportation; VIUS = Vehicle Inventory and Use Survey.) with the goal of organizing and maintaining a more comprehensive and better integrated travel data program to support policy and decision making. The committee envisions a program in which data are captured from many data providers at all governmental levels and in the private sector. At the core, federally sponsored data collection activities include a national passenger travel data component, a national freight travel data

Designing a National Travel Data Program  77  component, and data collection activities that include both passenger and freight travel data.1 Box 4-1 provides a brief description of each of these program components and its purpose, as well as other key program elements. The latter include partnerships with state departments of transportation (DOTs) and MPOs and other local agencies to amplify the National Travel Data Program through both add-ons to federally sponsored surveys and greater pooling of data collected at the state and regional levels. Partnerships with the private sector should lead to mutually beneficial arrangements for the collection and sharing of travel data or for the outright purchase of private data where their sources have clear cost, quality, or coverage advantages. In addition to the data collection components, the core program includes a data development and management component composed of three elements: (a) a data design and development element to provide the research and testing necessary to design and develop the next generation of passenger and freight travel surveys and incorporate innovative methods of data collection; (b) a data clearinghouse and archiving function to achieve better data integration and maintain key databases; and (c) a data analysis, product development, quality assurance, and dissemination element to provide more user-oriented data products. National Passenger Travel Data Component Developing the next generation of passenger travel data will require a more robust National Household Travel Survey (NHTS), supported by a data design and development effort to address the problem of declining response rates and the introduction of more innovative techniques for data collection. In addition, two new surveys are proposed to fill data gaps: a National Intercity Passenger Travel Survey and a National Panel Survey. Each of these program elements is described below, including a rough cost estimate where possible. The costs in both this and the following subsections reflect actual estimates when available or the committee’s best judgment. Greater precision will require a more detailed planning effort, beyond the scope of this committee’s charge. Despite all the uncertainties, however, the committee recognized the importance of providing a sense 1. The assumption is that these core data programs would be sustained over time to ensure continuity for trends analysis. Although use of new methods and technologies for collecting data should be considered and encouraged, they should be introduced in a way that maximizes backward compatibility so that comparisons with earlier data sets can be maintained.

78  How We Travel: A Sustainable National Program for Travel Data Box 4-1 Key Elements of a National Travel Data Program A National Travel Data Program for the collection of essential national passenger and freight travel data should include the following elements. National Passenger Travel Data Component • A next-generation National Household Travel Survey (NHTS), focused on household travel and conducted every 5 years or possibly as a continuous survey. The national sample, ensuring reliable state-level reporting, would include a core of travel behavior questions and a rotating set of policy questions. Add-ons would be invited, and subsamples could be used to experiment with new data collection techniques. The NHTS should move toward new technologies for data collection and communication with respondents. The data collected should include or be integrated with data on transportation service quality and area characteristics (i.e., supply-side data). Purpose: Track trends in household passenger travel at a national scale—including mobility across socioeconomic groups and locations and effects of changing demographics, resource prices, and policies— to measure performance; detect problems; design, evaluate, and select policies; and direct the allocation of resources. • A periodic (e.g., every 10 years) National Intercity Passenger Travel Survey and update (e.g., every 5 years), with a sufficiently large sample to capture city-to-city flows by mode. Purpose: Track trends in intercity passenger travel and, in conjunction with existing data on domestic air travel, provide a basis for planning, evaluating, and supporting decisions about planning, regulating, and investing in existing and new intercity passenger services, including high-speed rail, rail, air, and high- way transportation. (continued)

Designing a National Travel Data Program  79  • Improved data on international passenger travel to the United States, particularly detail on foreign visitors’ inland destinations and use of transportation facilities. Opportunities for supple- menting existing surveys should be sought and the National Intercity Passenger Travel Survey should be designed to ensure compatibility among these surveys. Purpose: Provide data on foreign travel within the United States to support tourism and economic development planning and related transportation facility investment by states, local governments, and the private sector. • A National Panel Survey conducted annually to track travel and location dynamics so as to measure traveler responses to changing conditions and policies, as well as attitudes and preferences. Use of the Internet for this survey should be considered, although the sample could be drawn from a non- Internet frame and initially contacted by another mode. Purpose: Provide an understanding of passenger travel dynamics by tracking a representative set of households over time to measure responses to changing external conditions, prices, technologies, services, and policies at the national level; providing insights into travel and location dynamics; and measuring attitudes and preferences with respect to emerging issues and policies. National Freight Travel Data Component • The Commodity Flow Survey (CFS), either at the current 5-year interval as long as it remains part of the economic survey of the Census Bureau or as a continuous survey. Sample sizes should be large enough to capture subregion-to-subregion flows, and electronic methods of data collection should be used whenever possible. Low-cost improvements in survey coverage should be considered, and the private sector should be involved in any survey design changes. Opportunities for sharing or purchasing private data should be considered as well. (continued on next page)

80  How We Travel: A Sustainable National Program for Travel Data Box 4-1 (continued) Key Elements of a National Travel Data Program Purpose: Track national trends in freight flows by commodity, mode, and geography to measure performance; detect problems; and provide a basis for predicting the effects of freight programs, policies, and regulations on the movement of freight and the impacts on the economy. • A new industry-based Supply Chain Survey to capture intercity data on freight shipments from origin, to intermediate handling and warehousing locations, to final destination, which are not captured in the CFS. Supply chain organizations and other private-sector experts should be consulted about the survey design and the most accurate and easiest ways of sampling shipment data. Two surveys per decade are envisioned, but survey design and testing will be needed before such details can be determined. Purpose: Understand what businesses ship, how, why, and where in order to analyze the state and local economic impacts of freight logis- tics choices and plan supporting public infrastructure investments. • Survey data on international freight flows, particularly inland movements of freight and destinations within the United States. A properly designed Supply Chain Survey should collect the necessary data, so a separate survey should not be necessary. Purpose: Understand the domestic flows of international freight by mode and U.S. destinations to monitor impacts on the economy and plan for transportation infrastructure improvements. • Local operations surveys of intraregional freight movements to gather data from motor carriers and short-line railroads on domestic freight origins and destinations. The Supply Chain Survey should provide the framework for these surveys, which should be designed to be compatible with the CFS and the (continued)

