Measuring Personal Travel and Goods Movement A Review of the Bureau of Transportation Statistics' Surveys -- Special Report 277 (2003) / Chapter Skim
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2 Description and Assessment of Bureau of Transportation Statistics’ Surveys
2 Description and Assessment of Bureau of Transportation Statistics’ Surveys
Pages 15-25
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From page 15... ...
NATIONAL HOUSEHOLD TRAVEL SURVEY The NHTS is a personal travel survey of the civilian, noninstitutional ized population of the United States. The survey is conducted by BTS, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)
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Approach The NHTS collects data from a nationally representative sample of households to derive statistically reliable travel estimates at the national level. The size of the national sample is insufficient to provide statewide or area-specific estimates, but states and metropolitan planning organi zations (MPOs)
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The subsequent data gathering interview obtained information on household travel on a preassigned travel day as well as on longer-distance travel over a 28-day travel period. Survey Products Preliminary 2001 NHTS data for the national sample of 26,000 house holds were released in January 2003, approximately 8 months after the completion of data collection.
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Recommendations The diversity of analysis and decision needs to be met by the NHTS led the committee to conclude that it may become increasingly difficult to meet user requirements for both quality and subject coverage with a sin gle periodic survey. Therefore, the committee recommended that BTS consider developing a family of personal travel surveys that take advan tage of different survey designs and supporting technologies to collect household travel data.
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Approach The CFS sampling frame is drawn from the Census Bureau's Business Register of 6 million employer establishments, of which approximately 750,000 are in industries covered by the CFS. The sample size has been halved each time the survey has been conducted, falling from 200,000 establishments in 1993 to 100,000 in 1997 and 50,000 in 2002.
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Despite their many uses, CFS data are inadequate for some applications because of gaps in shipment and industry coverage, a lack of geographic and commodity detail at the state and local levels, and the inability of a 5-yearly survey to capture rapid changes in economic cycles. The committee also found that the design of the 2002 CFS appears to have been compromised in important ways by the lack of a clear under standing between BTS and the Census Bureau about their respective 1 At the time of writing, data from the 2002 CFS have not yet been released.
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OMNIBUS SURVEY PROGRAM The Omnibus Survey Program currently comprises a monthly house hold travel survey that addresses a range of transportation issues, and up to a maximum of four targeted surveys per year that address special
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The committee was unable to obtain estimates of the total costs of any of the Omnibus surveys because BTS staff time spent on these surveys is not itemized. Nonetheless, information on sur vey design features and contractor costs led the committee to conclude that the Omnibus Survey Program is a relatively modest effort compared with the NHTS and CFS.
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In contrast to the monthly household survey, which relies on telephone methods to gather data, the targeted surveys use a variety of data collec tion methods -- including mail out/mail back, telephone, and Web-based approaches -- depending on the survey objective and the target popula tion. For example, the 2001 Mariner Survey was conducted primarily by mail, but telephone interviews were conducted with some nonrespon dents in an effort to increase the overall response rate.
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Recommendations The committee recommended that BTS continue its Omnibus Survey Program as a relatively low-budget activity providing timely information on a range of transportation issues. However, to safeguard the agency's independence, the committee also recommended that BTS establish an in dependent review mechanism for the Omnibus program involving experts from outside the agency.
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The next chapter draws on the outcomes of the committee's reviews of individual surveys, together with the evaluation framework described in Chapter 1, to identify seven major themes pertinent to BTS's current survey programs. In addressing these themes, the committee's conclu sions emphasize crosscutting issues relating to the NHTS, the CFS, and the Omnibus program.
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Key Terms
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