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of the available data does not have the geographic and socio- demographic detail needed today. Most areas have limited funding for new data collection. In addition, non- response rates to all types of surveys are increasing. There are numerous concerns with the travel data tra- ditionally collected at the national level. There is cur- rently no funding for the American Travel Survey. We are still trying to find funding for the National Personal Transportation Survey, but the situation does not look good. The American Community Survey, which is the replacement for the Decennial Census long form, may provide opportunities to obtain some travel- related data. The Census Bureau has become very concerned over data confidentiality, however, and it does not currently appear that we will be able to create urban area trip tables out of this data set. Funding was found for the Commodity Flow Survey, so we should have access to updated data on goods movement. There are similar problems with surveys and data collection at the state and local levels. Available data are frequently outdated and resources for new surveys are limited. Additional data will also be needed to analyze other new emphasis areas. These emphasis areas include safety- conscious planning and goods movement. There is renewed interest in energy conservation and telecom- muting with the recent increase in the price of gasoline. Further, SAFETEA- LU also contains requirements for the use of visualization techniques in the transportation planning process, especially public participation activities. Even with all these concerns, MPOs still need demand models that are internally consistent and that are able to function at various geographic scales. The results must be usable at various levels of aggregation. Finally, mod- els must be sensitive to different policy scenarios. In closing, I offer a few ideas on criteria for success as we look at new models and analysis techniques. First, it is important to ask if the new procedures address current issues and options. Second, do they produce credible results? Third, do they have a sound theoretical founda- tion? Fourth, are they superior to current procedures? Fifth, do they make sufficient changes to affect out- comes? Sixth, are they in a user- friendly format? Finally, can they be incorporated into travel forecasting practice in an evolutionary fashion? Chandra Bhat moderated this session. 8 INNOVATIONS IN TRAVEL DEMAND MODELING, VOLUME 1
