Transportation Statistics

Transportation Information Sources

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

TDM Encyclopedia

Victoria Transport Policy Institute

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Updated 10 March 2009


This chapter describes source of information about vehicle ownership, vehicle use, personal and freight transport and traffic crashes.

 

Introduction

Accurate travel information is important for evaluating Transportation Demand Management. In recent years transportation statistical collection practices have improved and an increasing portion of this data has become available through the Internet. Sources of transportation statistics are described below.

 

Statistics Tips and Tricks

Here are common pitfalls when using transportation statistics, and ways to avoid them.

 

Definitions

Different data sets may use different definitions that should be considered when making comparisons. For example, transportation statistics may include total motor vehicles, total roadway vehicles (including automobiles and trucks), total private vehicles, total automobiles (which generally includes vans, light trucks and sport utility vehicles), or cars. Similarly, there are variations in how crash injuries and fatalities are defined, the types of pollution emissions considered, and which public transport modes are considered. Check definitions to be sure that you understand what they include.

 

Missing Walking Trips

Transportation surveys often undercount walking trips because they ignore short trips, non-commute trips, travel by children, or non-motorized links of automobile and transit trips. Always investigate the definitions of trips and the degree to which certain modes (particularly walking trips) may be undercounted.

 

Percentages Versus Percentage Points

There is often confusion between changes measured as percentages and percentage points. For example, below is a typical before-and-after shift of a TDM program. These changes can either be described as a doubling in nonmotorized travel, a 20% increase in transit trips, a 47% increase in alternative mode trips (7/15), an 8% reduction in motorized (7/85), or as a 7-point mode shift. All are correct statements, but they imply different magnitude of impacts and success.

 

Mode                         Before                          After

Nonmotorized            5%                               10%

Transit                        10%                             12%

Motorized                  85%                              78%

 

Always clearly distinguish between changes percentage and percentage points.

 

Reference Units

Reference units are measurement units normalized to help people understand and compare impacts such as per capita, per mile, per trip, per vehicle and per dollar. How these units are used and defined can affect analysis results. For example, measuring impacts per unit of travel (such as crash rates per 100 million vehicle-miles) implies that increased per capita vehicle mileage reduces risks. For this reason, most impacts, such as crashes, energy consumption and pollution emissions, should be measured per capita rather than per mile or kilometer of travel.

 

 

International

 

CROSS NATIONAL TIME SERIES: A Database of Social, Economic, and Political Data (www.databanks.sitehosting.net)  

The Cross-National Time-Series Data Archive (CNTS) offers a comprehensive listing of international and national country data facts, going back to 1815. Variables and data may be accessed in the following areas: Area & Population, Industrial, & Labor Force, Size of Military, National Government Revenue & Expenditure, School Enrollment, Domestic Conflict Event Data, International Status Indicators, National Income & Currency, Telegraph & Telephone Data, Election Data, Legislative Process, Percent Annual Change Data, Trade Data, Energy Production & Consumption, Literacy, Physician Data, Urbanization, Highway vehicles, Mail Flow Data, Political Data, Industrial Production, Media (Radio, TV, Newspaper, Books) and Railroad Data.

 

 

International Transport Forum (www.internationaltransportforum.org)

The International Transport Forum is an inter-governmental organisation within the OECD family, previously the European Conference of Ministers of Transport (ECMT). Key figures from government and politics, business and industry, research and civil society meet annually to debate a transport topic of worldwide strategic importance. The forum maintains key statistics on transport infrastructure, vehicles, and personal and freight transport activity.

 

 

EarthTrends Searchable Database (www.earthtrends.wri.org)

The EarthTrends database, produced by the World Resources Institute (www.wri.org), provides city- and country-level indicators on road networks, private vs. public transport use, vehicle fleets, road traffic, and fuel prices. This information is supplied by the International Road Federation (www.irfnet.org), the World Bank (www.worldbank.org/data) and the UNHabitat's Global Urban Indicators Database (www.unhabitat.org/programmes/guo/guo_indicators.asp).

