In 1997/1998 the New York Metropolitan Transportation Council (NYMTC) and the NJTPA partnered on a large-scale effort to survey households on their travel patterns and characteristics of residents. This survey provided valuable information to help transportation professionals understand the travel needs of the public we serve. In addition, the survey was one of the fundamental data sets in enhancing regional travel demand models.
Since that time, the region has experienced some significant changes that might impact travel behaviors. These changes include:
- Major transit system expansion (HBLR, Secaucus Transfer, Newark Airport service, Midtown Direct)
- Fare structure changes (Metrocard)
- Economic shifts (two recessions)
- Regional land development pattern changes (e.g., Jersey city “gold coast”, continued suburban expansion)
- Technological changes (e.g., increased cell phone usage, GPS, internet, increased availability of real-time travel information)
To gather information on travel behaviors and patterns, the NJTPA and NYMTC are partnering on a new large-scale effort to survey the households in the New York/New Jersey/Connecticut metropolitan area. The main survey will take about a year and is expected to start in the late summer/early fall of 2010 with results released in 2011 and 2012. The survey is expected to include about 18,800 households in the 28-county NY/NJ/CT metropolitan region (about 6,800 in the NJTPA region). To provide continuity with the 1997/98 survey the updated survey will ask similar questions to participants. The results will be used to support future enhancements to NJTPA’s travel demand model and provide a statistical resource for other planning studies in the region.
For more details and updates on this effort, please click on the link to the project website below:
http://www.regionaltravelsurvey.org/welcome.aspx