 |
Data Gaps
In the future, there will be data gaps in several areas of
transportation due to continuing resource constraints. Federal agencies have
reduced in scope, postponed, delayed and in some cases discontinued several
long term data series important to understanding changes in the field of
transportation. The Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), for example, has
not undertaken a previously planned long distance travel survey in 2007 due to
resource constraints. This survey was conducted most recently in 2001/2002 as
part of the National Household Travel Survey (NHTS) conducted jointly by BTS
and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), in 1995 as the standalone
American Travel Survey, and in 1977 by the U.S. Census Bureau. These long
distance travel surveys provided data on the number, length, origins and
destinations, modes of transportation, purpose, and traveler characteristics of
U.S.
residents
making long-distance trips.
Also, due to resource constraints, the Census Bureau is not
undertaking the previously planned repeat of the Vehicle Inventory and Use
Survey (VIUS) as part of the 2007 Economic Census. The VIUS is the most indepth
inventory of the characteristics of the nation’s highway truck fleet, covering
all categories from lightweight pickups and utility vehicles through large
trucks. Previous editions of this survey, and its earlier counterpart, the
Truck Inventory and Use Survey, were conducted at twice a decade intervals as
part of the Economic Census extending back to 1963.
In addition, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) has
discontinued one of its international maritime statistics data sets—the
U.S.
foreign trade-based data series. Updated preliminary and monthly cargo summary
reports are no longer available on the Navigation
Data Center
and U.S. Department of Transportation, Maritime Administration web sites (type
of service, dollar value, weight) and the monthly and annual waterborne
databanks were discontinued. Monthly foreign trade and transportation data will
no longer be publicly available from the USACE.
Transportation data needs continue to be discussed by the
transportation community. The Transportation Research Board (TRB), part of the
National Academy of Sciences, has sought input from its numerous committees of
transportation experts and officials to identify key needs. Two circulars have
resulted from this process to date.[1] The
first, issued in December 2006, suggested that TRB committees annually review
data needs, priorities, and costs. The second, issued in August 2007, details
the results of discussions by State transportation officials.
The discussion focused on actions to ensure availability of data
for effective transportation decision-making and opportunities for national
efforts to advance transportation data systems. A summary of the findings is
shown in box B.
The Bureau of Transportation Statistics, in partnership with the
U.S. Census Bureau, is conducting the 2007 Commodity Flow Survey (CFS). As a
result of meetings and other consultations with stakeholders, BTS worked with
Census to improve coverage of the CFS, publish industry data for the first
time, and improve geography. The 2007 CFS data collection is nearly complete.
BTS and Census work jointly to evaluate and monitor the progress of this effort
and monitor overall data quality.
The FHWA in cooperation with its modal partners, including
BTS, produced the Freight Analysis Framework, version 2, (FAF2). The
2002 CFS data form the basis of FAF2. The FAF integrates data from a
variety of sources to estimate commodity flows and related freight
transportation activity among states, regions, and major international
gateways. The original version, FAF1, provided estimates for 1998
and forecasts for 2010 and 2020. The new version, FAF2, provides
estimates for 2002, annual provisional estimates beginning with 2005, and
forecasts through 2035. All of the products listed here are available at www.ops.fhwa.dot.gov/freight/freight_analysis/faf.
1 Transportation Research Board, Data and Information Systems Section,
Transportation Research Circular E-C109: Transportation Information Assets
and Impacts (Washington, DC: Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences) December 2006, and
Transportation Research Board Circular, E-C121, Information Assets to Support
Transportation Decision-Making (Washington, DC: TRB of the NAS), August 2007.
|
|