Designing a National Travel Data Program  81  Vehicle Inventory and Use Survey (VIUS). Implementation would be primarily the responsibility of states and metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs), although some federal funding could be provided to encourage their follow-through. Purpose: Fill a major gap in freight data, particularly in the area of urban goods movement. These data are needed to under- stand freight flows within metropolitan areas so that supporting infrastructure investments to mitigate congestion and encourage economic activity can be identified. Data Collection Activities Including Both Passenger and Freight Travel Data • A restarted VIUS, expanded to cover automobiles and buses as well as commercial vehicles and conducted every 5 years, probably in conjunction with the economic census. Purpose: Provide national and state-level estimates of the total number of motor vehicles and their physical and operational characteristics; track and forecast trends in fleet mix, safety risks, fuel efficiency, and environmental impacts (e.g., greenhouse gas emissions); and determine cost allocations and user fees. The new VIUS would be the only source for monitoring data on heavy-duty trucks, which will soon have new fuel-economy standards, and for differentiating commercial from personal use of light-duty trucks. It would also be a source of data on difficult-to-locate operators of vehicle fleets (e.g., intercity buses). • Modal travel data (e.g., the Federal Transit Administration’s National Transit Database, BTS’s Air Carrier Traffic Statistics, the Surface Transportation Board’s/Federal Railroad Association’s rail Carload Waybill Sample, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Waterborne Commerce Statistics) integrated into the core National Travel Data Program. Administratively, these programs should remain with the U.S. DOT operating administrations and other relevant federal agencies. (continued on next page)

82  How We Travel: A Sustainable National Program for Travel Data Box 4-1 (continued) Key Elements of a National Travel Data Program Purpose: Provide detailed data on the operation and performance of specific modes needed to assess performance; identify problems and needs; and guide decisions about investments, regulations, and other policies in support of national economic and social interests. Partnerships with States, MPOs and Other Local Agencies, and the Private Sector • Federal partnerships with state departments of transportation (DOTs), MPOs, and other local transportation agencies (e.g., transit agencies) to enrich, supplement, and validate national data (through add-ons to national surveys) and supplement and validate data collected by other jurisdictions (providing benchmarks); federally supported data architecture, common definitions, and general specifications for data collection to en- courage greater harmonization of state, MPO, and other locally collected travel data across jurisdictions and facilitate integration into the National Travel Data Program; and methods for sub- stituting modeled data for use across metropolitan areas, particu- larly small geographic areas, with common characteristics. Purpose: For U.S. DOT, extend national surveys to support more detailed results at finer-grained geographic levels and greater consistency in data collected across states and regions, enabling more data fusion and providing better comparative data. For state and local partners, provide benchmarks for state- and locally collected travel data; interim estimates between infrequent state and local travel survey updates; and for smaller metropolitan areas, a substitute for locally collected data. • Federal partnerships with industry for data sharing or purchase of private-sector data when the data are needed, appropriate, of suitable quality, and cost-effective. (continued)

Designing a National Travel Data Program  83  Purpose: For U.S. DOT, secure and disseminate essential data not otherwise available from public sources or collected more efficiently by private transportation firms and data vendors. For private- sector data providers, bring attention to transportation problems that adversely affect productivity and operations (e.g., congestion and major transportation bottlenecks for freight carriers) in ways that safeguard proprietary data and provide new public-sector markets for data. Data Development and Management • Methods research and pilot testing of new data collection methods that are most appropriate for transportation. Designing and testing new freight travel data surveys (e.g., Supply Chain Sur- vey, local operations surveys) to fill critical data gaps should be a major emphasis. Purpose: Conduct the design and testing necessary to develop the next generation of passenger and freight travel surveys and data collection activities and to incorporate more innovative data col- lection methods. • A national travel data clearinghouse to lead the effort to con- solidate, scrub, and organize the travel data collected by many partners to form a coherent picture of national travel activity. This clearinghouse would be a source of survey designs, experience with new data collection methods, lessons learned in imple- mentation, and models and documentation for all data partners and provide an archiving function to maintain critical data sets over time. It would also provide a mechanism for receiving and summarizing feedback from data providers and users. Purpose: Achieve data integration and maintain key databases. • Working with data users and providers, the development of new methods of data analysis, distribution, and dissemination that enhance the capability, accuracy, speed, and convenience of communicating the knowledge obtained from the data collected. Purpose: Provide more user-oriented data products.

84  How We Travel: A Sustainable National Program for Travel Data of the scale of the proposed National Travel Data Program as a necessary prerequisite for the program’s funding request. • National Household Travel Survey—The next-generation NHTS must focus on today’s travel issues, which require more geographically and modally detailed data than have been collected in the past, and it must support state-level reporting; all of these capabilities demand a larger national sample than has been collected in prior surveys.2 The recent practice of supplementing the national survey through the purchase of add-ons by states and MPOs should be continued because it supports more detailed state and regional analyses where needed. This practice would be even more effective if a reliable national survey sample framework were clearly defined early in the process, providing a structure for comparability among state and MPO surveys that would aid analysis at all geographic levels. Conducting an expanded national survey every 5 years using traditional survey methods would cost about $20 million per decade (Table 4-1).3 The committee urges that other options for conducting the survey be explored, including continuous surveying and new sampling frames and methods, if coverage or quality can be improved or cost savings realized. • National Intercity Passenger Travel Survey—A National Intercity Passenger Travel Survey should be instituted to cover long-distance passenger trips that are not included in the NHTS. In the past 30 years only two intercity passenger travel surveys have been conducted by the U.S. government, the most recent of these in 1995 (see Appendix E). The importance of such a survey has grown substantially because of the recent interest in intercity passenger rail. These data are also critical for ensuring that the transportation system remains adequate and competitive for domestic and international business travel and tourism. Because intercity travel is a relatively rare event in most U.S. households, however, such surveys are difficult and expensive to conduct. To be useful for policy analysis, the survey must provide valid data on origin-to-destination passenger flows by mode for major national travel corridors. Instead of conducting such a survey every 5 years as is 2. In the committee’s judgment, on the order of 35,000 to 40,000 observations are needed. The 2001 and 2009 NHTSs had national sample sizes of approximately 25,000 households. 3. This cost estimate is based on a cost of $250 per completed survey, a generous increment over the 2009 NHTS cost of $185 per completed survey.

TABLE 4-1 Gross Estimate of the Costs of the Federal Core of the Proposed National Travel Data Program Frequency of Total Cost Data Collection Proposed Estimated Unit Cost per Decade Annualized Cost Program Component per Decade Sample Size (per completed survey) ($ millions) ($ millions) National Passenger Data Component •    ext-Generation National Household   N 2  40,000  $250  $20.0  $2.0  Travel Survey (national sample only) •    ational Intercity Passenger Travel   N 1  75,000  $400  30.0  3.0  Surveya •    ational Intercity Passenger Travel   N 1  5,000  $400  2.0  0.2  Survey Update •    ational Panel Survey N 10 5.000 $ 60 3.0 0.3 Subtotal $55.0 $5.5 National Freight Travel Data Component •    ommodity Flow Survey C 2 100,000 $250 $50.0 $5.0 •    ew surveys to fill data gaps N –    upply Chain Surveyb S 2 N.A. N.A. 30.0 3.0 –    ocal operations surveys L 0.0c 0.0c Subtotal $80.0 $8.0 Data Collection Including Both Passenger           and Freight Data •    ehicle Inventory and Use Survey V 2 140,000 $100 $28.0 $2.8 Subtotal $28.0 $2.8 (continued on next page)

TABLE 4-1 Gross Estimate of the Costs of the Federal Core of the Proposed National Travel Data Program (continued) Frequency of Total Cost Data Collection Proposed Estimated Unit Cost per Decade Annualized Cost Program Component per Decade Sample Size (per completed survey) ($ millions) ($ millions) Data Design and Development $ 8.0 $0.8 •    reight travel data F N.A. N.A. N.A. 2.5 0.25 •    assenger travel data P N.A. N.A. N.A. 2.5 0.25 •    ngoing program O N.A. N.A. N.A. $13.0 $1.3 Subtotal $176.0 $17.6 Total proposed cost $150.0–200.0 $15.0–20.0 Total proposed cost range Note: See text for discussion of assumptions. N.A. = not applicable. a Includes better data on international passenger travel. b Includes data on inland portions of international freight movements. c Assumes that states and metropolitan planning organizations will assume the cost of data collection for these surveys. The federal contribution is in the design and develop- ment of the survey instrument and appropriate data collection methods, an allowance for which is provided under “Data Design and Development” (freight travel data).

