FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 8, 2008 |
For more information, Contact:
Dave Roberts, Senior Transportation Planner
Chittenden County Metropolitan Planning Organization
802.660.4071 x16
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South Burlington, VT -
Some 1,500 Vermont households will be contacted by telephone beginning this spring to take part in the 2008 National Household Travel Survey.
The Chittenden County Metropolitan Planning Organization, the Vermont Agency of Transportation, and the University of Vermont Transportation Research Center have partnered with the US Department of Transportation (DOT) to collect detailed data on transportation system use and travel behavior in Vermont as an add-on to the DOT’s national survey.
Vermonters will be contacted as part of an effort to collect critical data for transportation operations and planning.
The National Household Travel Survey (NHTS) provides detailed information on the public’s use of the transportation system by all motorized and non-motorized travel modes, and is the only national source of household travel statistics in the United States. The 2008 NHTS is the seventh in the series of national surveys conducted over the past 40 years. The first NHTS data was collected in 1969, with further surveys completed in 1977, 1983, 1990, 1995 and 2001.
The data collected will be used to study system improvements including transit, carpooling, safety, walking/biking, tailpipe emissions, and mobility for special groups such as seniors or children. The 2008 survey includes new data items associated with work schedule flexibility, hybrid vehicle use, and internet shopping.
The 1,500 Vermont households interviewed will be selected by random telephone calls. Random calls are necessary to ensure statistical validity of the survey sample. Survey responses are confidential and results will only be reported in terms of statistical totals. There is no penalty for declining to participate, but not contributing to this effort will make planning for Vermont’s current and future transportation needs more challenging.
Vermont is one of 19 add-on areas for the 2008 NHTS. The national sample will yield travel behavior data on approximately 150,000 total households, the largest sample ever.
The survey data collection started in April 2008 and will continue for one year. Data from the 2008 NHTS is expected to be available by Fall 2009. The University of Vermont Transportation Research Center will provide summary results from the survey as data becomes available. More information on the NHTS and the Vermont partners is available at the links below.
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