SUMMARY OF TRAVEL TRENDS

2009 National Household Travel

Survey
11. Contract or Grant No. 

Danielle Gray and Susan Liss, Cambridge Systematics N/A 

13. Type of Report and Period Covered 

12. Sponsoring Agency Name and Address 

U.S. Department of Transportation Trends in travel behavior, 1969-2009 

Federal Highway Administration 

1200 New Jersey, SE 

14. Sponsoring Agency Code Washington, DC 20590 FHWAIHPPI-30 

15. Supplementary Notes 

N/A 

16. Abstract 

The 2009 National Household Travel Survey (NHTS) provides data to characterize daily personal travel patterns across the country. 

The survey includes demographic data on households, vehicles, people, and detailed information on daily travel by all modes of 

transportation. NHTS survey data is collected from a sample of households and expanded to provide national estimates of trips and 

miles of travel by travel mode, trip purpose, and other household attributes. When combined with historical data from the 1969, 1977, 

1983,1990, and 1995 NPTS and the 2001 NHTS, the 2009 NHTS serves as a rich source of detailed travel data over time for users. 

This document highlights travel trends and commuting patterns in eight key areas - summary of travel and demographics, household 

travel, person travel, private vehicle travel, vehicle availability and usage, commute travel patterns, temporal distribution, and special 

populations. 

17. Kef. Words 18. Distribution Statement 

Trave , mode, trip purpose, age, gender, travel demographics, No restrictions. This document is available to the public through 

vehicle, commute, and travel data. the National Technical Information Service, Springfield Virginia 

22161. 

19. Security Class if. (of this report) 20. Security Classif. (of this page) 21. No. of Pages 22. Price 

Unclassified Unclassified 82 N/A 

Form DOT F 1700.7 (8-72) Reproduction of completed page authorized 
2009 National Household Travel Survey (NHTS)

NOTICE AND QUALITY ASSURANCE STATEMENT i

NOTICE

This document is disseminated under the sponsorship of the U.S. Department of Transportation

Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) in the interest of information exchange. The U.S. 

Government assumes no liability for use of the information contained in this document. This 

report does not constitute a standard, specification or regulation.

QUALITY ASSURANCE STATEMENT

The Federal Highway Administration provides high-quality information to serve Government, 

industry, and the public in a manner that promotes public understanding. Standards and policies 

are used to ensure and maximize the quality, objectivity, utility, and integrity of its information. 

FHWA periodically reviews quality issues and adjusts its programs and processes to ensure 

continuous quality improvement.
Summary of Travel Trends

TABLE OF CONTENTS ii

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1.0 Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 1

1.1. Profile Of 2009 NHTS .................................................................................................. 2

1.2. Improvements In The NPTS/NHTS Series ................................................................... 3

1.3. Source And Accuracy Statement ................................................................................. 4

1.4. Reliability Of The Estimates ......................................................................................... 5

2.0 Travel And Demographics Summary ............................................................................... 7

3.0 Household Travel ...........................................................................................................13

4.0 Person Travel.................................................................................................................19

5.0 Private Vehicle Travel.....................................................................................................31

6.0 Vehicle Use And Availability ...........................................................................................34

7.0 Commute Travel Patterns...............................................................................................44

8.0 Temporal Distribution .....................................................................................................51

9.0 Travel Behavior Of Special-Populations .........................................................................54

Appendix A: Travel Concepts And Glossary Of Terms............................................................A-1

Appendix B. Key Changes Over Time In The NPTS/NHTS Data Series..................................B-1
2009 National Household Travel Survey (NHTS)

TABLE OF CONTENTS iii

LIST OF TABLES 

Table 1. Summary Statistics on Demographic Characteristics and Total Travel......................... 7

Table 2. Major Travel Indicators by Survey Year and Region..................................................... 9

Table 3. Summary of Travel Statistics.......................................................................................10

Table 4. Comparison of Survey Estimates with Other Sources .................................................12

Table 5. Average Annual PMT, Person Trips and Trip Length by Trip Purpose.........................13

Table 6. Average Annual VMT, Vehicle Trips and Trip Length by Selected Trip Purposes........15

Table 7. Average Annual Person Trips Per Household by Mode of Transportation and ...... 16-17

Table 8. Annual Person Trips per Household by Household Income.........................................18

Table 9. Annual Number (in Millions) and Percent of Person Trips by Mode of Transportation 

and Trip Purpose ................................................................................................................ 19-20

Table 10. Annual Person Trips per Person by Trip Purpose and Gender..................................21

Table 11. Daily Trip and Travel Rates per Person by Trip Purpose...........................................23

Table 12. Distribution of Daily Person Miles of Travel per Person by Mode of Transportation and 

Trip Purpose, Adjusted 1990 and 1995 NPTS, 2001 and 2009 NHTS................................. 24-25

Table 13. Average Daily Person Trips per Person by Age and Gender.....................................26

Table 14. Person Miles of Travel per Person by Age and Gender.............................................28

Table 15. Average Minutes Spent Driving a Private Vehicle in a Typical Day by MSA Size ......31

Table 16. Average Vehicle Occupancy for Selected Trip Purpose 1977, 1983, 1990, and 1995 

NPTS, and 2001 and 2009 NHTS (Person Miles per Vehicle Mile). ..........................................33

Table 17. Number (Thousands) and Percent of Households by Availability of Household 

Vehicles ....................................................................................................................................34

Table 18. Distribution of Households by Household Vehicle Availability & Population Density ..36

Table 19. Percent of Households without a Vehicle within MSA Size Group .............................38

Table 20. Percent of Vehicles and Average Vehicle Age by Vehicle Type.................................39

Table 21. Distribution of Vehicles by Vehicle Age and Vehicle Type .........................................40

Table 22. Average Annual Miles per Vehicle by Vehicle Age (Vehicle Owner’s Estimate).........42

Table 23. Average Annual Miles per Licensed Driver By Driver Age and Gender......................43

Table 24. Commute Trips and VMT and Total VMT by Year .....................................................44

Table 25. Distribution of Workers by Usual Commute Mode .....................................................46

Table 26. Usual Commute Mode to Work vs. Actual Work Trip Mode on Travel Day ................47

Table 27. General Commute Patterns by Mode of Transportation.............................................48

Table 28. Average Commute Speed by MSA Size ....................................................................50

Table 29. Distribution of Person Trips by Start Time of Trip ......................................................51

Table 30. Daily Travel Statistics by Weekday vs. Weekend ......................................................53

Table 31. Daily Travel Statistics of People 65 and Older 1983, 1990, and 1995 NPTS ............54

Table 32. Selected Data for Older Population Groups...............................................................55
Summary of Travel Trends

TABLE OF CONTENTS iv

Table 33. Vehicle Miles of Travel (VMT) per day for Younger Population Groups by Urban and 

Rural Household Location 2009 NHTS. ....................................................................................56

Table 34. Annual Expenditures on Gasoline by Urban and Rural Households by Number of 

Vehicles 2001 and 2009 NHTS. ................................................................................................57

Table 35. Average Number of On-Line Purchases and Deliveries to U.S. Households in the Last 

Month 2009 NHTS. ...................................................................................................................58

Table 36. Special Commute Characteristics by General Occupation.........................................59

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1. Changes in Summary Statistics on Demographics and Total Travel ........................... 8

Figure 2. Trends in the Distribution of Person Trips per Person by Gender and Trip Purpose...22

Figure 3. Average Daily Person Trips by Age............................................................................27

Figure 4. Average Daily Person Miles of Travel per Person by Gender 1983, 1990, .................29

Figure 5. Average Time Spent in a Vehicle by Age, 2001 and 2009 NHTS. ..............................30

Figure 6. Average Time Spent In Vehicles and Miles Traveled .................................................32

Figure 7. Trends in Household Distribution by Number of Household Vehicles .........................35

Figure 8. Percent of Households by Vehicle Ownership and Population Density.......................37

Figure 9. Distribution of Vehicles by Vehicle Age ......................................................................41

Figure 10. Trends in the Distribution of Workers by Usual Commute Mode...............................45

Figure 11. Average Commute Speeds by MSA Size (All Modes) ..............................................49

Figure 12. Distribution of Vehicle Trips by Trip Purpose and Start Time of Trip.........................52
2009 National Household Travel Survey (NHTS)

INTRODUCTION 1

SUMMARY OF TRAVEL TRENDS:

2009 National Household Travel Survey

1.0 INTRODUCTION

The National Household Travel Survey (NHTS) is the flagship survey of the U.S. Department of 

Transportation (DOT) and is conducted periodically to assess the mobility of the American 

public. The survey gathers trip-related data such as mode of transportation, duration, distance, 

and purpose, and then links the travel related information to demographic, geographic, and 

economic data for analysis. Policy makers, individual state DOTs, metropolitan planning 

organizations, industry professionals, and academic researchers use the data to gauge the 

extent and patterns of travel, to plan new investments, and for innumerable applications of data 

on trends in travel for policy and planning. 

The 2009 NHTS is a nationally representative survey of travel behavior conducted from April 

2008 through April 2009. This latest in the series updates information gathered in the 

Nationwide Personal Transportation Survey (NPTS) conducted in 1969, 1977, 1983, 1990, and 

1995, and the National Household Travel Survey conducted in 2001. The 2009 NHTS sample 

design was composed of two major sample units. The first sample unit contained 25,000

households representing all 50 U.S. States and the District of Columbia. The second unit was 

the Add-On sample, which consisted of 20 states and Metropolitan Planning Organizations 

(MPOs) who collectively purchased an additional 125,000 household samples for their 

respective regions. These two sample units brought the 2009 NHTS sample size to about 

150,000 households and 300,000 people.

During the survey period, each household was sent a travel diary and asked to report all travel 

by household members on a randomly assigned “travel day”. Interviewers followed up with a 

phone call that collected detailed information about their travel from each household member. 

Travel days for daily-travel trip reporting were assigned for all seven days of the week, including 

all holidays. Data were weighted to correctly reflect the day of week and month of travel to 

allow comparisons of weekdays or seasons. 

This report uses 2009 NHTS data to highlight travel trends over the forty year data series. There 

are nine chapters, with each chapter representing a topic in travel behavior. The first section of 

statistical data focuses on demographic trends of households, persons, vehicles, and workers. 

The next chapter provides statistical data on overall household travel. Person travel, private 

vehicle travel, vehicle use, and commute travel patterns are discussed in subsequent sections 

of this report. The final chapter highlights travel behavior of special populations and some new 

data elements from the 2009 NHTS. The research findings in this report do not include a 

detailed analysis of the 2009 NHTS data set in its entirety, but provide an overview of available 

data.
Summary of Travel Trends

INTRODUCTION 2

1.1. PROFILE OF 2009 NHTS

Coverage: The NHTS collected travel data from a national sample of the civilian, noninstitutionalized population of the United States. The survey was conducted using Computer 

Assisted Telephone Interviewing (CATI) technology. The sample frame was a list-assisted 

Random-Digit Dialing (RDD) set of telephone numbers, which excludes telephones in 

businesses, hotels and motels, and group quarters (such as nursing homes, prisons, barracks, 

convents, or monasteries).