Designing a National Travel Data Program  87  the case with the NHTS, it may prove more effective to aim for such a detailed capability every 10 years, with a smaller update survey in the interim 5-year periods to obtain current travel and traveler charac- teristics, such as trip lengths, frequencies, and mode choice patterns. In the committee’s judgment, such a national effort would cost on the order of $30 million per decade for the detailed survey and $2 million for the interim update (Table 4-1).4 Opportunities for cooperative pro- grams with the private sector should be actively sought to reduce costs and enhance the utility of the data. • International passenger travel data—Data are currently collected on international travel to the United States, but they provide little or no detail on foreign visitors’ inland destinations and use of transportation facilities. Nearly 60 million foreign visitors come to the United States each year (ITA 2008) and use U.S. transportation facilities—airports, highways, tour buses, car rentals, and transit and rail systems. The Department of Commerce’s (DOC) annual survey of international air travelers, described in Appendix E, is incomplete in its coverage. Not all air carriers, airports, and inland destinations are included, and, most important for transportation, little information is provided on in-country travel and transportation use.5 The Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) also collects data on incoming vehicles, passengers, and pedestrians for land ports on the U.S. borders with Canada and Mexico, but the data do not capture inland travelers’ destinations, transportation use, or daily recurring automobile travel around U.S. borders.6 The U.S. Department of Transportation (U.S. DOT) should examine these data sources from the perspective of strengthening the collection of transportation-related data. For example, it would be useful to examine ways to supplement the DOC survey to improve coverage and data quality. Continued cooperation with Canadian and Mexican statistical authorities is essential for enhancing land-border crossing 4. The cost estimate for the detailed survey assumes 75,000 observations at a cost of $400 per completed survey, reflecting the greater complexity of obtaining reliable long-distance travel data. The interim update would be limited to 5,000 observations and assumes the same unit cost. 5. The primary focus of the survey, which is conducted by the Office of Travel and Tourism Industries, is on estimating expenditures of travelers both in the United States and abroad and obtaining information on foreign visitors to assist marketing efforts by the U.S. government, the tourism industry, and related pri- vate firms to attract more foreign travelers. 6. The data are part of the North American Transborder Freight Database, developed in response to the signing of the North American Free Trade Agreement by the United States, Canada, and Mexico in 1992 (see Appendix E).

88  How We Travel: A Sustainable National Program for Travel Data data, particularly for capturing automobile travel around U.S. borders. The previously described National Intercity Passenger Travel Survey should be designed to ensure greater compatibility with both of these data sources; data improvement and compatibility should be accom- modated within the funding level proposed for the National Intercity Passenger Travel Survey and its updates. • National Panel Survey—U.S. DOT should initiate a longitudinal National Panel Survey, implemented annually, to measure traveler responses to changing socioeconomic conditions, prices, technologies, services, and policies; to provide insights into travel and location patterns; and to gauge attitudes and preferences with respect to emerging issues and policies. The NHTS uses field procedures, instruments, and sample designs that are generally comparable from survey to survey, and thus it is possible to measure variations in travel behavior over time. However, because of its repeated cross-sectional design, drawing on fresh household samples for each survey, the NHTS does not provide clear information on why changes in travel behavior occur. A national longitudinal panel survey could track the reasons for change and provide more timely trend information than can be obtained with a periodic survey. Once in place, a panel could serve as an ongoing source of up-to-date information on attitudes, public preferences, and travel choices.7 An online panel, which would reduce respondent burden, would offer the additional benefits of even greater cost-efficiency and more rapid response. Annual surveying of a national transportation panel should produce national-level estimates sufficient for analytical purposes.8 U.S. DOT should consider using an existing panel source maintained by an out- side contractor to help reduce the costs and burden of establishing and maintaining a new panel.9 With this approach, the cost per survey wave is estimated at approximately $300,000 annually or $3 million over a decade-long period (Table 4-1).10  7. New data could be examined as they became available, and questions could be added to the survey instrument as needed to address current concerns and policy issues. Adding supplemental questions to an existing panel is far easier and faster than mounting a new survey to acquire the same information.  8. A sample size of at least 5,000 individuals is required, and to minimize panel attrition, the survey should be kept short (not to exceed 15 to 20 minutes in length).  9. As noted in Chapter 3, special care should be taken in selecting the existing panel source to ensure that it meets rigorous standards of accuracy and reliability through probability-based, statistically valid (non-opt-in) sampling. Such panels exist, and the most rigorous rely on an address-based sample frame to ensure coverage of cellular telephone–only households. 10. This estimate was provided by a panel survey company at the request of a committee member.

Designing a National Travel Data Program  89  National Freight Travel Data Component In the immediate future, the Commodity Flow Survey (CFS) should be continued with a sample size adequate to provide reliable subregion-to- subregion freight flow estimates. In the long run, new surveys may make some current data collection activities redundant, but for the foreseeable future, both current and new surveys should be conducted at some level in tandem to ensure continuity for trend analysis. More detail on next- generation freight travel data collection activities is provided below, but precise specifications and costs must await the results of the proposed design and development effort. Developing the next generation of freight travel data surveys will require a major reorientation in approach and a substantial design and development effort, which must begin soon, to fill three critical gaps in current freight travel data. First, the CFS currently does not provide freight flow data organized on an industry basis and focused on supply chain linkages; these data are needed to determine the economic impacts of freight flows by industry and location and related needs for public infrastructure investment. Second, given the importance of foreign trade and globalization of the economy, better data are needed on the domestic portion of international freight shipments, including commodities shipped, transport mode, and inland destinations. Finally, data on local freight operations at the intraregional level, particularly in metropolitan areas—a long-standing gap in freight data—should be gathered, but the federal role here should be limited to the collaborative design and development of an appropriate survey instrument; the data should be collected by local agencies to meet their planning needs. The national freight travel data component of the proposed National Travel Data Program fills these gaps through the following elements: • Commodity Flow Survey—The CFS provides critical information on commodity movements and thus, as suggested above, should be con- tinued with a sample size sufficient to yield reliable data on subregion- to-subregion flows. Given the burden on business respondents, use of the Internet for survey response and other approaches, such as greater use of administrative data and continuous surveying, should be consid- ered for future surveys. Improvements in coverage that can be made without a major new investment should be undertaken as well. The CFS, however, uses the master establishment list of the Census Bureau and thus is limited in the sample design variations that are possible. The private sector should be involved in any effort to improve the