 

 

G-7 Transportation Highlights (www.bts.gov/itt/G7HighlightsNov99/G-7book.pdf)

The G-7 Transportation Highlights, published by the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics, is a summary statistical report on transportation that covers the United States, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom and Japan--the Group of Seven (G-7) countries. The report covers the extent and use of the seven countries' transportation networks, and selected statistics on trade and transportation, safety, and energy and environment.

 

 

International Road Federation (www.irfnet.org)

The IRF publishes World Road Statistics, a global compilation of road and vehicle statistics compiled from official sources within national statistics offices and national road administrations in more than 200 countries.

 

 

iRAP International Transport Statistics Database (www.iraptranstats.net)

This website provides transport-related information for major economies in Europe, Asia and Latin America, including demographics and transport infrastructure, traffic and travel, vehicle stocks, safety, and energy and emissions. Visitors to the site can browse the information presented, search for specific data by country and topic, and analyze the complete data set by building their own tables and graphs online.

 

 

Millennium Cities and Mobility In Cities Database

The International Association of Public Transport (www.uitp.com) has compiled the Millennium Cities Database for Sustainable Transport and the Mobility In Cities Database (www.uitp.com/rome2005/RMR/en/pics/MCD-en.pdf). In total, over 200 indicators have been collected for each of the 100 cities for various years. The collected data include:

·               Population.

·               The economy and the urban structure.

·               The number of road vehicles.

·               The road network.

·               Parking.

·               Public transport networks (offer, usage and cost).

·               Individual mobility and choice of transport mode.

·               Transport system efficiency and environmental impact (duration and cost of transport, energy consumption, accidents, pollution, etc.)

 

 

U.N. Global Urban Indicators Database (http://ww2.unhabitat.org/programmes/guo)

The Global Urban Indicators Database maintained by the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat) provides statistical information on cities throughout the world, including transportation and land use data.

 

 

U.S. Census Bureau International Data Base (www.census.gov/ipc/www/idbsprd.html)

This extensive database includes information on population, fertility, birth, deaths, education and employment, by age, gender and race, for different years and countries throughout the world.

 

 

North American Transportation Statistics On-Line Database (http://nats.sct.gob.mx/sys/index.jsp?i=3).

This website presents information on transportation and transportation-related activities among Canada, the United States and Mexico. This database, presented in French, English, and Spanish, covers twelve thematic areas, including transportation and the economy, transportation safety, transportation’s impact on energy and the environment, passenger and freight activity, and transportation and trade. It updates data first collected in the 1996r report North American Transportation in Figures (www.bts.gov/itt/natf.html). The Database is produced by the North American Transportation Statistics working group within the North American Transportation Statistics Interchange, a trilateral initiative among the transportation and statistical agencies of Canada, the United States and Mexico. 

 

 

OECD Transport Statistics (www.oecd.org)

Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development produces a variety of transportation statistics, including the OECD Factbook (www.sourceoecd.org/factbook), which provides information on passenger transport, freight transport and road accidents for 30 countries (www.oecd.org/document/62/0,2340,en_2825_497139_2345918_1_1_1_1,00.html), including transportation statistics in spreadsheet format (http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/353365538624), and the International Road Traffic and Accident Database (www.oecd.org/document/53/0,2340,en_2649_34351_2002165_1_1_1_1,00.html), which provides comprehensive information on vehicle crashes. The OECD Online Information Services (OLISnet) is a program to improve and broaden information flows among OECD countries (www.oecd.org/statsportal/0,2639,en_2825_293564_1_1_1_1_1,00.html), including a section on transportation statistics (www.oecd.org/topicstatsportal/0,2647,en_2825_497139_1_1_1_1_1,00.html).

