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DOT Releases New NHTS Showing Vehicles in Households Outnumber Drivers

Contact BTS 19-03 Dave Smallen 202-366-5568

Tuesday, August 26, 2003 -- The first National Household Travel Survey (NHTS) of the 21st century, released today by the U.S. Department of Transportation, shows vehicles in U.S. households outnumber drivers.

NHTS, a joint project of the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), reports:

• An average of 1.9 personal vehicles is owned or available to U.S. households — more, for the first time, than the 1.8 drivers per household.
• 8 percent of U.S. households do not have a vehicle.
• 90 percent of long-distance trips are made by personal vehicle.
• 17 percent of adults report having used public transit in the last two months.
• 13 percent of long distance trips over 50 miles from home to the farthest destination are for commuting to and from work.
• Almost 9 percent of adults report having a medical condition that limits travel.

"This landmark travel survey documents a widespread prevalence of drivers and personal vehicles in the nation," U.S. Secretary of Transportation Norman Y. Mineta said. "At the same time, it underscores some of the challenges Americans face in their daily and long-distance travel - travel that is essential to quality of life and economic well-being. The Department of Transportation will continue to support the efforts of state and local decision-makers to develop solutions to these challenges."

NHTS, conducted in 2001 and 2002, gives a picture of travel in the U.S. at the start of the 21st century. Combining new long-distance travel information with short-distance data released earlier this year, it is the most comprehensive survey of travel in the United States in more than six years — offering information on who travels, why they travel, where they travel and how they travel.

The NHTS collected information about a wide range of topics, including the amount and purpose of travel, the uses of different travel modes, time and miles spent traveling and the ownership and use of vehicles in the United States. It also examines the relationships between travel and specific household and demographic characteristics. Over the next several months, BTS and FHWA will be releasing additional NHTS data on these and other areas.

For this survey, a nationally representative sample of about 26,000 households was contacted and 60,000 individuals were interviewed. The NHTS expands on and replaces the 1995 Nationwide Personal Transportation Survey and 1995 American Travel Survey.

For NHTS Quick Facts on Long Distance and Daily Travel go to the BTS website at www.bts.gov. An overview report will be available later this week at www.bts.gov.