90  How We Travel: A Sustainable National Program for Travel Data overall survey program design, and opportunities to share or purchase privately collected data on goods movement at substate levels should be considered. The current cost of the CFS is on the order of $50 million per decade for the conduct of two surveys in years ending in 2 and 7 (Table 4-1). This level of funding should be sufficient going forward, particularly if new freight data collection activities are undertaken. • Supply Chain Survey—A new industry-based, logistics-oriented inter- city survey is needed to capture data on freight shipments from origin, to intermediate handling and warehousing locations, to final destination. These data are necessary so planners and decision makers can understand what businesses ship, how, why, and where and analyze the economic impacts of freight logistics choices and plan supporting infrastructure investments. Organized by industry type, probably on the basis of the North American Industry Classification System,11 the proposed Supply Chain Survey would cover both domestic shipments and the U.S. portions of international shipments, connecting their travel paths. The new survey would require a design and testing phase,12 which would be informed by existing studies of supply chain structure13; supply chain organizations, among other private-sector experts, should be involved in the survey design to help determine accurate and easy ways to sample shipment data. The committee envisions two surveys per decade, which in its judgment would together cost on the order of $20–30 million (Table 4-1); more precise cost estimates would depend on the results of the survey design and development phase. • International freight travel data surveys—Data on international freight flows, particularly movements and destinations within the United States, are critical to understanding the transportation implications of foreign trade and its effects on the U.S. economy. The new Supply Chain Survey, if properly designed, would collect the necessary data on the interior 11. This system is the standard used by federal statistical agencies in classifying business establishments for purposes of collecting, analyzing, and publishing statistical data related to the U.S. business economy. It replaced the old Standard Industrial Classification System in 1997. 12. The design phase should include determining the range of industries to be included, which influences cost, and methods for managing their intersections. The survey itself would require data collection through logistics managers in either establishments or third-party providers. 13. The American Association of State Transportation and Highway Officials’ (AASHTO) Freight Transportation Bottom Line Report (Grenzeback forthcoming) and the forthcoming report from the National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) 15A (Wilbur Smith Associates forthcoming) contain depictions of a variety of supply chains. Further examples can be found in MPO and state DOT freight studies and in private sources.

Designing a National Travel Data Program  91  movement of international shipments.14 Existing surveys of cross-border and other international commerce flows should be maintained because they serve trade, security, and facility management purposes. However, their data components should be reviewed to ensure integration with the Supply Chain Survey and local operations surveys (described next) through industrial classification and geographic area definitions and other means. • Local operations surveys—A properly designed Supply Chain Survey could establish a framework for more detailed local operations surveys on intraregional freight movements. Data on urban goods movement, in particular, have long been sought by state and MPO planners to understand freight movements within metropolitan areas in support of public planning and investment. Outside urban areas, such surveys could be useful in collecting data on movements of agricultural goods, now missing entirely from the CFS. Using the framework of the Supply Chain Survey, the data on freight origins and destinations would be gathered from motor carriers and short-line railroads.15 The design and development of the survey instrument would be part of the National Travel Data Program to ensure consistency with the CFS, the new Supply Chain Survey, and the proposed Vehicle Inventory and Use Survey (VIUS) (see below). However, its implementation would be the responsibility of states and MPOs, although some federal matching funds could be provided to encourage local survey investments. Data Collection Activities Including Both Passenger and Freight Travel Data In the proposed National Travel Data Program, the following data collection activities include both passenger and freight travel data: • Vehicle Inventory and Use Survey—The VIUS should be restarted and expanded to include automobiles and buses, given the national interest in the energy efficiency and environmental impacts of both passenger and commercial vehicles. The VIUS, which collected basic descriptors 14. The establishment-based CFS, in comparison, is derived from the shipping documents of American firms. Thus in the present system, no flows from foreign points are traceable before their first point of rest or transshipment within the United States. 15. The survey would collect data on trip patterns, stops and payloads, trip times and equipment utilization, operating ranges and empty distances, and reliance on and positions of yards and terminals.

92  How We Travel: A Sustainable National Program for Travel Data of the vehicle fleet,16 was the only source of data on the use of heavy-duty trucks and on commercial versus personal uses of light-duty trucks (vans, pickup trucks, and sport utility vehicles). With fuel economy standards being proposed for the first time for heavy-duty trucks and buses, as well as more stringent standards already in effect for light-duty trucks and passenger vehicles, these data are critical for monitoring energy use and related greenhouse gas emissions of the vehicle fleet. The VIUS’s immense potential lies in its data source—vehicle registration records—which provides a third perspective, besides households and business establishments, from which to view U.S. travel.17 The costs of restarting and conducting two surveys with an expanded scope in parallel with the economic census in years ending in 2 and 7 are esti- mated at $28 million per decade (Table 4-1).18 In the future, if the proposed local operations surveys are widely conducted, they could overlap to some extent with the heavy-truck data collected by the VIUS, which might then be reduced in scope. • Modal data—Modal travel data should continue to be collected by the operating administrations of U.S. DOT and other federal agencies (e.g., the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers) for their own purposes but should also be integrated into the core National Travel Data Program. This integration would require adapting data architectures to ensure compatibility and support data fusion, as well as making data avail- able through a common portal and in common formats. Additional, one-time funding would likely be required for this purpose. Partnerships with State and Local Governments U.S. DOT should engage in partnerships with states, MPOs, and other local agencies, such as transit agencies, to amplify and extend national travel data, provide benchmarks for more detailed local surveys and forecasting models, and define the architecture and offer incentives for pooling and integration of travel data across states and regions. Partnerships 16. The survey provided information on ways in which vehicles are used, their range of use, frequency of travel, and purpose for travel. 17. Through this data source, the survey was able to identify operators of vehicles, such as public vehicles, who are normally difficult to contact and interview. 18. If the survey were restricted to light- and heavy-duty trucks, as it was previously, the cost would be $18.6 million per decade. The source of the cost estimate for the VIUS is a forthcoming report from Oak Ridge National Laboratory, a summary of which can be found in a PowerPoint presentation to the BTS Advisory Committee on Transportation Statistics (BTS 2010a).