 

The Victoria Transport Policy Institute has assembled this information into the OECD Country Data Summary Spreadsheet, available at www.vtpi.org/OECD2006.xls. Table 1 illustrates some information from this spreadsheet.

 

Table 1            Fuel Price, Consumption, Travel And Risk (OECD, 2006; Metschies, 2005)

 

Fuel Prices

Annual Transport Energy Use

Annual Vehicle Travel

Road Fatalities

 

US Cents Per Liter

Per Capita Tonnes Petrol Equivalent

Kms/Cap.

Per 100,000 Population

 

 

To U.S.

 

To U.S.

 

To U.S.

 

To U.S.

Australia

$0.85

54%

 1.47

67%

NA

 

8.6

59%

Austria

$1.32

85%

 0.96

44%

NA

 

10.8

74%

Belgium

$1.50

96%

 1.00

46%

11,885

51%

10.9

75%

Canada

$0.68

44%

 1.72

79%

15,169

66%

8.7

60%

Czech Republic

$1.08

69%

 0.60

27%

7,516

33%

13.6

93%

Denmark

$1.51

97%

 0.94

43%

13,058

57%

7.4

51%

France

$1.54

99%

 0.91

42%

12,977

56%

9.2

63%

Finland

$1.42

91%

 0.88

40%

12,865

56%

7.2

49%

Germany

$1.46

94%

 0.78

36%

10,186

44%

7.1

49%

Greece

$1.14

73%

 0.73

33%

3,812

17%

13.5

93%

Hungary

$1.30

83%

 0.38

18%

6,428

28%

12.9

89%

Iceland

$1.64

105%

 1.14

52%

16,217

70%

7.9

55%

Ireland

$1.29

83%

 1.14

52%

NA

 

9.5

66%

Italy

$1.53

98%

 0.77

35%

15,453

67%

10.3

71%

Japan

$1.26

81%

 0.73

34%

6,602

29%

7.5

52%

Korea

$1.35

87%

 0.72

33%

NA

 

14.7

101%

Netherlands

$0.59

38%

 0.93

43%

9,961

43%

4.9

34%

New Zealand

$1.62

104%

 1.38

63%

NA

 

9.9

68%

Norway

$0.77

49%

 1.05

48%

12,301

53%

5.6

39%

Poland

$1.61

103%

 0.30

14%

5,256

23%

15.0

103%

Portugal

$1.20

77%

 0.70

32%

9,180

40%

12.4

85%

Russian Fed.

$0.45

83%

  NA

  

-

0%

24.1

166%

Slovak Republic

$1.17

217%

 0.41

19%

6,128

27%

11.3

78%

Spain

$1.21

224%

 0.90

41%

9,270

40%

11.5

79%

Sweden

$1.51

280%

 0.94

43%

11,619

50%

5.3

37%

Switzerland

$1.29

239%

 0.96

44%

12,409

54%

6.9

48%

Turkey

$1.44

267%

 0.19

9%

2,305

10%

8.0

55%

United Kingdom

$1.56

289%

 0.90

41%

11,614

50%

5.7

39%

United States

$0.54

100%

 2.18

100%

23,095

100%

14.5

100%

This table compares transportation fuel prices, energy consumption, vehicle travel and traffic fatalities of various countries. Italic values show each factor relative to those in the U.S.

 

 

World Health Organization Statistical Information System (www.who.int/whosis)

The World Health Organization Statistical Information System (WHOSIS) provides 70 core health statistics for 193 WHO Member States. It can be searched by major categories, or through user-defined tables. The data are also published annually in the World Health Statistics Report released in May.

 

 

World Bank (www.worldbank.org)

The World Bank Development Indicators provides some information on transportation (road networks, vehicle ownership, freight transport) as available for all countries in the world. It also includes other data on population and productivity in the World Development Indicators (www.worldbank.org/data/wdi2003/index.htm) and various specialized databases (http://econ.worldbank.org/resource.php?type=18).

