National Household Travel Survey Add-On Program: Experience of Stakeholders and Best Practices for Maximizing Program Benefits

摘要

The National Household Travel Survey (NHTS) is conducted by the Federal HighwayAdministration (FHWA) every 5 to 7 years to determine the travel characteristics of theAmerican public. In 1990, the FHWA began offering the add-on program, which allows StateDepartments of Transportation (DOT) and Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPO) topurchase additional sample data for their local area. In the 2009 NHTS, Tennessee Departmentof Transportation (TDOT) purchased add-on sample data for the state that will be used by bothTDOT and MPOs in Tennessee. To derive the most benefit from the data, TDOT sponsored astudy to determine how add-on samples have been used by previous add-on program participantsand lessons learned in these applications, and to identify best practices for maximizing programbenefits. A literature review along with Internet and phone surveys were used to ascertain thisinformation. The major findings of the study include, first, add-on participants find the programto be a cost-effective way of obtaining data that is consistent at the local, state, and nationallevels. Second, the data have been used in a wide variety of transportation planning applications.Third, there have been challenges, but the majority can be addressed through greatercommunication between add-on participants and FHWA, particularly during the survey planningphase. Finally, a set of best practices for improving the add-on experience is outlined.