Telephones in dorm rooms, group homes, and fraternity and sorority houses were eligible for 

sampling, provided that the residence had less than 10 unrelated household members sharing 

the same phone line. Therefore, students who normally reside at school but were living at home 

for the summer were not considered household members at their parents’ home.

Household members included people who regularly reside in the sampled household and 

considered it as their primary place of residence. It included persons who usually stay in the 

household but were temporarily away on business, vacation, or in a hospital. It did not include 

family members temporarily staying with relatives in the household, such as a mother-in-law 

visiting her newborn grandchild. 

When: The 2009 NHTS was conducted over a 13-month period from April 2008 through April 

2009. Travel days were assigned for all seven days, including holidays. The first assigned travel 

day was on March 28, 2008 and the last assigned travel day was on April 30, 2009.

Sample Size: The 2009 NHTS sample size was 150,147 households, including a national 

sample of 25,000 completed households and separate samples from twenty add-on areas that 

together added 125,147 completed households:

• California DOT ;

• Florida DOT;

• Georgia DOT;

• Indiana DOT;

• Iowa DOT;

• New York DOT;

• North Carolina DOT;

• South Carolina DOT; 

• South Dakota DOT;

• Tennessee DOT;

• Texas DOT;

• Vermont DOT;

• Virginia DOT;

• Wisconsin DOT;

• Chittenden County MPO; Vermont

• Linn County Regional Planning Commission, Iowa;

• Maricopa Association of Governments, Arizona;
2009 National Household Travel Survey (NHTS)

INTRODUCTION 3

• Pima Association of Governments, Arizona;

• Piedmont Authority for Regional Transportation, North Carolina; and

• Omaha-Council Bluffs Metro Area Planning Agency, Nebraska

Contents: The NHTS serves as the nation’s inventory of daily personal travel. It includes data,

but is not limited to:

• Household information on the relationship of household members, home ownership and 

type, income, location characteristics, and other demographic information;

• Facts on persons in sampled households including age, education level, worker status, 

driver status, annual miles driven, and disabilities impacting travel;

• Information on each household vehicle, including year, make, model, odometer reading 

(mileage accrual) and estimates of annual miles, length of vehicle ownership, and fuel 

costs;

• Data about drivers, including information on travel as part of work;

• Data about one-way trips taken during a designated 24-hour period (the household’s 

designated travel day), including the time the trip began and ended, length of trip, 

composition of the travel party, mode of transportation, purpose of the trip, and the 

specific vehicle used (if a household vehicle);

• Information to describe characteristics of the geographic area in which the sample 

household and workplace of sample persons are located;

• Statistics on telecommuting, self-employed workers, and employees who work at home;

• Information on travel to school for children;

• Attitudinal questions on the public’s perceptions of the transportation system;

• Data on frequency of internet shopping and deliveries to the household;

• The number of transit, walk, bike, and motorcycle trips made over the previous week or 

month.

For more information on the 2009 survey methodology and procedures, please consult: User’s 

Guide for the Public Use Data Files, 2009 National Household Travel Survey available at: 

http://nhts.ornl.gov/2009/usersguide/index/shtml.

1.2.IMPROVEMENTS IN THE NPTS/NHTS SERIES

The core elements of the NHTS series remained unchanged from earlier surveys; there were 

moderate changes to the 2009 NHTS. Those improvements include the following:

• Data Collection – Previous surveys collected both travel day and travel period 

information. The 2009 NHTS was modified to eliminate retrospective collection of long 

distance trip data. Detailed travel information was only collected on “daily travel”.

• Odometer Reading – In prior years, the NHTS included two odometer readings.

However, second odometer readings for household vehicles were not collected in 2009.

• Eligible Household Members – Only household members who were 5 years and older 

were eligible to participate in the 2009 interview process. In 2001, all members were 
Summary of Travel Trends

INTRODUCTION 4

eligible to participate regardless of age. However, previous surveys had collected data 

about people aged 5 and older. 

• Safe Routes to Schools –Safe Routes to Schools data was a significant addition to the 

2009 NHTS. In households with at least one child aged 5-15 years old, a random 

selection of one child per household was made to obtain information about the youth’s 

travel to school and the safety concerns of his or her parents. Separate weights are 

provided for these children.

• Hybrid Vehicles – The 2009 NHTS was the first time data was collected on hybrid and 

alternate fuel vehicles. For each vehicle in the household with a model year of 2002 or 

newer, we asked if it was a hybrid or alternate fuel use vehicle. 

• Employment Questions - Additional questions were added to better understand details 

of work-related travel; such as whether the worker can set or alter their work schedule, 

whether the worker has the option of working from home, frequency of working at home, 

and self-employed status. 

• Internet Purchases and Deliveries to the Home - Questions were added about 

purchases made through the internet and whether those purchases were delivered to

the subjects’ home. These questions were added to provide help understand how 

commerce via the internet impacts trip making. 

• Most Recent Trip – If the respondent reported no travel on the assigned day, the 

number of days since the respondent last traveled was reported. If that was more than 7 

days, the respondent was asked whether they would like to travel more frequently. 

• Geocoding – 2009 NHTS changed from post-processing location data to real-time 

interactive online geocoding during the interview. If the address information failed in the 

online coding, an off-line geo-coding operation that used multiple databases and detailed 

manual searches to determine the location was used. 

• Weighting –The process for calculating the weights was more detailed that previous 

surveys. Several stages of weight generation and adjustment were used. Taken as a 

whole, the final analytic weight reflects a household’s chance of selection, adjustments 

for nonparticipation, and a final alignment to Census population estimates. The final 

analytic weight was used to generate approximate transportation measures. 

1.3. SOURCE AND ACCURACY STATEMENT 

Public-use national data from the 2009 NHTS is available for download and for on-line analysis 

on the NHTS website (http://nhts.ornl.gov). Weights and replicates are provided for each of the 

data files. Weights match the sample of households and persons to the population for 

demographic characteristics and geographic levels, and replicate weights are used to calculate 

the margin of error of each estimate.

Please note that in this document, the estimates from the 2001 data excludes persons aged 0-4 

since such persons were not included in the 1990, 1995, and 2009 surveys. 
2009 National Household Travel Survey (NHTS)

INTRODUCTION 5

1.4. RELIABILITY OF THE ESTIMATES

An estimate based on a sample survey has two types of errors -- sampling error and nonsampling error. The estimated standard errors provided in this document are approximations of 

the true sampling errors. They do incorporate the effect of some non-sampling errors in 

response and enumeration, but do not account for any systematic biases in the data.

Non-sampling error. The full extent of non-sampling error is unknown, but great effort has been 

made to quantify some sources of non-sampling error. Non-sampling errors in surveys can be 

attributed to many sources, for example, the inability to obtain information about all persons in 

the sample; differences in the interpretation of questions; inability or unwillingness of 

respondents to provide correct information; inability of respondents to recall information; errors 

made in collecting and processing the data; errors made in estimating values for missing data; 

and failure to represent all sample households and all persons within sample households 

(known as under-coverage).

Under-coverage in the NHTS results from missed housing units and missed persons within 

sample households. It is known that the NHTS under-coverage varies with income, race, and 

Hispanic origin, and household tenure (owner/renter). Generally in the U.S., under-coverage is 

larger for Blacks, Hispanics, and other races than for Whites. The weighting process adjusts for 

some non-response by matching independent age-sex-race-ethnicity population controls, which 

partially corrects for the biases due to survey under-coverage. However, biases exist in the 

estimates to the extent that missed persons in missed households or missed persons in 

interviewed households have characteristics different from those of interviewed persons in the 

same age-sex-race-origin group.

Sampling error. When a sample, rather than the entire population, is surveyed, estimates differ 

from the true population values that they represent. This difference, or sampling error, occurs by 

chance, and its variability is measured by the standard error of the estimate. In this document 

the standard error is presented as the confidence interval (CI) or margin of error (MOE). 

Sample estimates from a given survey design are unbiased when an average of the estimates 

from all possible samples would yield, hypothetically, the true population value. In this case, the 

sample estimate and its standard error can be used to construct approximate confidence 

intervals, or ranges of values that include the true population value with known probabilities. 

The confidence intervals here are presented at the 95 percent level. To construct the bounds of 

the margin of error—that is a high estimate and a low estimate—the confidence interval is 

added to and subtracted from the estimate given. For example, if the estimate is 500 and the CI 

or margin of error is 2, then in 95 repeated samples the estimates obtained would fall between 

498 and 502, and therefore there is 95 percent confidence that this range bounds the true 

population value.

For example, Table 3 shows the NHTS 2009 estimate for person trips per person of 3.79 and a 

95% confidence interval of 0.03. If 100 surveys were conducted at the same time period using 

the same sample and design as the NHTS 2009, 95 of the 100 estimates of person trips from 
Summary of Travel Trends

INTRODUCTION 6

those repeated surveys would fall between 3.76 and 3.82. So there is 95 percent confidence 

that this range of the estimate of person trips includes the true value.

With a data series such as the NHTS, calculating the confidence interval allows the analyst to 

assess what might be a real trend from one survey to the next and what might just be random 

movement in the estimate. Resources were not available at the current time to construct 

confidence intervals for all of the estimates in the data series. For the trends analysis presented 

here the confidence interval is compared to the point estimate for 2001. For researchers who 

want to look deeper into a specific estimate, the resources to calculate margin of error for the 

previous surveys are available on the NHTS website located at http://nhts.ornl.gov.
2009 National Household Travel Survey (NHTS)

TRAVEL AND DEMOGRAPHICS SUMMARY 7

2.0 TRAVEL AND DEMOGRAPHICS SUMMARY

Table 1. Summary Statistics on Demographic Characteristics and Total Travel

1969, 1977, 1983, 1990, and 1995 NPTS, and 2001 and 2009 NHTS (Millions).

Note: 

• Children aged 0-4 are excluded from 2001 NHTS.

• All tables reporting totals could include some unreported characteristics.

• MOE is Margin of Error. CI is Confidence Interval. Margin of Error calculated using jackknife method and replicate 

weights.

• 1990 person and vehicle trips were adjusted to account for survey collection method changes (see 2001 Summary of 

Travel Trends Appendix 2). The survey collection method was changed from a one-stage survey in 1990 (with 

retrospective collection of travel day trips) to a two-stage survey with a travel diary in 1995 and later. The result of 

this improvement was to increase the accuracy and number of trips reported and to decrease the survey response rate. 