 

 

Worldwide Transportation Directory (www.bts.gov/itt/wtd) 

The Worldwide Transportation Directory is a compilation of transportation contact points in over 180 countries. Data are organized by regional area and are restricted primarily to government and quasi-government agencies and organizations. Contact information includes country, government transportation agencies and quasi-government agencies, contact person, telephone numbers, and addresses.

 

 

CoMET (www.comet-metros.org) and NOVA (www.nova-metros.org)

CoMET and NOVA are railway benchmarking programs through which members share information for comparisons and analysis. The Railway Technology Strategy Centre (RTSC), at Imperial College London, acts as the administrator, facilitates the process and provides the research resources. CoMET (the Community of Metros) consists of twelve of the world’s largest metropolitan railways (metros): Berlin BVG, Hong Kong MTR, London Underground Ltd, Metro de Madrid, Mexico City STC, Moscow MoM, Paris Metro (RATP), Paris RER, New York City Transit, Metro de Santiago, São Paulo MSP and Shanghai SMOC. NOVA consists of fifteen medium sized metro systems from around the world - Bangkok, Barcelona, Buenos Aires, Delhi, Glasgow, Lisbon, Milan, Montréal, Naples, Newcastle, Rio de Janeiro, Singapore, Taipei, Toronto and Sydney.

 

 

International Energy Agency (www.iea.org)

The International Energy Agency provides information on international energy supply, demand, prices and conservation opportunities.

 

 

International Fuel Prices (www.internationalfuelprices.com)

The report, International Fuel Prices 2005 provides information on gasoline and diesel prices of 172 countries, including time series of prices from 1991 – 2004, fuel tax rates, fuel tax revenue (as a portion of total national tax revenue), fuel purchasing power (relative to the cost of chicken eggs), plus estimates of total vehicle ownership, annual vehicle travel and fuel consumption, fuel subsidies, and fuel contraband. Table 2 shows some of the report price data.

 

Table 2            Selected Country Gasoline Prices (www.international-fuel-prices.com)

Country

2004 Super Gasoline Price Per Liter

Iraq

$0.03

Venezuela

$0.04

Saudi Arabia

$0.24

Kuwait

$0.24

Indonesia

$0.27

Egypt

$0.28

Malaysia

$0.37

China

$0.48

Philippines

$0.52

United States

$0.54

Mexico

$0.59

Canada

$0.68

New Zealand

$0.77

South Africa

$0.81

Brazil

$0.84

Australia

$0.85

Greece

$1.14

Poland

$1.20

Spain

$1.21

Japan

$1.21

South Korea

$1.35

Turkey

$1.44

Sweden

$1.51

Hong Kong

$1.54

United Kingdom

$1.56

Netherlands

$1.62

This table indicates average 2004 gasoline retail prices in some of the 172 countries listed in the 2005 International Fuel Prices report. This report also provides data on diesel prices, taxes, and other information.

 

 

Department of Energy (www.doe.gov)

The U.S. DOE’s Energy Information Administration’s International Fact Sheets (www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/international/fact.html) provide information on energy supply, demand, prices and alternative fuels in various parts of the world. The The International Energy Outlook (www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/ieo) provides information on energy production, consumption, trade, stocks, and prices.

 

 

Asian Development Bank (www.adb.org)

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) produces the Urban Indicators for Managing Cities: Cities Data Book (www.adb.org/Documents/Books/Cities_Data_Book/default.asp) which provides demographic, economic and infrastructure data on various Asian cities. Tables 3 and 4 indicate examples of data from this book.

 

Table 3            Mode Split In Selected Asian Cities (ADB, 2001)

 

Private Automoible

Train, Tram, Light Rail

Bus

Motorcycle or Three-Wheeler

Bicycle, including pedi-cab

Walking

Others, including Boat, Taxi, Animal, etc.