Designing a National Travel Data Program  93  could take the form of add-ons to national surveys, such as the current practice of state and MPO add-ons to the NHTS, which are requested and paid for by these jurisdictions. The benefits for U.S. DOT would be a richer national survey, the opportunity to provide more detailed results at finer-grained geographic levels, and the development of modeled esti- mates to substitute for travel data in small geographic areas with common characteristics. The benefits for state and local partners would be bench- mark data for state and local travel surveys and travel forecasting models; interim estimates between infrequent state and local travel survey updates; and for small metropolitan areas, a substitute for locally collected data. U.S. DOT should also encourage more pooling and integration of travel data across jurisdictions, as proposed above for local operations surveys in the freight area, by providing the data architecture, common definitions, and general specifications for local data collection. To encourage local efforts, particularly in the freight area, where local experience is limited, U.S. DOT should consider providing some federal funding to encourage local survey and data collection designs that are compatible with the national freight travel data component. The committee did not attempt to specify the cost of such activities. Other state and local travel data collection activities—state-collected traffic data for the Federal Highway Adminis- tration’s (FHWA) Highway Performance Monitoring System (HPMS) (see Appendix E) and state and local travel surveys to support travel demand models—should be continued, but data collected strictly for state and local purposes would not be part of the national program. Partnerships with the Private Sector U.S. DOT should take the lead in encouraging partnerships with industry for data sharing arrangements or outright purchase of private data when the data are needed, appropriate, of suitable quality, and cost-effective. Chapter 3 (Box 3-4) provides one illustration of how U.S. DOT and the private sector have worked for their mutual benefit to improve the collec- tion of travel data—the partnership between FHWA and the American Transportation Research Institute in the Freight Performance Measurement initiative. This partnership enables FHWA to gain access to private-sector data on freight movements on major corridors through an arrangement that safeguards proprietary data, and potentially benefits the private sector by bringing attention to highway congestion and major bottlenecks that adversely affect freight operations and productivity so as to prompt public investment. Opportunities for data sharing in other areas (e.g., intercity

94  How We Travel: A Sustainable National Program for Travel Data passenger travel and tourism) and for the purchase of private data should be explored and federal funding made available to help support promising data sharing or data purchase arrangements. State and local governments could also engage in such data sharing arrangements with the private sector to obtain more geographically detailed passenger and freight travel data. U.S. DOT should encourage these efforts, provide guidance on methods for safeguarding proprietary and potentially sensitive private data while obtaining adequate data for public decision making, and help ensure that the results can be integrated into the National Travel Data Program. The committee did not attempt to specify the cost of such activities. Data Development and Management Realizing a successful National Travel Data Program will require a strong data development and management component to help ensure the collec- tion of appropriate data and their integration into useful decision-support products. Three additional elements beyond the collection of appropriate travel data are involved: • Data design and development—Developing the next generation of passenger and freight travel data surveys will require a major design and development effort to build new survey designs and test new methods, including greater use of technology for data collection. For the freight travel data component, design and development are needed to create and test the surveys that will fill the gaps in these data. A major undertaking will be required to design and test a core freight flow survey that can better describe freight movements from the supply chain perspective and provide data at the levels of geographic specificity needed for transportation infrastructure planning and development. Moreover, this next-generation freight travel survey must be compatible with data on the domestic movement of international freight and local goods movement, two major gaps in current understanding of freight movements. The committee estimates that this activity, which should involve the private sector in the design phase, could cost as much as $8 million over the course of the next several years (Table 4-1). For the passenger travel data component, FHWA, with the assistance of the Office of the Secretary, has already funded a $1.6 million effort to help redesign the NHTS. This initiative should be expanded to include the design of the proposed National Intercity Passenger Travel and National Panel Surveys at an additional estimated cost, in the committee’s judgment,

Designing a National Travel Data Program  95  of about $2.5 million. Finally, an ongoing design and development effort— costing about $0.25 million annually—will be needed to keep current with changing technologies and new methods of data collection. In total, these activities would cost approximately $13 million over the next decade (Table 4-1). • Data clearinghouse and archiving function—A data clearinghouse should be a principal element of the core National Travel Data Program. As envisioned by the committee, that program depends on the data collection activities of many partners, and a major role of the clearing- house would be to consolidate, scrub, and organize the data to provide a coherent picture of national travel activity. In addition, the clearing- house should be a repository of survey designs and experience with new data collection methods, lessons learned in implementation, and models and documentation for use by all data partners. The clearinghouse should also provide a mechanism for user feedback, organizing and summariz- ing that feedback for program managers and the new National Travel Data Program Advisory Council (discussed in a subsequent section). Finally, an archiving function will be needed to ensure that critical data sets are maintained over time. Currently, for example, much of the data for the flagship national travel surveys is managed, archived, and made available through individual agency programs or contracts with third parties. Creating a one-stop clearinghouse and archiving function would make national travel data more easily accessible to users, with common user interface and data formats, and would ensure the data’s continued availability. In the committee’s judgment, the clearinghouse and archiving functions would require significant resources. However, the committee cannot specify the costs at this point; they would need to be developed as part of a more detailed program planning effort. • Data analysis, product development, quality assurance, and dissemi- nation—These are core activities of a National Travel Data Program, essential to ensure that the data collected in the proposed surveys and other data collection activities are analyzed, checked for quality assurance, and presented in ways that are relevant for policy analy- sis and decision support.19 Data users (and providers) should be closely 19. Data mining could identify and extract relevant patterns in the data for decision makers, and disseminating and marketing the data through a wide range of channels (e.g., websites, e-newsletters, blogs) could potentially expand the audiences for the data and broaden support for their collection.

96  How We Travel: A Sustainable National Program for Travel Data involved in these activities, and the user feedback received through the proposed clearinghouse should help shape data products and dissemination channels. The committee believes these activities could entail significant costs that should be specified in a detailed program planning effort. Cost of the Program Table 4-1 provides an order-of-magnitude estimate of the total cost of the proposed federal core of the National Travel Data Program. For each core element, the table shows the frequency of data collection per decade, pro- posed sample size, estimated cost per completed survey, decadal cost, and cost on an annual basis. The total program cost is shown as a range— $150–200 million over a decade, or $15–20 million annually—to reflect the high degree of uncertainty of the estimate. The sources of this uncertainty are many. For surveys, some of the more critical factors include sample size, sampling approach, data collection mode, and duration and productivity of fieldwork, and response rates. Each of these factors in turn will be affected by more detailed assessments of data needs; required geographic resolution; and effects of new methods and technologies on data collection, analysis, and dissemination costs. The committee prepared its estimate with the understanding that some of these critical factors will change in the years ahead. Nevertheless, it recognized the need for a rough estimate to provide Congress and U.S. DOT with a sense of scale of the proposed program and required additional funding. The committee’s estimate also is notable for the costs that are not included. For example, working toward greater integration and pooling of state and metropolitan-area data will involve significant costs, but the committee had no basis for their estimation. Moreover, better integration of modal data into the National Travel Data Program, increased data sharing with or data purchase from the private sector, a clearinghouse and archiving function, and more data analysis and the development and dissemination of user-oriented products are all likely to add significant costs that cannot be estimated precisely at this point. Also of importance, the committee made no provision for inflation in its decadal cost estimate. An annual escalation factor should be built into the cost estimates for data collection to avoid cutbacks in sample size and other adjustments to meet flat-lined budgets.