1969 1977 1983 1990 (adj) 1995 2001 2009 95% CI (MOE)

Households (000)

All 62,504 75,412 85,371 93,347 98,990 107,365 113,101 -

1 person 10,980 16,214 19,354 22,999 24,732 27,718 31,741 106

2 persons 18,448 22,925 27,169 30,114 31,834 35,032 37,728 135

3 persons 10,746 13,046 14,756 16,128 16,827 17,749 18,104 257

4+ persons 22,330 23,227 24,092 24,106 25,597 26,867 25,528 243

Persons (000)

All 197,213 213,141 229,453 239,416 259,994 257,577 283,054 -

Under 16 60,100 54,958 53,682 54,303 61,411 44,985 44,724 441

16-19 14,598 16,552 15,268 13,851 14,074 14,296 19,414 743

20-34 40,060 52,252 60,788 59,517 59,494 57,680 50,844 1,089

35-64 62,982 66,988 75,353 82,480 93,766 103,296 129,202 874

65+ 19,473 22,391 24,362 26,955 31,249 32,884 38,870 0

All 16+ 137,113 158,183 175,771 182,803 198,583 208,155 238,330 441

All Male 94,465 102,521 111,514 114,441 126,553 125, 321 139,257 81

All Male 16+ 66,652 74,542 83,645 86,432 95,627 100,308 116,421 338

All Female 102,748 110,620 117,939 124,975 133,441 132,240 143,797 81

All Female 16+ 73,526 83,721 92,080 96,371 102,956 107,847 121,908 338

All 5+ NA 198,434 212,932 222,101 241,675 257,576 283,054 -

All Male 5+ NA 95,050 102,633 106,209 117,636 125,321 139,257 81

All Female 5+ NA 103,384 110,299 115,892 124,039 132,239 143,797 81

Licensed Drivers (000)

All 102,986 127,552 147,015 163,025 176,330 190,425 212,309 959

Male 57,981 66,199 75,639 80,289 88,480 94,651 106,813 709

Female 45,005 61,353 71,376 82,707 87,851 95,773 105,496 631

Workers (000)

All 75,758 93,019 103,244 118,343 131,697 145,272 151,373 893

Male 48,487 55,625 58,849 63,996 71,105 78,264 81,939 769

Female 27,271 37,394 44,395 54,334 60,593 67,007 69,434 728

Household Vehicles (000)

72,500 120,098 143,714 165,221 176,067 201,308 210,778 918

Household Vehicle Trips (000,000)

87,284 108,826 126,874 193,916 229,745 233,030 233,849 2,381

Household VMT (000,000) 

775,940 907,603 1,002,139 1,695,290 2,068,368 2,274,769 2,245,111 56,157

Person Trips (000,000)

145,146 211,778 224,385 304,471 378,930 384,485 392,023 3,644

Person Miles of Travel (000,000)

1,404,137 1,879,215 1,946,662 2,829,936 3,411,122 3,783,979 3,732,791 141,396
Summary of Travel Trends

TRAVEL AND DEMOGRAPHICS SUMMARY 8

During the past four decades, the growth in workers and drivers has far outpaced the growth in 

households and persons.

However, the growth in the number of vehicles has outpaced all other indicators. Since 1969, the 

annual rate of increase in the number of personal vehicles was almost one and one-half times the 

annual rate of increase in the number of drivers.

Figure 1. Changes in Summary Statistics on Demographics and Total Travel 

1969, 1977, 1983, 1990, and1995 NPTS, and 2001 and 2009 NHTS.

Note:

• The1969 NPTS did not include pick-up trucks as household vehicles, therefore the growth between 

1969 and 1977 is exaggerated.

1.0

1.5

2.0

2.5

3.0

3.5

1969 1977 1983 1990 1995 2001 2009

Indexed (1969=1.0)

Vehicles

Drivers

Workers

Households

Persons
2009 National Household Travel Survey (NHTS)

TRAVEL AND DEMOGRAPHICS SUMMARY 9

While household size has declined in the U.S., all other major travel indicators increased between 

1969 and 2009. Over the last four decades the typical American household acquired more 

vehicles, more drivers, and more workers. In the Northeast there are slightly less vehicles per 

driver than any other region, while the West and the Midwest regions have the highest vehicle 

ownership.

Table 2. Major Travel Indicators by Survey Year and Region

1969, 1977, 1983, 1990 and 1995 NPTS, and 2001 and 2009 NHTS.

Major Travel Indicators by Survey Year

1969 1977 1983 1990 1995 2001 2009

Persons per household 3.16 2.83 2.69 2.56 2.63 2.58 2.50

Vehicles per household 1.16 1.59 1.68 1.77 1.78 1.89 1.86

Licensed drivers per 

household 1.65 1.69 1.72 1.75 1.78 1.77 1.88

Vehicles per licensed driver 0.7 0.94 0.98 1.01 1.00 1.06 0.99

Workers per household 1.21 1.23 1.21 1.27 1.33 1.35 1.34

Vehicles per worker 0.96 1.29 1.39 1.40 1.34 1.39 1.39

2009 Major Travel Indicators by Region

Census 

Region

Persons 

per 

Household

Vehicles 

per 

Household

Drivers per 

Household

Vehicles 

per Driver

Workers 

per 

Household

Vehicles 

per Worker

ALL 2.50 1.86 1.88 0.99 1.34 1.39

Northeast 2.49 1.58 1.81 0.87 1.37 1.15

Midwest 2.40 1.95 1.85 1.06 1.31 1.49

South 2.48 1.89 1.87 1.01 1.30 1.46

West 2.65 1.96 1.97 1.00 1.41 1.39

Note:

• The 1969 survey does not include pickups and other light trucks as household vehicles.

• 2009 margin of error is too small to show (within third decimal).
Summary of Travel Trends

TRAVEL AND DEMOGRAPHICS SUMMARY 10

The trends data indicate that the per capita growth in travel that the U.S. experienced over the last four 

decades may be slowing. Statistically, of the ten major travel indicators shown in Table 3, in 2009

seven estimates were lower than the same estimate in 2001 estimates and the remainder are 

statistically the same (within the confidence interval).

Importantly, all of the travel estimates related to households are slightly lower in 2009 than 2001--

including person and vehicle trips and the average daily person and vehicle miles generated by U.S.

households. The longstanding decline in household size continued between 2001 and 2009. In 

addition, the average number of vehicle trips and vehicle miles of travel per driver are significantly 

lower than the 2001 estimate. The data shows both average person trip length and average vehicle 

trip length to be about the same as in 2001 (that is, within the confidence interval).

Table 3. Summary of Travel Statistics

1969, 1977, 1983, 1990, and 1995 NPTS, and 2001 and 2009 NHTS.

 Note: 

• Average trip length is calculated using only those records with trip mileage information present. 

• 1990 person and vehicle trips were adjusted to account for survey collection method changes (see 

2001 Summary of Travel Trends Appendix 2).

• PMT is Person Miles of Travel. VMT is Vehicle Miles of Travel. CI is Confidence Interval. NPTS is 

Nationwide Personal Transportation Survey.

1969 1977 1983 1990 1995 2001 2009 95% CI 

Daily Person Trips 2.02 2.92 2.89 3.76 4.30 3.74 3.79 0.03

Daily PMT 19.51 25.95 25.05 34.91 38.67 36.89 36.13 1.35

Daily Vehicle Trips 2.32 2.34 2.36 3.26 3.57 3.35 3.02 0.03

Daily VMT 20.64 19.49 18.68 28.49 32.14 32.73 28.97 0.71

Daily Person Trips 6.36 7.69 7.20 8.94 10.49 9.66 9.50 0.09

Daily PMT 61.55 68.27 62.47 83.06 94.41 95.24 90.42 3.38

Daily Vehicle Trips 3.83 3.95 4.07 5.69 6.36 5.95 5.66 0.06

Daily VMT 34.01 32.97 32.16 49.76 57.25 58.05 54.38 1.34

Average person trip length (miles) 9.67 8.87 8.68 9.47 9.13 10.04 9.75 0.36

Average vehicle trip length (miles) 8.89 8.34 7.90 8.85 9.06 9.87 9.72 0.22

Per Trip

Per Household

Per Driver

Per Person
2009 National Household Travel Survey (NHTS)

TRAVEL AND DEMOGRAPHICS SUMMARY 11

Table 4 compares data from NHTS to data from other sources. Each data source has its own 

goals, scope, methodology, target population, and data validation and estimation procedures. 

Comparing between data sources is informative, but these differences should be kept in mind.

For example, NHTS estimates the resident population in non-group households in the U.S., has 

typically not been collected in a single calendar year. The Census provides annual estimates of 

resident and civilian population as of July 1st of each year.

Data on the number of licensed drivers are reported by Federal Highway Administration in the 

annual Highway Statistics report (Table DL-22). Note that the annual report shows the cumulative 

number of driver’s licenses issued, while NHTS estimates the number of people who are drivers 

and does not specifically ask for licensure status.

Similarly, the NHTS estimates characteristics of the household vehicle fleet, which consists of 

passenger vehicles (cars, station wagons, vans, SUVs, pick-ups and motorcycles) and does not 

include rental cars, company or government fleets, or taxis. Highway Statistics reports all vehicles, 

personal and commercial, categorized by vehicle type.

The analyst should keep in mind the scope, coverage, and methods for the data sources used for 

each analysis. Details about the scope, coverage, and methods for the NHTS are in the User’s 

Guide at: http://nhts.ornl.gov.
Summary of Travel Trends

TRAVEL AND DEMOGRAPHICS SUMMARY 12

Table 4. Comparison of Survey Estimates with Other Sources

(All Numbers in Thousands, Except VMT (Millions))

1969, 1977, 1983, 1990, and 1995 NPTS, and 2001 and 2009 NHTS.

Households Population

Licensed 

Drivers Workers Vehicles VMT

1969

Other Sources 61,806 199,145 108,306 -- 89,174 --

NPTS 62,504 197,213 102,986 72,500

1977

Other Sources 74,142 218,106 138,121 -- 132,155 --

NPTS 75,412 213,141 127,552 120,098

1983

Other Sources 83,918 232,086 154,389 -- 152,070 1,652,788

NPTS 85,371 229,453 147,015 143,714 1,002,139

1990

Other Sources 91,947 247,826 167,015 115,100 172,902 2,144,362

NPTS 93,347 239,416 163,025 118,343 165,221 1,695,290

1995

Other Sources 97,386 261,538 176,628 -- 180,735 2,422,775

NPTS 98,990 259,994 176,330 131,697 176,067 2,068,368

2001

Other Sources 108,209 285,318 191,276 128,300 205,551 2,781,462

NHTS 107,365 277,203 190,425 145,272 202,586 2,274,769

2009

Other Sources 117,181 307,007 208,321 146,266 231,490 2,973,509

NHTS 113,101 283,054 212,309 151,373 210,778 2,245,111

Other Sources:

• Households - 2009 CPS Households from Table AVG-http://www.census.gov/population/socdemo/hhfam/cps2009/tabAVG1.xls

• Population - 2009 estimate from http://www.census.gov/popest/states/tables/NST-EST2009-01.xls

• Drivers - 2008 estimate from Highway Statistics Table DL-22

http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/policyinformation/statistics/2008/dl22.cfm

• Workers - 1990, 2000 decennial Census and 2008 ACS Table S2408 Civilian Employed Population 16 

and over http://factfinder.census.gov/

• Vehicles and VMT - http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/policyinformation/statistics/2008/vm1.This includes all VMT, 

not just personal travel.

