Box 2
Data on Passenger-Miles of Travel
Two national estimates of passenger-miles of travel (pmt) are available; they differ in coverage, methodology, and other
factors. The 2000 pmt data presented in this section come from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) publication,
National Transportation Statistics 2002 (NTS). BTS compiles these data for NTS annually, primarily
using mode-by-mode data derived in various ways by BTS and others. For instance, pmt for large air carriers and intercity trains are estimated
from ticket sales and trip lengths; for transit, the data are reported by transit authorities. Each method used to estimate these pmt has differing
strengths and weaknesses, as discussed in NTS in the Accuracy Profiles for table 1–34 (available at http://www.bts.gov/).
Later, in the section on Variables Influencing Travel Behavior, is a presentation of 2001 pmt data from the 2001 National Household Travel Survey, jointly conducted by BTS and the Federal Highway Administration. As survey data,
they are collected using a single methodology. This provides a coherence and comparability not available with the NTS data. However, these data are
not collected annually, limiting their use for trend analyses. Another difference between the NTS and NHTS data is the extent of their coverage
among modes. It is to be expected, then, that because of methodological and coverage issues the NTS and NHTS data will differ.
|