Bangalore

11%

7%

38%

18%

11%

16%

0%

Bishkek

10%

60%

20%

2%

1%

7%

0%

Cebu

4%

0%

60%

0%

0%

0%

36%

Colombo

4%

4%

71%

13%

0%

6%

2%

Dhaka

3%

0%

9%

3%

1%

60%

24%

Hanoi

NAV

NAV

9%

59%

29%

4%

0%

Hohhot

2%

0%

2%

4%

91%

1%

0%

Hong Kong

8%

34%

53%

0%

0%

0%

5%

Kathmandu

NAV

NAV

4%

33%

0%

0%

63%

Lahore

18%

NAV

15%

19%

19%

17%

12%

Mandaluyong

22%

1%

7%

17%

3%

13%

37%

Medan

5%

NAV

86%

8%

0%

0%

0%

Melbourne

55%

40%

2%

1%

1%

1%

1%

Naga

19%

0%

58%

19%

4%

0%

0%

Phnom Penh

10%

0%

15%

60%

2%

3%

10%

Seoul

20%

32%

29%

NAV

NAV

NAV

19%

Bangalore

11%

7%

38%

18%

11%

16%

0%

Bishkek

10%

60%

20%

2%

1%

7%

0%

NAV – not available

 

Table 4            Transport Indicators In Selected Asian Cities (ADB 2001)

 

Median Travel Time

Road Infrastructure

Expenditures

Road Congestion

Auto Ownership

Cost Recovery Fees

Commercial Ships

Aviation – National

Aviation – Internat.

 

Minutes

Annual US$ Per Capita

%

Per 1,000 residents

Annual US$ Per Capita

Per Month

Flights Per Month

Flights Per Month

Bangalore

40

3.17

100

231

102

0

690

52

Bishkek

45

0.94

70

109

1

0

386

269

Cebu

NAV

NAV

NAV

25

NAV

68,823

2,900

19

Colombo

35

11.88

NAV

7

NAV

NAV

NAV

NAV

Dhaka

50

NAV

NAV

2

NAV

NAV

NAV

NAV

Hanoi

25

4.42

NAV

NAV

57

0

2,645

245

Hohhot

30

9.80

NAV

1

NAV

0

155

8

Hong

Kong

47

99.00

47

106

107

19,278

0

Kathmandu

35

1.93

NAV

279

60

0

1,905

395

Lahore

40

2.22

3

240

100

0

977

244

Mandaluyong

90

3.49

1

248

NAV

2,495

1,170

4,110

Medan

30

1.38

15-25

48

7

4,487

567

87

Melbourne

20

106.00

0

341

NAV

3,050

10,064

1,449

Naga

30

23.65

NAV

87

NAV

0

76

NAP

Phnom

Penh

25

0.83

NAV

8

NAV

2,265

NAV

Seoul

44

171.22

NAV

290

NAV

NAP

6,452

8,311

Suva

35

NAV

NAV

115

NAV

42

240

28

Ulaanbaatar

25

1.69

0

33

79

0

121

42

NAV – not available

 

 

A study by Bassett, et al. (2008) uses various data sources to calculate overall travel (mileage) and mode split (percentage of trips) by walking, cycling and public transit for various countries.

 

Table 5            Personal Travel Mode Split of Various Countries (Bassett, et al. 2008)

Country

Year

Transit

Bike

Walk

Latvia

2003

32%

5%

30%

Switzerland

2005

12%

5%

45%

Netherlands

2006

5%

25%

22%

Spain

2000

12%

 

35%

Sweden

2006

11%

9%

23%

Austria

2005

17%

4%

21%

Germany

2002

8%

9%

23%

Finland

2005

8%

9%

22%

Denmark

2003

8%

15%

16%

Norway

2001

10%

4%

22%

UK

2006

9%

2%

24%

France

1994

8%

3%

19%

Belgium

1999

6%

8%

16%

Ireland

2006

11%

2%

13%

Canada

2001

11%

1%

7%

Australia

2006

8%

1%

5%

USA

2001

2%

1%

9%

 

