摘要: |
Policymakers rely on transportation statistics, including data on personal travel behavior, to formulate strategic transportation policies and to improve the safety and efficiency of the U.S. transportation system. Data on personal travel trends are needed to examine the reliability, efficiency, capacity, safety, and flexibility of the nations transportation system to meet current demands and accommodate future demands; to assess the feasibility and efficiency of alternative congestion alleviating technologies (e.g., high-speed rail, magnetically levitated trains, intelligent vehicle and highway systems); to evaluate the merits of alternative transportation investment programs; and to assess the energy-use and air-quality impacts of various policies. To address these data needs, the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) initiated an effort in 1969 to collect detailed data on personal travel. The 1969 survey was the first Nationwide Personal Transportation Survey (NPTS). The survey was conducted again in 1977, 1983, 1990, and 1995. In 2001, the survey was expanded by integrating the Federal Highway Administrationmanaged NPTS and the Bureau of Transportation Statistics-sponsored American Travel Survey (ATS). The survey was re-named to the National Household Travel Survey (NHTS). The 2001 NHTS is the nations inventory of daily and long-distance travel. The survey includes demographic characteristics of households, people, vehicles, and detailed information on daily and longer-distance travel for all purposes by all modes. NHTS survey data are collected from a sample of U.S. households and expanded to provide national estimates of trips and miles by travel mode, trip purpose, and a host of household attributes. When combined with historical data from 1969 through 1995, the 2001 NHTS survey data provide a rich source of detailed information on personal travel patterns over time. |