Notes:

• VMT is Vehicle Miles of Travel. NPTS is Nationwide Personal Transportation Survey.
2009 National Household Travel Survey (NHTS)

HOUSEHOLD TRAVEL 13

3.0 HOUSEHOLD TRAVEL

Overall, the decreases in person travel shown in Table 3 were indicated in household-generated 

travel. Table 5 shows the trends in person trips and person miles of travel (PMT) by purpose. 

While most estimates are statistically the same as in 2001, important exceptions include the 

significant decrease in person miles, person trips, and average person trip length for family and 

personal business (errands), and the decrease in person trips per household and average person 

trip length for shopping. Another significant change is the number of person trips per household to 

and from work; although the total PMT and average trip length to work have not changed (the 2001 

estimate is within the margin of error of the 2009 estimate).

Table 5. Average Annual PMT, Person Trips and Trip Length by Trip Purpose

1969, 1977, 1983, 1990, and 1995 NPTS, and 2001 and 2009 NHTS.

Note: 

• Average person trip length is calculated using only those records with trip mileage information present.

• 1990 person and vehicle trips were adjusted to account for survey collection method changes (see 2001 

Summary of Travel Trends Appendix 2).

• 1995 Vehicle Miles of Travel (VMT) and vehicle trips with "To or From Work" as a trip purpose is believed to be 

overstated.

• “Other Family/Personal Errands” includes personal business and medical/dental. Please see Appendix A -

Glossary for definition. 

• PMT is Person Miles of Travel. CI is Confidence Interval.

Trip Purpose 1983 1990 1995 2001 2009 95% CI

All Purposes 22,802 30,316 34,459 35,244 33,004 1,235.1

To/From Work 4,586 5,637 7,740 6,706 6,256 170.1

Work Related Business 1,354 1,043 1,987 2,987 2,078 247.2

Shopping 2,567 3,343 4,659 4,887 4,620 181.4

Other Family/Personal Errands 3,311 7,167 7,381 6,671 5,134 222.8

School/Church 1,522 1,599 1,973 2,060 2,049 123.0

Social and Recreational 8,964 11,308 10,571 10,586 9,989 585.8

Other 500 214 131 1,216 2,878 864.6

All Purposes 2,628 3,262 3,828 3,581 3,466 31.8

To/From Work 537 539 676 565 541 7.9

Work Related Business 62 38 100 109 106 7.4

Shopping 474 630 775 707 725 14.6

Other Family/Personal Errands 456 854 981 863 748 13.9

School/Church 310 304 337 351 333 9.8

Social and Recreational 728 874 953 952 952 14.1

Other 61 22 6 30 61 4.1

All Purposes 8.7 9.5 9.1 10.0 9.7 0.4

To/From Work 8.5 10.7 11.6 12.1 11.8 0.3

Work Related Business 21.8 28.2 20.3 28.3 20.0 2.0

Shopping 5.4 5.4 6.1 7.0 6.5 0.2

Other Family/Personal Errands 7.3 8.6 7.6 7.8 7.0 0.3

School/Church 4.9 5.4 6.0 6.0 6.3 0.3

Social and Recreational 12.3 13.2 11.3 11.4 10.7 0.6

Other 8.2 10.3 22.8 43.1 51.5 14.5

Average Annual PMT per Household

Average Annual Person Trips per Household

Average Person Trip Length (miles)
Summary of Travel Trends

HOUSEHOLD TRAVEL 14

Table 6 shows the trends in vehicle trips and vehicle miles of travel (VMT) by purpose. In 2009, a 

typical household generated slightly fewer vehicle trips and vehicle miles than in 2001--the lower 

estimates for the number of vehicle trips and vehicle miles are statistically significant for all trip 

purposes except social and recreational travel and shopping. 

Interestingly, the vehicle miles of travel for social and recreational purposes were significantly 

lower than 2001, but the number of trips remained the same, indicating that people drove to a 

similar number of social and recreational activities but chose places closer to home. The number 

of vehicle trips and vehicle miles of travel for shopping stayed about the same as in 2001.

As with person miles and person trips, the decline in vehicle miles and vehicle trips for commuting 

and for family and personal errands is also notable. Note that the average vehicle trip length to 

work was about the same as in 2001, while the household-generated vehicle miles and vehicle 

trips for work have declined.

Although U.S. households took fewer vehicle trips overall, the average vehicle trip length remained 

the same for all trip purposes. None of the differences in average vehicle trip length are 

statistically significant.
2009 National Household Travel Survey (NHTS)

HOUSEHOLD TRAVEL 15

Table 6. Average Annual VMT, Vehicle Trips and Trip Length by Selected Trip Purposes

1969, 1977, 1983, 1990, and 1995 NPTS, and 2001 and 2009 NHTS.

Note:

• Average vehicle trip length is calculated using only those records with trip mileage information present.

• “Other Family/Personal Errands” includes personal business and medical/dental. Please see Appendix A -

Glossary for definition.

• “All Purposes” includes other purposes not shown above, such as trips to school, church, doctor, dentist, and 

work-related business trips.

• 1995 Vehicle Miles of Travel (VMT) and vehicle trips with “To or From Work” as a trip purpose is believed to be 

overstated.

• 1990 person and vehicle trips were adjusted to account for survey collection method changes (see 2001 

Summary of Travel Trends Appendix 2).

• NPTS is Nationwide Personal Transportation Survey. CI is Confidence Interval.

Trip Purpose 1969 1977 1983 1990 1995 2001 2009 95% CI

All Purposes 12,423 12,036 11,739 18,161 20,895 21,187 19,850 490.5

To or From Work 4,183 3,815 3,538 4,853 6,492 5,724 5,513 146.7

Shopping 929 1,336 1,567 2,178 2,807 3,062 2,979 95.9

Other Family/Personal Errands 1,270 1,444 1,816 4,250 4,307 3,956 3,515 120.1

Social and Recreational 4,094 3,286 3,534 5,359 4,764 5,186 4,842 257.8

All Purposes 1,396 1,442 1,486 2,077 2,321 2,171 2,068 20.8

To or From Work 445 423 414 448 553 479 457 7.8

Shopping 213 268 297 431 501 459 468 9.2

Other Family/Personal Errands 195 215 272 579 626 537 500 9.2

Social and Recreational 312 320 335 460 427 441 436 8.4

All Purposes 8.9 8.4 7.9 8.9 9.1 9.9 9.7 0.2

To or From Work 9.4 9.0 8.6 11.0 11.8 12.1 12.2 0.3

Shopping 4.4 5.0 5.3 5.1 5.6 6.7 6.4 0.2

Other Family/Personal Errands 6.5 6.7 6.7 7.4 6.9 7.5 7.1 0.2

Social and Recreational 13.1 10.3 10.6 11.8 11.2 11.9 11.2 0.6

 Average Annual VMT per Household

 Average Annual Vehicle Trips per Household

 Average Vehicle Trip Length (miles)
Summary of Travel Trends

HOUSEHOLD TRAVEL 16

Table 7. Average Annual Person Trips Per Household by Mode of Transportation and

MSA Size 1977, 1983, 1990, and 1995 NPTS, and 2001 and 2009 NHTS.

Mode of Transportation

SMSA or MSA Size 1977 1983 1990 1995 2001 2009 95% CI

Private

ALL 2,351 2,152 2,861 3,307 3,090 2,892 30

Not in (S)MSA 2,436 2,322 2,837 3,492 3,076 2,898 72

Less than 250,000 2,517 2,375 3,090 3,503 3,304 2,980 118

250,000 - 499,999 2,574 2,443 3,014 3,472 3,251 2,950 141

500,000 - 999,999 2,628 2,140 2,957 3,509 3,348 3,020 144

1,000,000 - 2,999,999 2,366 2,031 2,986 3,354 3,174 2,951 74

3,000,000 and above 1,785 1,691 2,649 3,075 2,911 2,793 50

Public Transit

ALL 73 60 58 67 58 66 4

Not in (S)MSA 22 11 14 9 6 4 2

Less than 250,000 47 17 30 23 12 14 8

250,000 - 499,999 44 23 22 18 18 15 7

500,000 - 999,999 58 48 33 33 11 41 17

1,000,000 - 2,999,999 86 67 52 37 36 39 8

3,000,000 and above 189 181 124 137 128 148 11

 *Table 7 is continued on the following page.
2009 National Household Travel Survey (NHTS)

HOUSEHOLD TRAVEL 17

Table 7. Average Annual Person Trips Per Household by Mode of Transportation and

MSA Size 1977, 1983, 1990, and 1995 NPTS, and 2001 and 2009 NHTS.

Mode of Transportation

SMSA or MSA Size 1977 1983 1990 1995 2001 2009 95% CI

Walk

ALL 261 226 234 205 309 362 13

Not in (S)MSA 199 211 175 134 221 239 17

Less than 250,000 241 280 212 138 248 270 48

250,000 - 499,999 206 199 203 152 251 268 23

500,000 - 999,999 256 184 161 138 224 314 52

1,000,000 - 2,999,999 295 179 207 162 275 313 20

3,000,000 and above 396 330 337 301 423 514 29

ALL MODES

ALL 2,808 2,628 3,262 3,828 3,581 3,466 32

Not in (S)MSA 2,800 2,766 3,151 3,878 3,435 3,275 77

Less than 250,000 2,944 2,889 3,450 3,926 3,678 3,395 128

250,000 - 499,999 2,945 2,891 3,340 3,894 3,645 3,356 144

500,000 - 999,999 3,049 2,542 3,252 3,916 3,692 3,529 151

1,000,000 - 2,999,999 2,861 2,463 3,344 3,795 3,602 3,446 78

3,000,000 and above 2,459 2,326 3,213 3,765 3,593 3,614 55

Note:

• The population size groups for 1977 - 1983 NPTS are Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area (SMSA) Size 

Groups and 1990 - 2009 are Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) size groups.

• All modes include other modes not specified such as bike, school bus, taxi, and other.

• All tables reporting totals could include some unreported characteristics. 

• 1990 person and vehicle trips were adjusted to account for survey collection method changes (see 2001 

Summary of Travel Trends Appendix 2).

• Public transit includes local bus, commuter bus, commuter train, subway, trolley, and streetcar.

• Increases in walk trips in 2001 and 2009 are due, at least in part, to respondents being explicitly asked to 

include walk trips, which was not the case in prior surveys.

• NPTS is Nationwide Personal Transportation Survey. CI is Confidence Interval.
Summary of Travel Trends

HOUSEHOLD TRAVEL 18

Table 8 shows the trends in person trips per household by household income. Since 1990, the 

NHTS sample has only included households with telephones, so care should be taken in 

interpreting results that might be affected by telephone ownership (which is correlated with family 

income). For example, the data could underestimate trips made by low-income households. 

The data series clearly shows that more income is related to more travel, but the increase in 

person trips levels off at the highest income levels. Across the data series the highest income 

households make about two and one-half times as many person trips as the lowest income 

households.

Between the 2001 and 2009 NHTS, significant declines in personal travel were noted for all 

income groups except the lowest, with the largest declines in the middle-income households 

earning $40,000 to $60,000 a year.

