Atlanta Regional Commission Regional Travel Survey Final Report November 2011 206 Wild Basin Rd., Suite A-300 (512) 306-9065 Austin, Texas 78746 fax (512) 306-9077 Contact: Jeff Livingston, Project Manager www.ptvnustats.com Project conducted by PTV NuStats in association with GeoStats Table of Contents Executive Summary i Survey Methods 1 Objectives and Approach 1 Survey Design 2 Sample Design 4 Data Collection 11 Data Processing, Coding, and Correction 16 Response Rates 26 GPS Subsample 27 Data Weighting and Expansion 38 Household Weight 39 Person Weight 42 Limitations of the Survey 43 Survey Results 44 Household Characteristics 44 Travel Behavior 55 Appendix A: Recruitment CATI Survey 60 Appendix B: Recruitment WEB Survey 83 Appendix C: Retrieval CATI Survey 106 Appendix D: Retrieval WEB Survey 121 Appendix E: Interviewer Training Manual 131 Appendix F: Final Data Matrix 161 Appendix G: Recruitment Item Unweighted Frequencies 182 Appendix H: Retrieval Item Unweighted Frequencies 192 Appendix I: Survey Materials 196 Appendix J: GPS Materials 201 List of Tables and Figures Table 1: Overall Completed Survey Summary i Table 2: Participation Statistics by GPS Sample Type i Figure 1: Household Travel Survey Study Area 1 Table 4: Distribution of Households in Study Area 4 Figure 2: Sampled Household Locations (Map of ARC Region) 5 Table 5: Stratification Scheme 6 Figure 3: Area Type Stratification 7 Table 6: Distribution of Area Types 7 Figure 4: Transit Oversampling Area 8 Table 7: Socioeconomic Stratification 9 Table 8: Target County Distribution of Completed Surveys 9 Table 9: Participant Household Locations (Map of ARC Region) 10 Table 10: Sample Detail 11 Table 11: Recruitment Summary (Pre-Test) 12 Figure 5: Continuous Data Flow (CDF) Process 13 Table 12: Recruitment Mode 14 Table 13: Recruitment Interview Length and Average Call Attempts/Household, by Household Size 14 Table 14: Retrieval Mode 15 Table 15: Retrieval Interview Length and Average Call Attempts/Household, by Household Size 15 Figure 6: Data Processing Flow Chart 17 Table 16: Final: Household Variables Item Non-Response 18 Table 17: Final: Person Variables Item Non-Response 19 Table 18: Final: Vehicle Variables Item Non-Response 19 Table 19: Final: Retrieval Variables Item Non-Response 19 Table 20: Edit Checks 20 Table 21: County Distribution 23 Figure 7: Participating Household Locations (Map of ARC Region) 24 Table 22: Demographic Results Compared to Census 25 Table 23: Response Rates by County 26 Table 24: Response Rate Comparison to Other Surveys 27 Figure 8: QStarz BT-Q1000X Travel Recorder 28 Figure 9: GlobalSat DG-100 GPS Data Logger 29 Table 25: Recruitment and Deployment Statistics by GPS Sample Type 30 Table 26: Participation Statistics by GPS Sample Type 31 Table 27: Disposition of GPS and Diary Retrieval Outcomes 31 Table 28: Trip Frequencies for Perfect Matches at Vehicle Level 33 Table 29: Trip Frequencies for Missing GPS and Missing Diary Trips (Vehicle GPS) 34 Table 30: Trip Frequencies for Perfect Matches at Person Level 35 Table 31: Trip Frequencies for Missing GPS and Missing Diary Trips (Wearable GPS) 36 Table 32: GPS and Diary Trip Counts for Vehicle and Wearable GPS Samples 37 Table 33: Missing Trip Rates 37 Table 34: List of Travel Modes Included in the Matching Process 38 Table 35: Raking Adjustment at Household Level 40 Table 36: Raking Adjustment at Person Level 42 Table 37: Household Size (Weighted) 44 Table 38: Household Number of Vehicles (Weighted) 44 Table 39: Vehicle Age (Weighted) 45 Table 40: Household Ethnicity (Weighted) 45 Table 41: Hispanic or Latino Households (Weighted) 45 Table 42: Household Residence Type (Weighted) 46 Table 43: Ownership of Household Residence (Weighted) 46 Table 44: Landlines in Household (Weighted) 46 Table 45: Household Income (Weighted) 47 Table 46: Household Number of Students (Weighted) 47 Table 47: Household Number of Workers (Weighted) 48 Table 48: Number of Licensed Drivers in Household (Weighted) 48 Table 49: Average Number of Children in Household (Weighted) 49 Table 50: Respondent Gender (Weighted) 49 Table 51: Respondent Age Distribution (Weighted) 49 Table 52: Respondent Disability Status (Weighted) 50 Table 53: Respondents with Valid Driver's License (Weighted) 50 Table 54: Respondent Employment Status (Weighted) 50 Table 55: Respondent Volunteer Status (Weighted) 50 Table 56: Respondent Works (Weighted) 50 Table 57: Respondent Unemployment Status, if Does Not Work (Weighted) 51 Table 58: Respondent Number of Jobs (Weighted) 51 Table 59: Respondent Work Locations (Weighted) 51 Table 60: Respondent Number of Days Worked per Week (Weighted) 52 Table 61: Percent Employer Provided Parking (Weighted) 52 Table 62: Percent Employer Subsidizes Transit Pass (Weighted) 52 Table 63: Educational Attainment (Weighted) 53 Table 64: Household Member Frequency of Walk or Bike to Work/School in Last Week (Weighted) 53 Table 65: Vehicle Body Type (Weighted) 53 Table 66: Vehicle Fuel Type (Weighted) 54 Table 67: Vehicle Ownership Type (Weighted) 54 Table 68: Household and Person Trip