Designing a National Travel Data Program  97  Program Management Management of the proposed National Travel Data Program should entail strong organization and leadership, partnerships, and a strong federal role. Strong Organization and Leadership Leadership and good management are critical to the success of the proposed National Travel Data Program. Strong management is crucial in developing and setting the mission, facilitating staff growth, and ensuring customer- oriented product development and dissemination. U.S. DOT is the most logical and appropriate agency to spearhead the program because of the central relationship of good national travel data to its mission. To date, however, the department has failed to exercise the leadership and provide the sustained support necessary to develop a robust travel data program that meets the needs of transportation policy and decision makers. Despite four previous National Research Council reports urging such action,20 responsibility for federally sponsored travel data programs, as noted in Chapter 2, remains dispersed among several units at U.S. DOT and other federal agencies, such as the Census Bureau. U.S. DOT needs to ensure that these data are coordinated and integrated into a more coherent picture of how the nation’s transportation system functions. As the system faces mounting competitive, economic, demographic, environmental, and energy challenges and embarks on new capital investment programs, it will be important for the Secretary of Transportation to exercise the leadership and provide the necessary direction to ensure the success of the proposed National Travel Data Program so that the travel data needs of the department and the nation will be met. The Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA) and BTS have the appropriate mission and mandate to carry out the design and management of the proposed program. RITA was created in a depart- mental reorganization in 2004 to coordinate research-driven innovative technology and transportation statistics, and BTS was assigned to RITA by statute.21 BTS was created in 1991 as the federal statistical agency for transportation, although as discussed in Chapter 2, it has not had the sustained leadership, resources, and staffing necessary to carry out its 20. See NRC 1997, TRB 1992, 2003a,b. 21. The Norman Y. Mineta Research and Special Programs Improvement Act, House Report 563, 108th Congress, 2nd Session, Oct. 7, 2004.

98  How We Travel: A Sustainable National Program for Travel Data mission. Nevertheless, with their focus across all modes and coordinating statistical role, RITA and BTS, respectively, have the capability, given sustained funding and appropriate staffing, to develop the next generation of national passenger and freight travel surveys and data collection activities. Moreover, the National Transportation Library (NTL), which is administered by BTS, could undertake the proposed clearinghouse and archiving function.22 The committee does not intend for RITA or BTS to supplant the unique, mode-specific data programs of the modal adminis- trations; rather the two agencies should work closely with the modal administrations to integrate their data into the national program to support better multimodal policy making and modal comparisons.23 U.S. DOT clearly has the mandate and the mission to lead the develop- ment and management of a national travel data program. Because trans- portation services are so tightly entwined in the economy, society, and security, many other federal agencies require—and in some cases contribute to—transportation data for program and policy design and assessment. It will be important for U.S. DOT, through RITA and BTS, to work closely with sister federal agencies that collect or use travel data (e.g., the Census Bureau, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the U.S. Department of Agriculture) to ensure that the National Travel Data Program meets their mutual needs. U.S. DOT should look for opportunities to insert important transportation-related questions in the data programs of these other agencies and to integrate the travel data that they do collect into the National Travel Data Program.24 Ultimately, the Secretary of Transportation is responsible for moving the department toward more performance-based—hence data-driven— policies and programs. Congress also has a role to play. To support its interest in performance-based management, Congress should provide the necessary funding and hold U.S. DOT accountable for making progress on 22. The mission of NTL is to maintain and facilitate access to statistical and other information needed for transportation decision making at the federal, state, and local levels, and to coordinate with public and private transportation libraries and information providers to improve information sharing among the transportation community. NTL was established in 1998 by the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century. 23. The legislation creating BTS (see Appendix D) envisioned that it would work with the operating administrations of U.S. DOT to establish and implement BTS’s data programs and improve the coordination of data collection efforts with other federal agencies. 24. These data programs could include the Consumer Expenditure Survey, the Economic Census, the Agricultural Census, the American Time Use Survey, and the American Housing Survey, among others.

Designing a National Travel Data Program  99  developing the National Travel Data Program, topics that are covered in the final two sections of this chapter. Partnerships and the Federal Role The success of the National Travel Data Program will require the active participation and sustained support of many partners. A strong federal role is essential to bring these partners together. U.S. DOT’s responsibili- ties include the following functions, which are summarized in Box 4-2. • Provide strong leadership, advocacy, and coordination—Encourage integration of travel data across the modes; incorporate travel data from other federal agencies, states, MPOs, and local governments (e.g., transit agencies); work with industry; and advocate for the impor- tance and funding of travel data with other federal statistical agencies, data providers and users, Congress, and the general public. • Manage the collection of essential travel data—Working collaboratively with other data providers and users, define what data are essential and for what purposes, seek ways to use existing data more productively, and fill critical data gaps through new data sources or expansion of current data collection activities. • Set minimum standards and checks for data quality—For public data collection, provide greater consistency and enable greater data sharing across geographic and governmental units, and help ensure the accuracy of the data. • Identify appropriate objectives, roles, and responsibilities for data collection—Develop and expand more explicit collaborative roles for data partners, such as states, MPOs and other local agencies (e.g., transit agencies), and the private sector, by involving data providers and users in planning ways to meet future travel data needs. • Undertake research on and pilot testing of new data collection methods— Design and test new survey instruments and data collection methods that are most appropriate for transportation data. Explore and adopt techniques to improve survey response rates and accuracy, new tech- nologies for data capture, and use of simulation and other modeling approaches to improve the coverage of data for decision making. • Provide leadership for continuing improvements in geospatial mapping and analysis—Consider the adoption of new technologies and tools,

100  How We Travel: A Sustainable National Program for Travel Data Box 4-2 U.S. DOT Role in a National Travel Data Program A strong federal role is critical to the success of the proposed National Travel Data Program. U.S. DOT’s responsibilities should include the following: • Provide strong leadership, advocacy, and coordination across transportation modes and governmental agencies at all levels and with industry. • Manage the collection of essential travel data, working to fill key data gaps in collaboration with other data providers and users. • Set minimum standards and checks for data quality. • Identify appropriate objectives, roles, and responsibilities for data collection at different governmental levels and within the private sector, and encourage more collaboration and partner- ships in data collection, particularly with the private sector. • Undertake research on and pilot testing of new data collection methods that are most appropriate for transportation data. • Provide leadership for continuing improvements in geospatial mapping and analysis. • Build and retain professional data staff capabilities and expertise. • Establish a data clearinghouse to lead the data integration effort and an archiving function that are comprehensive, convenient, timely, and user-friendly in their implementation. • Develop new methods of data analysis, distribution, and dis- semination that enhance the capability, accuracy, speed, and convenience of communicating the knowledge gained from the data. • Establish effective mechanisms for gathering systematic feedback from data providers and users and a process for collaboratively identifying future data needs.