Table 8. Annual Person Trips per Household by Household Income

1983, 1990, and 1995 NPTS, and 2001 and 2009 NHTS.

Income 1983 1990 1995 2001 2009 95% CI

ALL 2,628 3,262 3,828 3,581 3,466 31.8

< $10,000 1,407 2,098 2,137 2,046 2,100 156.3

$10 to $20,000 1,927 2,412 2,790 2,542 2,435 101.9

$20 to $30,000 2,376 3,008 3,522 3,065 2,854 121.4

$30 to $40,000 2,739 3,431 3,980 3,535 3,171 114.0

$40 to $50,000 3,037 3,791 4,298 3,905 3,321 135.7

$50 to $60,000 3,284 4,138 4,539 4,348 3,748 139.9

$60 to $70,000 3,485 4,458 4,726 4,545 4,178 208.2

$70 to $80,000 3,635 4,659 4,855 4,867 4,350 172.7

$80,000+ 3,602 4,570 4,829 4,934 4,815 87.5

Unreported 2,536 3,424 2,431 2,263 135.1

Note:

• Incomes for 1983, 1990, adjusted 1990, and 1995 have been adjusted to 2001 dollars.

• All tables reporting totals could include some unreported characteristics.

• 1990 person and vehicle trips were adjusted to account for survey collection method changes (see 2001 

Summary of Travel Trends Appendix 2).

• NPTS is Nationwide Personal Travel Survey. CI is Confidence Interval.
2009 National Household Travel Survey (NHTS)

PERSON TRAVEL 19

4.0 PERSON TRAVEL

Table 9. Annual Number (in Millions) and Percent of Person Trips by Mode of Transportation and Trip Purpose 

1990 and 1995 NPTS, and 2001 and 2009 NHTS.

*Table 9 is continued on the following page.

Note:

• All tables reporting totals could include some unreported characteristics.

• “Family/Personal Errands” includes personal business, shopping, and medical/dental. Please see Appendix A - Glossary for definition.

• 1990 person and vehicle trips were adjusted to account for survey collection method changes.

• The 1995 Vehicle Miles of Travel (VMT) and vehicle trips with “To or From Work” as a trip purpose as believed to overstated.

• Increases in walk trips between 1995 and 2009 are due, at least in part, to respondents being explicitly asked to include walk trips, which was not the 

case in prior surveys.

• Public transit includes local bus, commuter bus, commuter train, subway, trolley, and streetcar.

• NPTS is Nationwide Personal Transportation Survey. CI is Confidence Interval.

` 95% CI

Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent

Private Vehicle To/ From Work 45,856 91.2% 60,740 92.8% 56,054 92.4% 55,969 91.4% 941.4

Work-Related Business 3,178 90.3% 8,835 91.9% 10,648 91.2% 10,525 88.1% 767.1

Family/ Personal Errands 128,368 92.7% 156,065 92.6% 153,270 90.9% 146,158 87.8% 2487.7

School or Church 17,545 61.9% 22,436 69.6% 26,861 71.3% 26,654 70.7% 968.2

Social and Recreational 70,382 86.3% 78,809 87.6% 82,437 80.7% 82,887 76.9% 1583.2

Other 1,629 81.4% 470 83.2% 2,147 67.2% 4,925 71.0% 304.1

Total 267,029 87.8% 327,400 89.3% 331,791 86.3% 327,118 83.4% 3468.5

Transit To/ From Work 1,992 4.0% 2,328 3.6% 2,271 3.7% 2,247 3.7% 254.2

Work-Related Business 92 2.6% 123 1.3% 213 1.8% 264 2.2% 93.7

Family/ Personal Errands 1,318 1.0% 2,000 1.2% 1,776 1.1% 2,344 1.4% 264.7

School or Church 1,076 3.8% 826 2.6% 800 2.1% 829 2.2% 131.8

Social and Recreational 946 1.2% 1,350 1.5% 989 1.0% 1,426 1.3% 195.0

Other 35 1.7% 11 1.9% 134 4.2% 409 5.9% 114.5

Total 5,460 1.8% 6,638 1.8% 6,202 1.6% 7,520 1.9% 493.4

1990 1995 2001 2009
Summary of Travel Trends

PERSON TRAVEL 20

Table 9. Annual Number (in Millions) and Percent of Person Trips by Mode of Transportation and Trip Purpose 

1990 and 1995 NPTS, and 2001 and 2009 NHTS.

 95% CI

Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent

Walk To/ From Work 1,999 4.0% 1,510 2.3% 1,715 2.8% 1,854 3.0%

230.4

Work-Related Business

154 4.4% 240 2.4% 487 4.2% 684 5.7%

136.1

Family/ Personal Errands 7,722 5.6% 8,756 5.0% 11,936 7.1% 15,174 9.1%

818.7

School or Church 3,649 12.8% 2,925 8.8% 3,630 9.6% 3,542 9.4%

479.4

Social and Recreational 8,090 9.9% 6,845 7.3% 14,824 14.5% 18,833 17.5%

768.4

Other

265 13.2% 47 7.6% 507 15.9% 874 12.6%

157.6

Total 21,879 7.2% 20,325 5.4% 33,145 8.6% 40,962 10.4%

1493.1

Other To/ From Work

428 0.8% 887 1.3% 584 1.0% 1,144 1.9%

166.1

Work-Related Business

95 2.7% 417 4.2% 317 2.7% 469 3.9%

169.2

Family/ Personal Errands 1,087 0.8% 1,768 1.0% 1,468 0.9% 2,859 1.7% 337.3

School or Church 6,086 21.4% 6,035 18.1% 6,351 16.9% 6,651 17.7% 413.1

Social and Recreational 2,098 2.6% 2,954 3.1% 3,829 3.7% 4,576 4.2% 387.4

Other 73 3.6% 37 6.0% 394 12.3% 725 10.5% 135.1

Total 9,867 3.2% 12,099 3.2% 12.975 3.4% 16,424 4.2%

744.7

Total To/ From Work

50,314 100% 66,901 100% 60,690 100% 61,214 100%

901.9

Work-Related Business 3,529 100% 9,860 100% 11,676 100% 11,943 100% 849.2

Family/ Personal Errands 138,559 100% 173,764 100% 168,560 100% 166,535 100%

2536.5

School or Church 28,397 100% 33,355 100% 37,671 100% 37,676 100% 1119.2

Social and Recreational 81,575 100% 94,362 100% 102,165 100% 107,722 100% 1617.9

Other 2,014 100% 623 100% 3,198 100% 6,933 100% 468.3

Total 304,471 100% 378,930 100% 384,484 100% 392,023 100%

3644.5

1990 1995 2001 2009
2009 National Household Travel Survey (NHTS)

PERSON TRAVEL 21

Continuing trends noted previously, both men and women took fewer trips, on average, in 2009 than 

in 2001 and 1995. Travel by men decreased at a greater rate than travel by women. While 

traditionally less mobile than men, by 2001 women made about the same number of person trips, 

and by 2009 women made significantly more trips overall than men. 

According to the 2009 NHTS, women overall took more trips than men for family errands, including 

shopping. Men make significantly more trips to and from work, and for work related business. Men 

and women made about the same number of social and recreational trips (within the margin of 

error). 

Table 10. Annual Person Trips per Person by Trip Purpose and Gender

1990 and 1995 NPTS, and 2001 and 2009 NHTS.

Note:

• 1990 person and vehicle trips were adjusted to account for survey collection method changes (see 2001 

Summary of Travel Trends Appendix 2).

• 1995 Vehicle Miles of Travel (VMT) and vehicle trips with "To or From Work" as a trip purpose is believed to be

overstated.

• In this table, “Family/Personal Errands” includes personal business, shopping, medical/dental. Please see 

Appendix A - Glossary for definition.

• All tables reporting totals could include some unreported characteristics.

• NPTS is Nationwide Personal Transportation Survey. CI is Confidence Interval.

1990 1995 2001 2009 95% CI 1990 1995 2001 2009 95% CI

Total 1,401 1,558 1,494 1,401 16.4 1,339 1,579 1,491 1,368 15.7

Percent 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100%

To or From Work 197 229 200 193 4.7 259 327 273 241 4.6

Percent 14.06% 14.70% 13.39% 13.78% 19.34% 20.71% 18.31% 17.62%

Work Related 

Business 11 23 25 27 2.6 21 60 66 58 5.2

Percent 0.79% 1.48% 1.67% 1.93% 1.57% 3.80% 4.43% 4.24%

Family and Personal 

Errands 693 786 715 646 12.1 549 648 590 529 10.7

Percent 49.46% 50.45% 47.86% 46.11% 41.00% 41.04% 39.57% 38.67%

School/Church 132 141 151 138 4.5 123 134 141 128 5.3

Percent 9.42% 9.05% 10.11% 9.85% 9.19% 8.49% 9.46% 9.36%

Social and 

Recreational 358 375 389 375 7.2 377 406 405 386 7.9

Percent 25.55% 24.07% 26.04% 26.77% 28.16% 25.71% 27.16% 28.22%

Other 9 3 12 23 2.0 9 2 13 26 2.4

Percent 0.64% 0.19% 0.80% 1.64% 0.67% 0.13% 0.87% 1.90%

Women Men
Summary of Travel Trends

PERSON TRAVEL 22

One striking gender difference in travel is in the proportion of trips for work and non-work 

purposes. The 2009 NHTS shows that women make about 80 percent of the number of trips men 

make for commuting to and from work, while men make about 80 percent of the number of trips 

women make for shopping and family and personal errands. Forty-six percent of all person trips 

by women were for family and personal errands (e.g., grocery shopping, taking children to school 

or organized sports, everyday errands, and personal business.) The comparable proportion for 

men was 38 percent. 

This category of trips seems to have registered the greatest decline since 1995 for both men and 

women. Since it is a large, catch-all category further, research into the specific and detailed trends 

of travel changes within the category would be enlightening. 

Figure 2. Trends in the Distribution of Person Trips per Person by Gender and Trip Purpose 

1990 and 1995 NPTS, and 2001 and 2009 NHTS.

 *NPTS is Nationwide Personal Transportation Survey.

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

900

1990 1995 2001 2009 1990 1995 2001 2009

Women Men

Annual Person Trips per Person

To or From Work Family and Personal Errands Social and Recreational
2009 National Household Travel Survey (NHTS)

PERSON TRAVEL 23

Continuing the trends seen between 1995 and 2001, the number of person trips per day per 

person again decreased between 2001 and 2009. Reasons for this trend require further study, but 

could reflect the aging of the population, more people not in the workforce, increased use of 

communications technology, and other social or economic factors. 

The person miles of travel per person declined nearly ten percent from the 2001 estimate. On 

average (including travelers and non-travelers), a person 5 years or older traveled about 36 miles 

per day, with one-third for family errands, one-third for social and recreational purposes, and the 

remaining for other purposes including work.

Table 11. Daily Trip and Travel Rates per Person by Trip Purpose 

1977, 1983, 1990, and 1995 NPTS, and 2001 and 2009 NHTS.