Rates (Weighted) 55 Table 69: Trip Rates by Household Size (Weighted) 55 Table 70: Trip Rates by Number of Household Workers (Weighted) 55 Table 71: Trip Rates by Household Income (Weighted) 56 Table 72: Primary Trip Purpose (Weighted) 56 Table 73: All Trip Modes (Weighted) 57 Table 74: Mode to Work (Weighted) 58 Table 75: Mode to School (Weighted) 58 Figure 10: Trip Departure Times 59 Table 76: Travel by Day of Week (Weighted) 59 Table H-1: Household Size (Unweighted) 182 Table H-2: Household Number of Vehicles (Unweighted) 182 Table H-3: Vehicle Age (Unweighted) 182 Table H-4: Household Ethnicity (Unweighted) 183 Table H-5: Hispanic or Latino Households (Unweighted) 183 Table H-6: Household Residence Type (Unweighted) 183 Table H-7: Ownership Stats of Household Residence (Unweighted) 184 Table H-8: Landlines in Household (Unweighted) 184 Table H-9: Household Income (Unweighted) 184 Table H-10: Household Number of Students (Unweighted) 185 Table H-11: Household Number of Workers (Unweighted) 185 Table H-12: Number of Licensed Drivers in Household (Unweighted) 185 Table H-13: Average Number of Children in Household (Unweighted) 186 Table H-14: Respondent Gender (Unweighted) 186 Table H-15: Respondent Age Distribution (Unweighted) 186 Table H-16: Respondent Disability Status (Unweighted) 186 Table H-17: Respondents with Valid Driver's License (Unweighted) 187 Table H-18: Respondent Employment Status (Unweighted) 187 Table H-19: Respondent Volunteer Status (Unweighted) 187 Table H-20: Respondent Works (Unweighted) 187 Table H-21: Respondent Unemployment Status, if Does Not Work (Unweighted) 188 Table H-22: Respondent Average Number of Jobs (Unweighted) 188 Table H-23: Respondent Work Locations (Unweighted) 188 Table H-24: Respondent Average Number of Days Worked per Week (Unweighted) 189 Table H-25: Percent Employer Provided Parking (Unweighted) 189 Table H-26: Percent Employer Subsidizes Transit Pass (Unweighted) 189 Table H-27: Educational Attainment (Unweighted) 190 Table H-28: Household Member Frequency of Walk or Bike to Work/School in Last Week (Unweighted) 190 Table H-29: Vehicle Body Type (Unweighted) 190 Table H-30: Vehicle Fuel Type (Unweighted) 191 Table H-31: Vehicle Ownership Type (Unweighted) 191 Table I-1: Primary Trip Purpose (Unweighted) 192 Table I-2: Trip Mode – All Trips, Work Trips, School Trips (Unweighted) 193 Table I-3: Total Persons Traveling on Trip (Unweighted) 193 Table I-4: Household Members Traveling on Trip (Unweighted) 194 Table I-5: Non-Household Members Traveling on Trip (Unweighted) 194 Table I-6: Reason for No Trips on Travel Day (Unweighted) 195 Table I-7: Parking Location (Unweighted) 195 Table I-8: Paid to Park (Unweighted) 195 Executive Summary The Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC) contracted with the team of PTV NuStats, GeoStats and PB Americas, Inc to conduct a comprehensive study of the demographic and travel behavior characteristics of residents within the 20-county study area. The purpose of the 2011 Regional Travel Survey was to improve the ARC travel demand forecasts, in both its aggregate four-step trip-based model and its disaggregate activity-based model. The goal was to obtain demographic and trip data from a minimum of 10,000 households, including a subsample of 1,000 households that would also provide global positioning system (GPS) data. The final data set contains information for 10,278 households, of which 1,061 households also provided GPS data. Table 1: Overall Completed Survey Summary Number of Percent Completed County Completed Surveys Surveys Barrow 128 1% Bartow 176 2% Carroll 216 2% Cherokee 396 4% Clayton 469 5% Cobb 1,359 14% Coweta 229 2% DeKalb 1,458 15% Douglas 229 2% Fayette 196 2% Forsyth 305 3% Fulton 1,946 19% Gwinnett 1,373 14% Hall 311 3% Henry 348 3% Newton 175 2% Paulding 254 3% Rockdale 149 1% Spalding 125 1% Walton 158 2% Total 10,000 100% PTV NuStats i ARC Regional Travel Survey Final Report Table 2: Participation Statistics by GPS Sample Type Sample Type Goal Retrievals Vehicle GPS 667 727 Wearable GPS 333 334 Total 1000 1061 The survey design employed a nationally accepted research method for household travel surveys. Additionally a subsample of households equipped with global positioning system (GPS) equipment, both vehicle and wearable, to provide an independent measure of travel. All household members were asked to keep track of all trips for a specified 24-hour period using a specially designed diary. A stratified sampling approach was used where the survey universe was divided into smaller groups and a random sample was chosen within each group. The approach allowed PTV NuStats to oversample at the certain geographic and demographic level to capture the diversity of the population according to specific factors affecting travel behavior in the study area, while meeting the county distribution goals. The pre-test, designed to test the materials, processes, and procedures for the full study, was conducted from November 2010 through January 2011 and included sample from each county in the study area.