How We Travel A Sustainable National Program for Travel Data (2011) / Chapter Skim
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1 Introduction
1 Introduction
Pages 5-20
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From page 5... ...
Unfortunately, many of the policy and investment decisions facing transportation decision makers in such crucial areas as improving travel safety, alleviating congestion, increasing the energy efficiency of travel, and reducing transportation-related air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions often are made on the basis of travel data that are lacking in modal coverage, timeliness, and geographic detail. Moreover, the most comprehensive passenger and freight travel data are collected in periodic federal surveys that are highly contingent upon shifting political and funding priorities and not infrequently in danger of cancellation.
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From page 6... ...
In particular, the study • Examines user needs for travel data, that is, what passenger and freight travel data are essential for policy and decision making; • Explores how these data might be collected more cost-effectively through such techniques as continuous longitudinal surveys, web surveys, and methods for capturing data from automated sources (e.g., instrumented vehicles, passive cellular telephone probes) ; • Investigates how data programs could be better managed and coordi nated; and • Considers how these data programs should be funded on a consistent and continuing basis.
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From page 7... ...
Preliminary bills reauthorizing surface transportation legislation and reauthorization principles released by the current administration,3 for example, place significant emphasis on performance-based decision making, outcomes, and accountability. This strategy for transportation management rests solidly on good performance measures and, in turn, on having the right data to drive those measures.
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From page 8... ...
The sections that follow examine the role and value of travel data in transportation decision making; fulfilling this role and providing real value are likely to be essential for securing user support for a comprehensive travel data program. Changes in the context in which transportation operates that affect both data needs and the ability to meet those needs are considered next.
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From page 9... ...
, and private companies, as described in more detail in Chapter 2. Without adequate user feedback mechanisms, data programs risk becoming disconnected from the decisions facing policy makers and managers.
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, the federal statistical agency for transportation, announced that it was unable to commit its share of funding for the planned 2009 NHTS, data users at the state and regional levels, along with such organizations as the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, the American Highway Users Alliance, AAA, the Institute of Transportation Engineers, and AARP, recognizing how essential the NHTS was to travel models and investment decisions, lobbied U.S. DOT to defend the survey.
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From page 11... ...
-- provides a good illustration of the importance of leadership, user support, and sustained funding for data program continuity. The Truck Inventory and Use Survey (retitled the VIUS in 1992 based on the expectation that the survey would be expanded to cover automobiles and buses and obtain comparable information for all vehicles on patterns of use, energy consumption, and economic activity served)
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From page 12... ...
Massive changes in the context in which transportation operates have implications for both the content of travel data and the way they are collected. Some data programs have been slow to adapt to these changes and the needs they generate; as a result, these programs risk a decline in their salience to the point where their support is threatened.
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From page 13... ...
The focus on travel impacts can be traced back to the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991, with its emphasis on the impact of travel on air quality and its link with the Clean Air Act Amend ments of 1990.
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From page 14... ...
The National Household Travel Survey (NHTS) is a rich source for these data, but it is conducted too infrequently to capture useful trends and does not include data on transportation services.
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From page 15... ...
Although good origin-destination data are available for airline passenger travel, most high-speed rail trips are likely to be substitutes for motor vehicle travel. As high-speed rail projects seek federal funding, data on long-distance travel by automobile and air will be critical for analyzing potential travel markets and evaluating proposals.
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From page 16... ...
Given forecasts of significant increases in freight movements and, to a lesser extent, passenger travel, good data on major bottlenecks, as well as peak period traffic congestion, are important. Congressional leaders and program managers at U.S.
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From page 17... ...
The above changes pose considerable challenges for travel data program managers. At the same time, however, they provide an opportunity to reorient and adapt data programs in ways that are more responsive and useful to policy and decision makers.
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From page 18... ...
Interpreting annual data for trend analysis, accumulating sufficient annual data to provide reliable information for small geographic areas, and accommodating greater data variability in return for better timeliness are just some of the issues that need to be addressed. Fifth, providing sustained resources to support travel data programs is a perennial concern.
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From page 19... ...
Chapter 4 introduces the committee's proposal for a National Travel Data Program to better meet the travel data needs of policy and decision makers and details how the program should be managed and funded. The final chapter presents the committee's key findings and recommendations for a strategy for improved passenger and freight travel data.
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From page 20... ...
2003a. Special Report 276: A Concept for a National Freight Data Program.
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