1977 1983 1990 1995 2001 2009

95% 

CI

Person Trips per Day

Total 2.92 2.89 3.76 4.30 4.09 3.79 0.03

To or From Work 0.57 0.59 0.62 0.76 0.65 0.59 0.01

Family/Personal 

Errands 0.91 1.02 1.71 1.97 1.79 1.61 0.02

School/Church 0.35 0.34 0.35 0.38 0.4 0.36 0.01

Social and 

Recreational 0.71 0.8 1.01 1.07 1.09 1.04 0.02

Other 0.38 0.14 0.06 0.12 0.16 0.18 0.01

Person Miles of Travel per Day

Total 25.95 25.05 34.91 38.67 40.25 36.13 1.35

To or From Work 5.16 5.04 6.49 8.69 7.66 6.85 0.19

Family/Personal 

Errands 5.68 6.46 12.1 13.51 13.2 10.68 0.31

School/Church 1.61 1.67 1.84 2.21 2.35 2.24 0.13

Social and 

Recreational 7.81 9.85 13.02 11.86 12.09 10.93 0.64

Other 5.68 2.04 1.46 2.39 4.8 5.43 0.99

Note:

• All tables reporting totals could include some unreported characteristics.

• Trip rates are calculated including travelers and non-travelers, resulting in travel estimates per-capita.

• 1990 person and vehicle trips were adjusted to account for survey collection method changes (see 2001 

Summary of Travel Trends Appendix 2).

• The 1995 "To or From Work" person trips and person miles are believed to be overstated. Other trip purpose 

includes trips for work-related business.

• “Family/Personal Errands” includes personal business, shopping, medical/dental. Please see Appendix A -

Glossary for definition.

• NPTS is Nationwide Personal Transportation Survey. CI is Confidence Interval. 
Summary of Travel Trends

PERSON TRAVEL 24

In addition to fewer person trips, the average person traveled fewer miles overall in 2009 

compared to 1995 and 2001. The data indicates about 10 percent fewer miles by private vehicle 

and other means, but about the same number of miles by transit (the 2001 estimate is within the 

margin of error of 2009). 

As seen previously, the declines were significant in person miles of travel per person for work, 

personal and family errands, and social and recreational travel.

Table 12. Distribution of Daily Person Miles of Travel per Person by Mode of Transportation and 

Trip Purpose, Adjusted 1990 and 1995 NPTS, 2001 and 2009 NHTS.

 *Table 12 is continued on the following page. 

1990 1995 2001 2009 95% 

CI

1990 1995 2001 2009 95% 

CI

TOTAL 30.85 35.26 35.49 31.92 0.88 0.74 0.82 0.47 0.53 0.11

Percent 88.37% 91.18% 88.17% 88.35% 2.12% 2.12% 1.17% 1.47%

To or From Work 6.15 8.09 7.11 6.47 0.17 0.27 0.30 0.24 0.18 0.04

Percent 17.62% 20.92% 17.66% 17.91% 0.77% 0.78% 0.60% 0.50%

Work Related Business 0.63 1.85 2.27 1.88 0.21 0.01 0.02 0.01 0.02 0.01

Percent 1.80% 4.78% 5.64% 5.20% 0.03% 0.05% 0.02% 0.06%

Family/Personal Errands 11.39 12.7 12.77 10.30 0.32 0.14 0.19 0.10 0.10 0.02

Percent 32.63% 32.84% 31.73% 28.51% 0.40% 0.49% 0.25% 0.28%

School/Church 1.32 1.68 1.87 1.80 0.13 0.12 0.07 0.04 0.05 0.01

Percent 3.78% 4.34% 4.65% 4.98% 0.34% 0.18% 0.10% 0.14%

Social and Recreational 11.12 10.83 11.01 9.98 0.52 0.18 0.24 0.07 0.10 0.03

Percent 31.85% 28.01% 27.35% 27.62% 0.52% 0.62% 0.17% 0.28%

Other 0.23 0.10 0.36 1.49 0.35 0.01 0.00 0.00 0.08 0.09

Percent 0.66% 0.26% 0.89% 4.12% 0.03% 0.00% 0.00% 0.22%

Private Public Transit
2009 National Household Travel Survey (NHTS)

PERSON TRAVEL 25

Table 12. Distribution of Daily Person Miles of Travel per Person by Mode of Transportation and 

Trip Purpose, Adjusted 1990 and 1995 NPTS, 2001 and 2009 NHTS.

Note:

• All tables reporting totals could include some unreported characteristics.

• 1990 person and vehicle trips were adjusted to account for survey collection method changes (see 2001 

Summary of Travel Trends Appendix 2).

• In 2009, the mode “Bus” was divided into “Local Public Transit Bus,” “Commuter Bus,” “Charter/tour bus,”

and “City to city bus.” Only “Local Public Transit Bus” and “Commuter Bus” are included in public transit 

calculations, along with commuter train, subway, trolley, and streetcar.

• Percents are a percentage of total daily person miles of travel.

• NPTS is Nationwide Personal Transportation Survey. CI is Confidence Interval. 

1990 1995 2001 2009 95% 

CI

1990 1995 2001 2009 95% 

CI

TOTAL 3.31 2.2 4.10 3.68 0.96 34.91 38.67 40.25 36.13 1.35

Percent 9.48% 5.69% 10.19% 10.19% 100.00% 100.00% 100.00% 100.00%

To or From Work 0.06 0.22 0.30 0.20 0.09 6.49 8.69 7.66 6.85 0.19

Percent 0.17% 0.57% 0.75% 0.55% 18.59% 22.47% 19.03% 18.96%

Work Related Business 0.56 0.34 1.12 0.38 0.15 1.20 2.23 3.41 2.28 0.27

Percent 1.60% 0.88% 2.78% 1.05% 3.44% 5.77% 8.47% 6.31%

Family/Personal Errands 0.57 0.49 0.32 0.28 0.04 12.10 13.51 13.2 10.68 0.31

Percent 1.63% 1.27% 0.80% 0.77% 34.66% 34.94% 32.80% 29.56%

School/Church 0.40 0.44 0.44 0.40 0.03 1.84 2.21 2.35 2.24 0.13

Percent 1.15% 1.14% 1.09% 1.11% 5.27% 5.72% 5.84% 6.20%

Social and Recreational 1.71 0.66 1.01 0.85 0.35 13.02 11.86 12.09 10.93 0.64

Percent 4.90% 1.71% 2.51% 2.35% 37.30% 30.67% 30.04% 30.25%

Other 0.01 0.05 0.87 1.57 0.87 0.25 0.15 1.39 3.15 0.95

Percent 0.03% 0.13% 2.16% 4.35% 0.72% 0.39% 3.45% 8.72%

Other Means Total
Summary of Travel Trends

PERSON TRAVEL 26

Table 13. Average Daily Person Trips per Person by Age and Gender

1983, 1990, and 1995 NPTS, and 2001 and 2009 NHTS.

 Note:

• All tables reporting totals could include some unreported characteristics.

• 1990 person and vehicle trips were adjusted to account for survey collection method 

changes (see 2001 Summary of Travel Trends Appendix 2).

• NPTS is Nationwide Personal Travel Survey. CI is Confidence Interval.

1983 1990 1995 2001 2009 95% CI

Total 2.9 3.8 4.3 4.1 3.8 0.03

Under 16 2.3 3.1 3.7 3.4 3.2 0.07

16 to 20 3.3 4.2 4.6 4.1 3.5 0.11

21 to 35 3.5 4.4 4.6 4.3 3.9 0.09

36 to 65 2.9 3.9 4.6 4.5 4.2 0.05

Over 65 1.8 2.4 3.4 3.4 3.2 0.07

1983 1990 1995 2001 2009 95% CI

Total 2.9 3.7 4.3 4.1 3.7 0.04

Under 16 2.3 3 3.7 3.5 3.2 0.09

16 to 20 3.2 4.2 4.6 4.0 3.3 0.13

21 to 35 3.4 4.2 4.5 4.2 3.7 0.11

36 to 65 2.9 3.7 4.6 4.4 4.1 0.06

Over 65 2.2 2.8 3.9 3.8 3.5 0.10

1983 1990 1995 2001 2009 95% CI

Total 2.9 3.8 4.3 4.1 3.8 0.04

Under 16 2.3 3.1 3.8 3.4 3.2 0.10

16 to 20 3.4 4.2 4.7 4.2 3.7 0.15

21 to 35 3.5 4.6 4.8 4.5 4.1 0.12

36 to 65 3 4.1 4.6 4.5 4.3 0.06

Over 65 1.5 2.2 3 3.1 2.9 0.09

Age

Total

Age

Men

Age

Women
2009 National Household Travel Survey (NHTS)

PERSON TRAVEL 27

Men and women of all age groups reported fewer person trips in 2009 compared to 2001. Figure 3 

shows that the 2009 estimate of person trips per person was significantly lower for the entire 

population and for every age group. 

The chart shows the high and low 2009 estimates (the actual estimate plus and minus the 

confidence interval) compared to the actual 2001 estimate. The greatest decrease in trip-making 

was for people ages 16-20, followed by people ages 21-35. 

Figure 3. Average Daily Person Trips by Age

2001 and 2009 with Margin of Error (High and Low Estimates).

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

3.5

4

4.5

5

0.0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

2.5

3.0

3.5

4.0

4.5

5.0

Total Under 16 16 to 20 21 to 35 36 to 65 Over 65

Person Trips per Person per Day

Age Group

2009 High

2009 Low

2009 Est.

2001 Est.
Summary of Travel Trends

PERSON TRAVEL 28

Table 14. Person Miles of Travel per Person by Age and Gender

1983, 1990, and 1995 NPTS, and 2001 and 2009 NHTS.

Note:

• All tables reporting totals could include some unreported characteristics.

• 1990 person and vehicle trips were adjusted to account for survey collection method changes

(see 2001 Summary of Travel Trends Appendix 2).

• NPTS is Nationwide Personal Travel Survey. CI is Confidence Interval.

Total 25.1 34.9 38.7 40.2 36.1 1.4

Under 16 16.2 20.1 25 24.5 25.3 3.5

16 to 20 22.2 34.4 36.4 38.1 29.5 1.8

21 to 35 31.1 44.3 46 45.6 37.7 1.9

36 to 65 29.2 40.1 45.1 48.8 44.0 1.9

Over 65 12.0 18.4 24.4 27.5 24.0 1.2

2001 2009

Total 27.7 38.0 43.9 45.0 40.9 2.1

Under 16 16.8 20.3 23.7 24.6 27.2 6.3

16 to 20 23.0 36.9 37.6 34.1 28.2 2.3

21 to 35 32.8 48.2 51.3 49.8 40.5 2.8

36 to 65 33.6 43.4 53.2 57.7 50.9 3.0

Over 65 14.8 22.5 31.7 32.9 30.5 1.9

2001

Total 22.6 32.1 33.8 35.7 31.5 1.0

Under 16 15.4 19.9 26.2 24.4 23.3 2.7

16 to 20 21.5 32.2 35 42.5 31.0 2.8

21 to 35 29.5 40.7 40.8 41.5 35.0 2.3

36 to 65 25.2 37 37.5 40.4 37.0 1.6

Over 65 10.2 15.3 19.2 23.5 19.3 1.2

Age

TOTAL

1983 1990 1995 2001 2009 95% CI

Age

Men

1983 1990 1995 95% CI

Age

Women

1983 1990 1995 2009 95% CI
2009 National Household Travel Survey (NHTS)

PERSON TRAVEL 29

On average in 2009, men traveled about 10 more miles per day than women, although they also 

exhibited the greatest decline in miles per day since 2001. Overall, people reported traveling 36.1 

miles per day, by all means of transportation and for all purposes. 