 

 

 

Europe

 

European Commission (http://ec.europa.eu/publications/booklets/index_en.htm)

EU (2006), Energy and Transport in Figures 2006, European Union (http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/energy_transport/ s/pocketbook/2006_en.htm) provides energy and transport statistics for the Member States of the European Union and other European countries (the countries that have applied to join the European Union and the countries of the European Free Trade Association). Data are available in spreadsheet format. The Online Database – Transport, (http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page?_pageid=0,1136228,0_45572945&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL) includes detailed statistics on passenger and freight transport by air and sea for the EU Member States, Candidate and EEA countries.

 

 

UNECU (2008), Annual Bulletin Of Transport Statistics For Europe And North America, Economic Commission For Europe (www.unece.org); at www.unece.org/trans/main/wp6/pdfdocs/ABTS2008.pdf; data spreadsheets at www.unece.org/trans/main/wp6/pdfdocs/ABTS2008_tables.zip. This report provides data on transport activity; transport equipment and transport infrastructure by mode (rail, road, inland waterway, maritime, intermodal and oil pipeline). This publication , as well as the Bulletin on Statistics of Road Traffic Accidents in Europe and North America, are produced by the Working Party on Transport Statistics, which administers an annual collection of data from member countries and aims to harmonize transport statistics at the international level. Additional economic, social and environmental statistics at http://w3.unece.org/pxweb/Dialog.

 

 

Eurostat (www.europa.eu.int)

Eurostat provides statistical information on European countries, including vehicle ownership, personal and freight travel, population and income. The report, Passenger Mobility in Europe (http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/cache/ITY_OFFPUB/KS-SF-07-087/EN/KS-SF-07-087-EN.PDF) summarizes and compared passenger transport data from twenty European countries. Table 6 presents three main indicators for measuring

passenger mobility. The Transport Theme page (http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/pls/portal/url/page/SHARED/PER_TRANSP) includes statistics and recent reports.

 

Table 6            Passenger Mobility in Europe (Eurostat, Passenger Mobility in Europe)

Country

Average number of trips/person/day

Average travel distance

(km)/person/day

Average travel time

(minutes)/person/day

Belgium (BE)

3.0

:

:

Czech Republic (CZ)

:

21.9

:

Denmark (DK)

3.0

37.3

:

Germany (DE)

3.3

36.9

80.0

Estonia (EE)

:

37.3

:

Spain (ES)

1.8

:

44.4

France (FR)

2.9

35.3

58.2

Latvia (LV)

1.9

8.7

13.0

Netherlands (NL)

3.1

31.9

59.9

Austria (AT)

3.0

28.1

68.8

Finland (FI)

2.9

41.8

70.7

Sweden (SE)

2.7

44.1

62.6

United Kingdom (UK)

2.9

31.8

63.3

Switzerland (CH)

3.6

37.1

84.5

Norway (NO)

3.3

37.9

68.2

 

 

ADONIS (www.vejdirektoratet.dk/dokument.asp?page=document&objno=7134)

The ADONIS report, Analysis And Development Of New Insight Into Substitution Of Short Car Trips By Cycling And Walking, includes information on travel mode split in various European cities, as summarized in Table 7.

 

Table 7            Mode Split In Selected European Cities (ADONIS, 1998)

City

Foot and Cycle

Public Transport

Car

Inhabitants

Amsterdam (NL)

47 %

16 %

34 %

718,000

Groningen (NL)

58 %

6 %

36 %

170,000

Delf (NL)

49 %

7 %

40 %

93,000

Copenhague (DK)

47 %

20 %

33 %

562,000

Arhus (DK)

32 %

15 %

51 %

280,000

Odense (DK)

34 %

8 %

57 %

1,983,000

Barcelona (Spain)

32 %

39 %

29 %

1,643,000

L’Hospitalet (Spain)

35 %

36 %

28 %

273,000

Mataro (Spain)

48 %

8 %

43 %

102,000

Vitoria (Spain)

66 %

16 %

17 %

215,000

Brussels (BE)

10 %

26 %

54 %

952,000

Gent (BE)

17 %

17 %

56 %

226,000

Brujas (BE)

27 %

11 %

53 %

116,000

This table summarizes mode split in various European cities.