Designing a National Travel Data Program  101  as well as improvements to existing tools, such as geographic infor- mation systems (GIS), for improved spatial and network analysis and data display.25 • Build and retain professional data staff capabilities and expertise— A strong professional staff will be essential for developing and main- taining the National Travel Data Program. Critical areas of expertise for staffing and development include transportation policy, statistics, survey research, data collection methods, industry knowledge, data analysis and dissemination techniques, and marketing. • Establish a data clearinghouse and archiving function—The clearing- house should be the primary location of the critical data integration function, providing the data architecture and common data definitions necessary to enable greater pooling and aggregation of data to meet user needs. The clearinghouse should also disseminate good practices, survey designs, models, and documentation. The archiving function should include a repository for key data sets. A one-stop clearinghouse and archiving function should be developed that is comprehensive, convenient, timely, and user-friendly. • Develop new methods of data analysis, distribution, and dissemination— Such methods should enhance the capability, accuracy, speed, and convenience of communicating the knowledge contained in the data. Translating data into information that is useful for decision making requires distilling the data into decision-support products readily accessible to policy makers, enhancing the visibility and value of the data to these users, and providing the metadata (e.g., standard errors) needed by modelers and researchers. • Establish effective mechanisms for gathering systematic feedback from data providers and users—Greater involvement of data providers and users in improving existing travel data collection activities and identify- ing emerging data needs should help build stronger constituency support for a National Travel Data Program. The clearinghouse should serve as an important link to transportation users for articulating their data needs. The proposed National Travel Data Program Advisory Council (discussed below) would reflect users’ views to U.S. DOT leadership. 25. BTS is U.S. DOT’s lead agency for coordinating GIS activities within the department and participating in the Steering Committee of the Federal Geographic Data Committee, which coordinates all geospatial activities between, among, and within federal agencies (BTS 2010b).

102  How We Travel: A Sustainable National Program for Travel Data There is a clear and developing role for the private sector in travel data collection. The private sector can gain access to data that are often protected from government, and it can frequently undertake such activities as data fusion, creative product design, and dissemination more effectively and efficiently than government. Thus, the private sector should play an important role in the development of a National Travel Data Program. This involvement can be accomplished in a variety of ways, from more collaboration with the public sector in data collection to the purchase of private data. Partnering with the private sector in a postregulatory environment, where the collection and provision of data are frequently voluntary rather than mandatory, requires different working relationships. The private sector must have an incentive to share data, including remu- neration or the exchange of data that are of value to private providers, or both. Different ownership and collaborative arrangements, including licensing private data and working through trusted third parties to protect sensitive competitive information, are feasible and likely to be necessary. In turn, these collaborations will require more sophisticated licensing agreements and contractual arrangements to ensure that the public sector has access to the data or to a public-use version of the data that it needs while proprietary interests are protected. Another option, particularly in cases in which the private sector has a well-developed database, is for the public sector to purchase the data outright. As discussed in Appendix E, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has purchased the PIERS database since 2000 to obtain the data it needs on foreign waterborne commerce. Similarly, the TRANSEARCH database is widely used by the public as well as the private sector for freight fore- casting and planning. Because of the proprietary nature of data collected by the private sector, however, mutually agreed-upon purchasing ar- rangements would have to be worked out to ensure that the data are of the requisite quality for the proposed public use. Program Funding U.S. DOT needs to move from a strategy of conducting individual surveys to one of funding a cohesive National Travel Data Program whose objectives are to provide decision support and an enhanced customer orientation. As a package, a comprehensive and well-integrated travel data program should offer greater combined benefits to users and spread costs out more evenly.

Designing a National Travel Data Program  103  Funding the proposed National Travel Data Program will require action on several fronts. Ensuring a strong core of federally sponsored national travel data collection activities will require sustained funding on the order of $150–200 million over the next decade (see Table 4-2). Expressed as an annual average, the $15–20 million range represents an annual spending increase of about $9–14 million over current federal spending of about $6 million on core travel data collection activities.26 Funding a strong federal core of national travel data collection activities will require both strategically redeploying existing funds (e.g., moving to continuous surveys to help smooth out funding and staffing requirements over the budget cycle) and seeking new funding to fill critical data gaps and improve the integration of disparate data sets. The next reauthorization of surface transportation legislation provides an opportunity to secure dedicated and continuing funding for core federally sponsored travel data, linked to the need for essential data to support performance-based decision making and performance monitoring and reporting for passenger and freight travel. For example, the legislation could include a new data subtitle—Subtitle A, Data and Information— under the research title (Title V). In addition, BTS will need funding so it can carry out its mission of coordinating travel data collection activities across U.S. DOT and with other relevant federal agencies. Additional funding will also be needed to support the proposed clearinghouse and archiving function. Ensuring adequate funding for state DOT and MPO travel data collection activities will require multiple funding sources. As a general principle, opportunities for collaboration should be sought to share responsibilities and costs. At the state level, the majority of travel data are collected through collaboration with U.S. DOT—through the use of State Planning and Research (SP&R) funds to support annual reporting efforts such as the HPMS and through periodic add-ons to the NHTS. States could seek an increase in SP&R funds in the next reauthorization of surface trans- portation legislation and use their own funds to ensure more consistent support for travel data.27 Once a more regular cycle of national travel data 26. This estimate does not include annual spending on modal travel data, the Census Transportation Planning Products, or state and MPO add-ons to the NHTS, which total about $24 million. Together, the $6 million core national-level data programs and the additional $24 million just described total $30 million, the annual spending estimate on current travel data programs provided in Chapter 2. 27. The current set-aside is 2 percent of the funds apportioned to the states under the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, and Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) (see §505).

TABLE 4-2 Cost of Proposed Core Federal Travel Data Program Compared with Current Spending Current Spending Incremental Investment Proposed Spending ($ millions) ($ millions) ($ millions) Per Decade Per Annum Per Decade Per Annum Per Decade Per Annum Program Component National Passenger Data Component •  Next-Generation National Household  $6  $0.6  $14  $1.4  $20  $2     Travel Survey (national sample only) •  National Intercity Passenger Travel   —  —  $32  $3.2  $32  $3.2    Survey and Update •  National Panel Survey  —  —  $3  $0.3  $3  $0.3 Subtotal  $6   $0.6   $49   $4.9  $55   $5.5  National Freight Travel Data Component •  Commodity Flow Survey  $50  $5  —  —  $50  $5 •  Supply Chain Survey  —  —  $30  $3   30  3  •  Local operations surveysa  —  —  —  —  —  — Subtotal  $50  $5  $30   $3  $80   $8  Data Collection Including Both Passenger and Freight Data •  Vehicle Inventory and Use Survey  —  —  $28   $2.8  $28   $2.8 Subtotal      $28   $2.8  $28   $2.8 Data Design and Development — — $13 $1.3 $13 $1.3 Total Spending  $56   $5.6   $120   $12.0   $176   $17.6  Proposed Spending Range  $56   $5.6   $94−144  $9.4–14.4   $150−200  $15−20  a Design only; costs are included under Data Design and Development.