Table 14 and Figure 4 show that women have traditionally traveled fewer miles per day than men, 

regardless of age. In their highly mobile age group of 35-65 years old, men travel over fifty miles 

per day per capita, which includes travelers and non travelers (Table 14). While women in this age 

group take more trips than men (Table 13), women's trips are markedly shorter.

Figure 4. Average Daily Person Miles of Travel per Person by Gender 1983, 1990, 

1995 NPTS, and 2001 and 2009 NHTS. 

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

1983 1990 1995 2001 2009

Daily Person Miles of Travel

Men

Women
Summary of Travel Trends

PERSON TRAVEL 30

The average amount of time spent in a vehicle (as a driver or passenger) was about an hour 

overall but varied greatly by an individual’s age. Minors (5-18) and older individuals (65 and over) 

spend the least amount of time in a vehicle, either as a driver or a passenger. Compared to 2001, 

Americans of all ages spent less time on an average day in a private vehicle. 

Figure 5. Average Time Spent in a Vehicle by Age, 2001 and 2009 NHTS.

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90

5-18

19-24

25-34

35-44

45-54

55-64

65+

Minutes per Day in a Vehicle as Driver or Passenger

2009 2001
2009 National Household Travel Survey (NHTS)

PRIVATE VEHICLE TRAVEL 31

5.0 PRIVATE VEHICLE TRAVEL

The average amount of time spent driving was calculated using two different methods: (1) by 

including all drivers, even those who did not drive a private vehicle on the designated travel day, 

and (2) by excluding any drivers who did not drive on the designated travel day. In 2009, drivers

spent fewer minutes in travel overall than in 2001, and those declines were seen in metropolitan 

areas of every size. People living in smaller cities generally spent slightly less time driving than 

those living in more populated areas. 

Table 15. Average Minutes Spent Driving a Private Vehicle in a Typical Day by MSA Size 

1990 and 1995 NPTS, and 2001 and 2009 NHTS.

All Drivers

MSA Size 1990 1995 2001 2009 95% CI

ALL 49.35 56.28 62.32 56.09 0.71

Rural, Not in MSA 48.85 56.47 61.83 55.87 1.80

< 250,000 48.36 53.98 60.22 55.01 4.02

250,000 to 499,999 47.82 55.96 59.63 54.79 2.68

500,000 to 999,999 50.20 56.91 62.59 55.21 2.36

1 to 2.9 million 50.61 56.48 62.89 56.20 1.76

3+ million 49.38 56.49 63.29 56.85 1.15

Only Persons Who Drove 

On Their Travel Day

MSA Size 1990 1995 2001 2009 95% CI

ALL 71.88 73.24 81.35 76.37 0.87

Rural, Not in MSA 69.20 72.96 81.74 76.28 2.13

< 250,000 67.94 69.35 76.40 73.30 4.75

250,000 to 499,999 71.66 71.72 76.50 72.55 3.42

500,000 to 999,999 72.42 73.35 79.34 73.57 2.86

1 to 2.9 million 74.38 72.19 79.55 73.64 1.96

3+ million 71.08 75.02 85.12 80.48 1.34

Note: 

• 1990 person and vehicle trips were adjusted to account for survey collection method changes 

(see 2001 Summary of Travel Trends Appendix 2).

• “Rural, Not in Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA)” includes only areas outside of MSAs. There 

may also be rural areas included within MSA boundaries. 

• NPTS is Nationwide Personal Transportation Survey. CI is Confidence Interval. 
Summary of Travel Trends

PRIVATE VEHICLE TRAVEL 32

Figure 6. Average Time Spent In Vehicles and Miles Traveled

2001 and 2009 NHTS.

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Rural, Not 

in a MSA

< 250M 250K - < 

500K

500K - < 

1M

1M - < 3M 3M+ Average

Minutes or Miles

2001 Minutes 2001 Miles 2009 Minutes 2009 Miles
2009 National Household Travel Survey (NHTS)

PRIVATE VEHICLE TRAVEL 33

The trend of declining vehicle occupancy may have started to reverse, as overall occupancy shows 

an increase in 2001 and 2009. In 2009, the rise in occupancy was the result of a significant rise in 

vehicle occupancy for social and recreational travel – changes in occupancy for other purposes 

were not noteworthy. The calculated occupancy in this table is miles-weighted, using the reported 

number of people on the trip and the length of the trip together.

Table 16. Average Vehicle Occupancy for Selected Trip Purpose 1977, 1983, 1990, and 1995 

NPTS, and 2001 and 2009 NHTS (Person Miles per Vehicle Mile).

Trip Purpose 1977 1983 1990 1995 2001 2009 95% CI

To or From Work 1.3 1.29 1.14 1.14 1.14 1.13 0.01

Shopping 2.1 1.79 1.71 1.74 1.79 1.78 0.05

Other Family/Personal 

Errands 2 1.81 1.84 1.78 1.83 1.84 0.04

Social and Recreational 2.4 2.12 2.08 2.04 2.03 2.20 0.06

All Purposes 1.9 1.75 1.64 1.59 1.63 1.67 0.03

Note:

• All purposes includes other trip purposes not shown, such as trips to school, church, and work-related business.

• “Other Family/Personal Errands” includes personal business and medical/dental. Please see Appendix A -

Glossary for definition.

• NPTS is Nationwide Personal Transportation Survey. CI is Confidence Interval. 
Summary of Travel Trends

VEHICLE USE AND AVAILABILITY 34

6.0 VEHICLE USE AND AVAILABILITY

Between 2001 and 2009, the number and percent of households with no vehicle available grew by 

nearly one million households, from 8.1 percent of all households to 8.7 percent. 

The biggest change was the growth in households with one vehicle—in the 2009 NHTS 32.3 percent 

of all households reported owning one vehicle, nearly 2.8 million more than in 2001.

The percent of households with two or more vehicles decreased slightly, from 60.4 percent of all 

households to 59.0 percent, while number of households with two or more vehicles increased by 

nearly 2 million households. 

Table 17. Number (Thousands) and Percent of Households by Availability of Household Vehicles 

1969, 1977, 1983, 1990, and 1995 NPTS, and 2001 and 2009 NHTS.

Note:

• The 1969 survey does not include pickups or other light trucks as household vehicles.

• Standard error of the estimate of household vehicles is too small to show (0.0000108).

• NPTS is Nationwide Personal Transportation Survey. CI is Confidence Interval. 

Households with -- 1969 1977 1983 1990 1995 2001 2009 95% 

CI

No Vehicle 12,876 11,538 11,548 8,573 7,989 8,716 9,828 49

Percent 20.6% 15.3% 13.5% 9.2% 8.1% 8.1% 8.7%

One Vehicle 30,252 26,092 28,780 30,654 32,064 33,757 36,509 302

Percent 48.4% 34.6% 33.7% 32.8% 32.4% 31.4% 32.3%

Two Vehicles 16,501 25,942 28,632 35,872 40,024 39,938 41,077 274

Percent 26.4% 34.4% 33.5% 38.4% 40.4% 37.2% 36.3%

Three or More Vehicles 2,875 11,840 16,411 18,248 18,914 24,955 25,688 270

Percent 4.6% 15.7% 19.2% 19.6% 19.1% 23.2% 22.7%

ALL 62,504 75,412 85,371 93,347 98,990 107,365 113,101 0

Percent 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100%

Vehicles Per 

Household 1.16 1.59 1.68 1.77 1.78 1.89 1.86 0.01
2009 National Household Travel Survey (NHTS)

VEHICLE USE AND AVAILABILITY 35

Approximately 40 million households have owned either zero or one vehicle since 1969. In 1969 

those forty million households represented nearly 70 percent of households, while in 2009 the 

same number is less than 40 percent of all households. 

On the other hand, just 2.8 million households in 1969 owned three or more vehicles, less than 5 

percent of all households. That number has grown by nearly tenfold--to 25 million households, 

which in 2009 represented 23 percent of all households.

Figure 7. Trends in Household Distribution by Number of Household Vehicles

1969, 1977, 1983, 1990 and 1995 NPTS, and 2001 and 2009 NHTS.

0

20,000

40,000

60,000

80,000

100,000

120,000

1969 1977 1983 1990 1995 2001 2009

Number of Households (thousands)

Three or More Vehicles

Two Vehicles

One Vehicle

No Vehicle
Summary of Travel Trends

VEHICLE USE AND AVAILABILITY 36

The traditional correlation between high population density and the percent of households with fewer 

or no vehicles is shown in the NHTS data series. Almost thirty percent of the households in areas 

with a population density greater than 10,000 persons per square mile did not own a vehicle in 2009, a 

proportion that has remained steady since 1995. 

On the other hand, almost seventy percent of the households in the least densely-populated areas 

owned two or more vehicles, a proportion that has also remained about the same since 1995. Note 

that many more households in the U.S. are in lower density areas--for example 45 percent of all U.S.

households are located in areas with less than 2,000 persons per square mile.

Table 18. Distribution of Households by Household Vehicle Availability and Population Density

1990 and 1995 NPTS and 2001 and 2009 NHTS.

Note:

• CI is Confidence Interval.

1990 1995 2001 2009 95% CI 1990 1995 2001 2009 95% CI

ALL 100% 100% 100% 100% 0.00 100% 100% 100% 100% 0.00

No Vehicle 6.10% 3.60% 3.77% 4.38% 0.41 7.60% 5.84% 5.76% 6.39% 0.84

One Vehicle 30.40% 26.64% 25.76% 26.78% 0.76 33.40% 33.31% 32.80% 34.07% 1.47

Two or More Vehicles 63.50% 69.76% 70.47% 68.84% 0.89 59.00% 60.84% 61.44% 59.54% 1.66

1990 1995 2001 2009 95% CI 1990 1995 2001 2009 95% CI

ALL 100% 100% 100% 100% 0.00 100% 100% 100% 100% 0.00

No Vehicle 10.90% 7.72% 8.08% 8.43% 0.73 35.10% 27.41% 26.33% 28.44% 1.40

One Vehicle 38.20% 37.16% 36.30% 37.49% 1.36 40.00% 41.78% 40.28% 39.89% 1.68

Two or More Vehicles 50.90% 55.13% 55.63% 54.08% 1.34 24.90% 30.81% 33.39% 31.67% 1.55

Household Vehicle 

Availability

2,000 to 4,000

10,000 or more

Population Density (Persons per Square Mile)

Household Vehicle 

Availability

Less than 2,000

4,000 to 10,000
2009 National Household Travel Survey (NHTS)

VEHICLE USE AND AVAILABILITY 37

Figure 8. Percent of Households by Vehicle Ownership and Population Density 

2009 NHTS.

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

< 2,000 pop/sq mi. 2,000-4,000 4,000-10,000 10,000 or more

No Vehicles One Vehicle Two or more vehicles
Summary of Travel Trends

VEHICLE USE AND AVAILABILITY 38

Larger metro areas have a higher proportion of households with no vehicle than smaller towns and 

rural areas. The proportion of households without a vehicle available overall was 15.3 percent in 

1977, and fell to 8.1 percent in 1995 and 2001, rising to 8.7 percent in 2009. 