 

 

European Local Transportation Information Services (www.eltis.org)

This website provides information on various European Commission transportation improvement programs, including planning and evaluation which includes statistics on transportation system performance in different cities.

 

 

European Commission, DGVII (www.europa.eu.int/comm/dgs/energy_transport)

The European Commission, DGVII, web page contains transport statistics for EU countries, some countries in Eastern Europe, with comparisons with the U.S. and Japan. It publishes EU Energy and Transport In Figures (http://europa.eu.int/comm/dgs/energy_transport/figures/pocketbook), which provides comprehensive information on transportation in the European Union, and other documents on transportation.

 

 

European Conference of Ministers of Transport (www.oecd.org/cem/stat)

The European Conference of Ministers of Transport website provides information on various forms of transportation, including time series data on road, rail and marine transport networks and use, and transport safety.

 

 

European Environment Agency (www.eea.eu.int)

This international organization provides information on European vehicle emissions and emission reduction strategies.

 

 

French Observatory on Transport Policies and Strategies in Europe (www.cnt.fr)

Provides European travel data and information on transportation planning activities.

 

 

United States

Bureau of Transportation Statistics (www.bts.gov)

The Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), a diversion of the US Department of Transportation, which serves as the lead agency in developing and coordinating intermodal transportation statistics. It provides comprehensive data collection, analysis, and reporting for a variety of U.S. government agencies, and produces a wide range of reports and databases. The annual National Transportation Statistics (www.bts.gov/publications/national_transportation_statistics) report provides annual information on vehicle ownership, vehicle travel, personal travel, freight travel, traffic crashes, energy consumption, pollution emissions and other transportation activities and impacts. State Transportation Statistics (www.bts.gov/pdc/user/products/src/products.xml?p=2773) provides information on infrastructure, freight movement and passenger travel, safety, vehicles, economy and finance, and energy and the environment covering the 50 U.S. states.

 

 

Public Transit Statistics

The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) has a Transit Statistics webpage (www.apta.com/research/stats) and the annual Public Transportation Fact Book (www.apta.com/research/stats/factbook/index.cfm) which includes information on transit ridership, service, funding, operating costs, investments and revenues, by transit mode. The Federal Transit Administration supports the National Transit Database (NTD), which includes standard data reported by more than 600 transit agencies (www.ntdprogram.gov). This information is provided for individual agencies, and in national summaries. A special section of the website provides datasets for previous years (www.ntdprogram.gov/ntdprogram/archives.htm). The data include:

  • Operational Characteristics - Vehicle revenue hours and miles, unlinked passenger trips and passenger miles, etc.
  • Service Characteristics - Service reliability and safety, etc.
  • Capital Revenues and Assets - Sources and uses of capital, fleet size and age, and fixed guideways, etc.
  • Financial Operating Statistics - Revenues, Federal, state and local funding, costs, etc.
  • In recent years the NTD has grown to include safety, security, and rural transportation data. The website also contains some historical data

 

 

TransStats: The Intermodal Transportation Database (www.transtats.bts.gov)

TransStats is a searchable index maintained by the Bureau of Transportation statistics with more than 100 transportation-related databases of various modes ― with many social and demographic data sets that are commonly used in transportation analysis.

 

 

Transportation Statistics Annual Report (www.bts.gov/pdc/user/products/src/products.xml?p=2775&c=-1)

This Bureau of Transportation annual report provides information on Mobility and Access to Transportation, Safety and Security, Global Connectivity, and Energy and Environment.

