National Household Travel Survey
Long Distance Travel Quick Facts
Long Distance Trips are more than 50 miles from home to the furthest destination.
How We Travel
- Nine out of 10 long-distance trips are by personal vehicle
- 7 percent of long distance trips are by air
- 2 percent of long distance trips are by bus
- 1 percent of long distance trips are by train
- Personal vehicles are used for almost all trips less than 300 roundtrip miles
- Nearly three-fourths of trips over 2,000 roundtrip miles were made by airplane
How Far We Travel
- Americans total 1.3 trillion person-miles of long distance travel a year on
about 2.6 billion long distance trips.
- The median distances on these trips are:
- Air - 2,068 miles
- Bus - 287 miles
- Personal vehicle - 194 miles
- Train - 192 miles
Why We Travel
- 56 percent of long distance trips are taken for pleasure — vacations,
sightseeing trips, visiting friends or relatives, outdoor recreation
- Business trips are 16 percent of long distance trips
- Commuting to work is 13 percent of long distance trips
Where We Travel
- 98 percent of long-distance trips are to destinations within the United States
- 62 percent of long distance trips are to destinations within the
traveler's home state (intrastate travel)
Who Travels
- Men make 57 percent of long distance trips
- Women make 55 percent of long distance trips taken by bus — men
make the most long distance trips by personal vehicle, air and train
- 57 percent of long distance trips are made by travelers with a total household
income of $50,000 or more
- Almost two-thirds of long distance trips are made by travelers age 25 to 64
SOURCE: National Household Travel Survey, 2001-2002. For further details, see our Frequently Asked Questions.
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