Our Nation's Travel
The NHTS is the authoritative source of national data on the travel behavior of the American public. The dataset allows analysis of daily
travel by all modes, including characteristics of the people traveling, their household, and their vehicles.
Tell me more about the NHTS...
A Look Back at 2011
As we wind down from a very active year I wanted to highlight some of the activities that NHTS conducted in 2011. In June, TRB sponsored a very successful conference devoted to the role of NHTS in understanding passenger travel, with over 300 attendees addressing applications of the data. Following the conference, a TRB Task Force was formed to interface with the travel data user community. Throughout the year the NHTS Team and I have conducted numerous webinars and given presentations highlighting the myriad uses of NHTS data in understanding travel behavior issues. The NHTS results served as the basis for a chapter in the biennial needs report, more formally known as the Conditions and Performance Report to Congress. The Summary of Travel Trends Report was published over the summer, also available in hardcopy. The 2009 NHTS dataset was enhanced with the addition of the Energy Information Administration (EIA) data on gas cost and MPG, the Census Tract and Block Group characteristics data from Nielsen Claritas, and a household member roster file. The NHTS Team fielded countless data inquiries and provided user support. The NHTS website used extensively including new and enhanced online tools. Finally, the NHTS website was featured in the 2011 November/December FHWA Public Roads publication in an article titled Web-Based Tools Help With Travel Data Analysis.
The NHTS Team would like to wish you Happy Holidays!
Adella Santos, NHTS Program Manager
Research on the Design and Collection of Long Distance Travel
NHTS is pleased to announce that the Travel Monitoring and Survey section of the FHWA, Office of Policy and Information is currently conducting research on the design and collection of long distance travel among the general household population. The ultimate goal is develop economical and more accurate methods to capture the public use of the nation's transportation system.
Two key tasks include identifying new approaches for sampling and measuring long distance travel data and exploring new collection methods using newer technologies such as smart phones, GPS, and social networking mediums. Battelle Memorial Institute along with Urban Institute and University of Maryland are leading the effort. The project is scheduled to be completed in the spring of 2013. If you are interested in finding out more about the project, you can contact the project manager, Patrick Zhang at Patrick.Zang@dot.gov or please feel free to contact me, Adella Santos, the NHTS Program Manager at Adella.Santos@dot.gov.
TRB NHTS Task Force
Great news! This past August, FHWA worked with the Transportation Research Board (TRB) on establishing a TRB NHTS task team to help the NHTS to explore proposed survey modification and the impact of data utilization. I am glad to announce that the TRB NHTS Task Force has been officially established. Members of the task force include State and local transportation agency officials, academic researchers, private business and nonprofit organizations. Stacey Bricka from Texas Transportation Institute has agreed to chair the task force.
During the Task Force's most recent meeting, Dr. Tianjia Tang from FHWA's Office of Highway Policy Information conveyed FHWA's thoughts on how the Task Force can help with the program. He listed several items. They were:
- the task force can be an ambassador for the NHTS program;
- the task force can act as a sound board for the NHTS program in terms of data collection methodology;
- the task force can act as a sound board for NHTS data utilization, especially in emerging areas; and
- the task force can be another technical resource for the NHTS program.
The NHTS program will provide funding support in facilitating travel for the task members as needed and as the NHTS program develops.
If you would like to find out more about NHTS, feel free to contact me.
Adella Santos
FHWA NHTS Program Manager
202-366-5021
Adella.Santos@dot.gov
News
A Travel Profile of the United States is now available. The Profile is a 2-page presentation of key information from the 2009 NHTS, touching on the wide range of data available from the survey. The Profile is available in PDF and Excel formats.
AARP has released a new report titled Aging in Place: A State Survey of Livability Policies and Practices [HTML].
Another new report from the AARP: Transportation Funding Reform: Equity Considerations for Older Americans [HTML].
The 2009 Summary of Travel Trends [STT, PDF] tables and figures are now available in Excel format [XLSX]. The STT uses 2009 NHTS data to highlight travel trends over the forty year data series.
NHTS Policy Briefs
Active Travel
Changes in the U.S. Household Vehicle Fleet
Rising Fuel Cost—A Big Impact
The 'Carbon Footprint' of Daily Travel
Working At Home—The Quiet Revolution
Travel to School: The Distance Factor