 

 

Highway Statistics (www.fhwa.dot.gov/policy/ohpi/hss/hsspubs.cfm)

The U.S. Federal Highway Administration’s annual Highway Statistics reports provide comprehensive information on roadway conditions, travel and expenditures in the U.S. The major sections are listed below, with most data provided by state and national totals.

·         Section I: Motor Fuel: consumption of petroleum and alternative fuels, prices and taxes.

·         Section II: Motor Vehicles: registrations, mileage, fuel efficiency and taxes.

·         Section III: Driver Licensing: driver licenses by age group.

·         Section IV: Highway Finance: vehicle user fee receipts, roadway expenditures, toll revenues, and transit expenditures, each grouped by local, state and federal level of government.

·         Section V: Roadway Extent, Characteristics, and Performance: public road supply, vehicle traffic and fatalities by roadway category (highway, arterial, collector, local, etc.) and geographic location (urban or rural).

·         Section VI: International Comparison: compares various transportation data with Japan, France, Germany, Sweden, United Kingdom, Canada, Mexico and the United States.

 

 

Metropolitan Travel Survey Archives (www.surveyarchive.org)

The Metropolitan Travel Survey Archives is a special project by the University of Minnesota, funded by the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics and the Federal Highway Administration, to store, preserve, and make publicly available, via the internet, travel surveys conducted by U.S. metropolitan areas, states and localities. As of 2006 the archive hosts about 58 surveys from 28 different agencies spanning over 40 years. Of these surveys, 44 have been converted to a standardized format to facilitate comparison and analysis.

 

The San Francisco Bay Area Metropolitan Transportation Commission’s Census Data & Reports website (www.mtc.ca.gov/maps_and_data/datamart/census) provides an excellent example of transportation-related statistics for a specific metropolitan region

 

 

Census Bureau (www.census.gov)

The U.S. Census Bureau collects and distributes a variety of data about the people and economy of the United States, including information on population, income, trade, transportation activities, journey to work, transportation industry employment and production. The American Community Survey (www.census.gov/acs), which replaces the census long form, provides community-level demographic and economic data, including income, employment rates, commute travel time and mode split. The 2001 American Housing Survey (www.census.gov/hhes/www/ahs.html) has information on average commute distance, time and mode. The Neighborhood Change Data Base has Tract level data from 1970, 1980, 1990, and 2000 (www.uscensus.biz). The Census Data for Transportation Planning (www.trbcensus.com) includes a variety of information useful for transport analysis, including commute travel data. The annual Statistical Abstract of the United States (www.census.gov/compendia/statab) summarizes data from the Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Bureau of Economic Analysis, and many other Federal agencies and private organizations. The Transportation Chapter (www.census.gov/prod/2008pubs/09statab/trans.pdf ) includes statistics on transport infrastructure, vehicles, travel, safety and economic activity. The Journey to Work report (www.census.gov/prod/2004pubs/c2kbr-33.pdf) provides information on commute patterns and their shifts between 1990 and 2000.

 

 

Environmental and Sustainable Development Statistics (www.sdi.gov)

Government agencies are estimated to spend approximately $600 million annually to collect environmental statistics, but these efforts are inefficient and the resulting data are often poor quality due to inadequate coordination (GAO, 2004; Bullock, 2006).

 

 

National Center for Statistics and Analysis NHTSA (www.nhtsa-tsis.net)

The National Center for Statistics and Analysis division of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) works to help insure that complete, accurate and timely traffic safety data are collected, analyzed and made available for decision-making at the U.S. national, state and local levels.

 

 

Bureau of Labor Statistics (www.bls.gov)

The Bureau of Labor Statistics produces the Consumer Expenditure Survey, which provides information on consumer expenditures on vehicles and other transportation related goods. It also provides price indices that are useful for adjusting prices to acc