Designing a National Travel Data Program  105  collection has been established, states should be better able to plan and budget for these expenditures. States could also look to professional organizations such as the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) and the American Public Transit Association to assist with collaborative purchases of data for state-level decision making; the Census Transportation Planning Products program organized by AASHTO (described in Appendix E) is a good model. MPOs, which are facing new responsibilities for monitoring travel and greenhouse gas emissions, among other requirements, could seek additional federal planning funds in the next reauthorization of surface transportation legislation28 and expanded eligibility for data collection activities. In the short run, additional funding would provide support for more MPO add-ons to the next-generation NHTS; in the long run, it would encourage greater standardization of local travel surveys, enabling more pooling of survey results across metropolitan areas and integration of these data into the National Travel Data Program. Finally, increased partnerships with the private sector hold significant promise for providing timely and useful data on travel movements and more efficient collection of these data. Offering incentives for private partners to participate can be as important as funding. One way to move forward is to engage in pilot projects to define the circumstances under which the data gathering objectives are feasible and worthwhile to both public and private partners. RITA and BTS could be funded to provide direction and support for greater federal, state, and MPO access to private data. Constituent Support and Accountability Two additional items are critical to the success of the proposed National Travel Data Program: (a) a greater role for users in shaping the program and (b) accountability to assure funders and data partners that progress is being made. The point has already been made that current federal travel data programs do not fully meet the needs of their customers, and that data users themselves are widely dispersed and have no systematic mechanism for voicing their needs. Establishing a National Travel Data Program 28. SAFETEA-LU currently sets aside 1.25 percent of state apportionments for the Interstate Maintenance, National Highway System, Surface Transportation, Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement, and Highway Bridge Replacement and Rehabilitation Programs to be made available to MPOs for metropolitan planning activities (see §104).

106  How We Travel: A Sustainable National Program for Travel Data Advisory Council representing major travel data constituencies could provide such a mechanism for channeling the input of data providers and users. In contrast to the existing Advisory Council on Transportation Statistics of BTS, which advises BTS on statistical matters, the proposed National Travel Data Program Advisory Council would provide strategic advice to the Secretary of Transportation on the design and conduct of the National Travel Data Program (see Figure 4-1).29 More generally, it would provide feedback on data issues as they arise, help identify emerging transportation issues and related data needs, and assist in the challenging task of communicating the value of good data. The National Travel Data Program Advisory Council would also serve as the primary conduit for the transportation user community to employ in making its needs known to U.S. DOT leadership, the user feedback from the clearinghouse providing an additional source. The National Travel Data Program Advisory Council membership should be broad, representing governments at all levels, the private sector, universities, and professional associations and advocacy groups. With such a mechanism in place, data products are more likely to meet user needs, and data users, in turn, are more likely to become strong supporters of sustained data programs. U.S. DOT needs to move quickly in collaboration with its data partners to implement the proposed National Travel Data Program by developing a multiyear implementation plan; laying out action steps, roles and responsibilities, and milestones; and seeking the necessary funding in the next reauthorization of surface transportation legislation. In the spirit of the current emphasis on performance management and accountability, U.S. DOT should report biennially to Congress, its data partners, and customers on the progress of the program. Findings This chapter has described in some detail the committee’s vision of a National Travel Data Program that would better meet the needs of transportation decision makers than the current fragmented system. 29. The Advisory Council on Transportation Statistics advises the director of BTS on the quality, reliability, consistency, objectivity, and relevance of transportation statistics and analyses collected, supported, or disseminated by BTS and U.S. DOT. The Council also advises the director on methods for encouraging cooperation and the interoperability of transportation data collected by BTS, the operating adminis- trations of U.S. DOT, state and local governments, MPOs, and private-sector entities.

Designing a National Travel Data Program  107  Achieving that vision will require the alignment of leadership, appropriate and forward-looking data collection methods, funding, and understanding of market requirements. The leadership and overall direction of the Secretary of Transportation will be important to ensure the success of the program. RITA and BTS have the appropriate mission and mandate, if provided sustained funding and appropriate staffing, to design and carry out the program in collaboration with partners at all governmental levels and in the private sector. It is important that the proposed program receive the necessary funding, which the committee estimates at $15–20 million annually on average, or sustained funding of $150–200 million over the next decade. This level of funding represents an additional $9–14 million annually above current federal spending of about $6 million annually on core travel data collection activities. The next reauthorization of surface transportation legislation provides the opportunity to secure this modest funding increment to help make better decisions with billions of dollars at stake. Finally, developing a program that incorporates enhanced customer orientation and account- ability measures should help build constituency support and ensure that progress is being made. The next and final chapter provides the committee’s key findings and recommendations for a strategy for improved travel data. References Abbreviations AASHTO American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials BTS Bureau of Transportation Statistics ITA International Trade Administration NRC National Research Council TRB Transportation Research Board BTS. 2010a. Options and Costs for Restoring the Vehicle Inventory and Use Survey. Briefing presented at the Meeting of the Advisory Committee on Transportation Statistics, Washington, D.C., Oct. 8. BTS. 2010b. Significant Accomplishments, Fiscal Year 2009. Research and Innovative Technology Administration, Washington, D.C. Grenzeback, L. Forthcoming. AASHTO Freight Transportation Bottom Line Report. Cambridge Systematics, Inc., Boston, Mass.

108  How We Travel: A Sustainable National Program for Travel Data ITA. 2008. 2007 International Arrivals to the United States, Fourth Quarter and Annual Highlights. U.S. Department of Commerce, Washington, D.C., June 26. NRC. 1997. The Bureau of Transportation Statistics: Priorities for the Future (C. F. Citro and J. L. Norwood, eds.), National Academy Press, Washington, D.C. TRB. 2003a. Special Report 276: A Concept for a National Freight Data Program. Transportation Research Board of the National Academies, Washington, D.C. http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=10793. TRB. 2003b. Special Report 277: Measuring Personal Travel and Goods Movement: A Review of the Bureau of Transportation Statistics’ Surveys. Transportation Research Board of the National Academies, Washington, D.C. http://onlinepubs. trb.org/onlinepubs/sr/sr277.pdf. TRB. 1992. Special Report 234: Data for Decisions: Requirements for National Transportation Policy Making—New TRB Study. TRB, National Research Council, Washington, D.C. Wilbur Smith Associates. Forthcoming. Understanding Urban Goods Movements. National Cooperative Freight Research Project F-15A, Transportation Research Board, Washington, D.C.

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TRB Special Report 304: How We Travel: A Sustainable National Program for Travel Data assesses the current state of travel data at the federal, state, and local levels and defines an achievable and sustainable travel data system that could support public and private transportation decision making. The committee that developed the report recommends the organization of a National Travel Data Program built on a core of essential passenger and freight travel data sponsored at the federal level and well integrated with travel data collected by states, metropolitan planning organizations, transit and other local agencies, and the private sector.

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