The most recent data shows a small but significant increase in the percent of households with no

vehicle in areas with one million to 2.9 million people, and in areas of 3 million people or more. In 

large cities, some households chose not to own a vehicle due to the high cost or inconvenience, 

and the availability of other modes. There is also a considerable increase in the proportion of 

households without a vehicle in metro areas of 500,000 to less than one million people.

Table 19. Percent of Households without a Vehicle within MSA Size Group

1977, 1983, 1990 and 1995 NPTS, and 2001 and 2009 NHTS.

Note:

• “Rural, Not in Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA)” includes only areas outside of MSAs. There may also

be rural areas included within MSA boundaries.

• The population size groups for 1977 - 1983 Nationwide Personal Transportation Survey (NPTS) are 

Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area (SMSA) Size Groups and 1990 - 2009 are MSA Size Groups.

• All tables reporting totals could include some unreported characteristics.

MSA Size

2001 95% CI

Rural, Not in MSA 12.2% 10.5% 7.7% 5.3% 5.8% 5.6% 0.14

< 250,000 13.7% 10.1% 8.6% 4.8% 5.8% 6.3% 0.12

250,000 to 499,999 12.2% 8.1% 5.7% 7.3% 5.2% 5.6% 0.09

500,000 to 999,999 14.0% 14.3% 8.4% 6.3% 7.0% 8.3% 0.12

1 to 2.9 million 14.2% 12.1% 8.2% 6.9% 6.4% 7.2% 0.15

3+ million 26.1% 25.4% 12.4% 11.2% 11.9% 12.6% 0.14

ALL 15.3% 13.5% 9.2% 8.1% 8.1% 8.7% 0.04

Percent Households Within An Area Without a Vehicle

1977 1983 1990 1995 2009
2009 National Household Travel Survey (NHTS)

VEHICLE USE AND AVAILABILITY 39

The share of passenger cars (autos) in the household vehicle fleet declined between 2001 and 

2009. From the 80 percent share of all vehicles in 1977, the passenger car fell to just under onehalf of all household vehicles in 2009. On the other hand the proportion of Sport Utility Vehicles 

(SUV) nearly tripled since first being included as a separate category in 1995. 

The household vehicle fleet continues to age--the most recent data shows the average vehicle 

owned by U.S. households is 9.4 years old. The average age of vehicles in every common vehicle 

class is significantly older than in 2001--including autos, vans, SUVs, and pick-up trucks. 

Table 20. Percent of Vehicles and Average Vehicle Age by Vehicle Type

1977, 1983, 1990 and 1995 NPTS, and 2001 and 2009 NHTS.

Note:

• The 1990 and earlier surveys do not include a separate category for SUVs.

• The 1995 and later surveys did not include a separate category for Moped.

• In 2009 the survey included Light Electric Vehicles (LEV) as a separate classification. Motorcycle, moped, 

LEVs and other POV are excluded from the calculation of vehicle age.

• All tables reporting totals could include some unreported characteristics.

• CI is Confidence Interval.

1977 1983 1990 1995 2001 2009 95% CI

 TOTAL 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 0.00

 Auto 79.6% 75.9% 74.7% 64.3% 56.8% 49.9% 0.45

 Van 2.8% 3.6% 5.5% 7.8% 9.0% 8.2% 0.28

 Sport Utility NA NA NA 6.9% 12.1% 19.4% 0.35

 Pickup 12.8% 15.2% 17.2% 17.7% 18.4% 17.8% 0.29

 Other Truck 1.3% 1.5% 0.6% 0.4% 0.5% 0.4% 0.08

 RV/Motor Home 0.4% 0.5% 0.5% 0.5% 0.7% 0.5% 0.06

 Motorcycle/Moped 2.9% 3.1% 1.4% 0.9% 2.1% 3.3% 0.24

 Light Electric Vehicle (LEV) NA NA NA NA NA 0.0% 0.01

 Other 0.2% 0.2% 0.1% 0.1% 0.5% 0.3% 0.05

 TOTAL 6.60 7.60 7.71 8.33 8.87 9.38 0.10

 Auto 6.40 7.20 7.61 8.24 8.98 9.57 0.11

 Van 5.50 8.45 5.88 6.68 7.56 8.68 0.18

 Sport Utility NA NA NA 6.56 6.44 7.09 0.15

 Pickup 7.30 8.54 8.43 9.65 10.05 11.10 0.21

 Other Truck 11.60 12.39 14.48 14.93 17.72 17.76 1.74

 RV/Motor Home 4.50 10.69 10.44 13.21 13.49 15.46 1.47

Distribution of Vehicles

Average Vehicle Age
Summary of Travel Trends

VEHICLE USE AND AVAILABILITY 40

Over the last decades one striking feature of the household vehicle fleet is the increase in the 

number of years an average vehicle is operated. In 1977, about one out of six vehicles were 10 

years old or older and automobiles averaged 6.4 years of age. In 2009, vehicles averaged 9.6 

years of age – a 50 percent increase of 3.2 years and nearly two out of five cars were in the oldest 

age category.

In the past, trucks and vans tended to be in operation longer than automobiles. However, 

beginning in 2001, this trend began to shift as automobiles were in operation longer than trucks 

and vans.

Table 21. Distribution of Vehicles by Vehicle Age and Vehicle Type

1977, 1983, 1990, and 1995 NPTS, and 2001 and 2009 NHTS (Percent).

Note:

• The 1969 survey does not include pickups and other light trucks as household vehicles.

• Totals do not include any unreported vehicle ages, but do include vehicle types such as motorcycle, RV, etc. 

that are not shown.

• NPTS is Nationwide Personal Transportation Survey. 

0 to 2 years 3 to 5 years 6 to 9 years 10 or more Total Average Age

1977 Auto 27.3% 30.4% 26.7% 15.6% 100.0% 6.4

Truck/Van 29.9% 25.6% 21.1% 23.4% 100.0% 5.6

All 27.8% 29.6% 25.7% 16.9% 100.0% 6.6

1983 Auto 20.0% 28.0% 27.4% 24.6% 100.0% 7.2

Truck/Van 16.6% 26.6% 25.0% 31.8% 100.0% 7.8

All 19.2% 27.6% 26.9% 26.3% 100.0% 7.6

1990 Auto 15.6% 27.7% 26.8% 29.9% 100.0% 7.6

Truck/Van 19.7% 27.2% 20.9% 32.2% 100.0% 8.0

All 16.6% 27.5% 25.3% 30.6% 100.0% 7.7

1995 Auto 14.9% 21.7% 30.3% 33.1% 100.0% 8.2

Truck/Van 19.2% 21.6% 25.5% 33.7% 100.0% 8.3

All 16.2% 21.5% 28.5% 33.8% 100.0% 8.3

2001 Auto 13.3% 20.4% 25.5% 40.9% 100.0% 9.0

Truck/Van 18.6% 23.5% 22.6% 35.4% 100.0% 8.5

All 15.4% 21.5% 24.1% 39.0% 100.0% 8.9

2009 Auto 12.4% 19.7% 27.0% 40.9% 100.0% 9.6

Truck/Van 12.8% 23.6% 27.1% 36.6% 100.0% 9.0

All 12.7% 21.6% 26.8% 38.9% 100.0% 9.4

2009 95% CI Auto 0.49 0.58 0.70 0.74 0.00 0.11

Truck/Van 0.49 0.60 0.69 0.66 0.00 0.11

All 0.36 0.42 0.49 0.54 0.00 0.10

Vehicle 

Type Survey Year

Vehicle Age
2009 National Household Travel Survey (NHTS)

VEHICLE USE AND AVAILABILITY 41

Figure 9. Distribution of Vehicles by Vehicle Age

1977, 1983, 1990, and 1995 NPTS, and 2001 and 2009 NHTS.

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

1977 1983 1990 1995 2001 2009

Percent of Household Vehicles

10 or more

6 to 9 years

3 to 5 years

0 to 2 years
Summary of Travel Trends

VEHICLE USE AND AVAILABILITY 42

Based on vehicle owners’ estimates, a vehicle was driven, on average, slightly more than 10,000 

miles a year in 2009. This estimate is a decrease of nearly 10 percent from 2001, which showed a 

decrease of nearly 10 percent from 1995. Regardless of vehicle age, vehicles were driven less in 

2009, on average, than in 1995 or 1990. This reflects both increases in vehicle ownership and 

decreases in total vehicle travel. 

Table 22. Average Annual Miles per Vehicle by Vehicle Age (Vehicle Owner’s Estimate)

1969, 1977, 1983, 1990 and 1995 NPTS, and 2001 and 2009 NHTS.

Note:

• The 1969 survey does not include pickups and other light trucks as household vehicles.

• All tables reporting totals could include some unreported characteristics.

• CI is Confidence Interval.

 Vehicle Age 1969 1977 1983 1990 1995 2001 95% CI

 0 to 2 years 15,700 14,460 15,292 16,811 16,092 14,892 13,851 533

 3 to 5 years 11,200 11,074 11,902 13,706 14,004 13,230 12,042 198

 6 to 9 years 9,700 9,199 9,253 12,554 12,608 11,603 10,741 280

 10 or more years 6,500 6,755 7,023 9,176 8,758 7,863 7,401 160

 ALL 11,600 10,679 10,315 12,458 12,226 11,078 10,088 133

2009
2009 National Household Travel Survey (NHTS)

VEHICLE USE AND AVAILABILITY 43

Although the number of miles driven per licensed driver seemed to decrease for all but the oldest 

age groups between 2001 and 2009, the decrease in annual miles was significant for only the 

youngest two age groups (the 2001 estimate was higher than the margin of error of the 2009 

estimate). For both the highly-mobile middle-aged groups and for the estimate for all drivers the 

differences are within the margin of error. However, the growth in annual miles of driving was 

sizable for the oldest age group--people ages 65 and older. 

Table 23. Average Annual Miles per Licensed Driver By Driver Age and Gender 

(Driver’s Self Estimate) 1969, 1977, 1983, 1990 and 1995 NPTS, and 2001 and 2009 NHTS.

Note:

• All tables reporting totals could include some unreported characteristics.

• In 1995, some drivers reported zero annual miles--these were changed to miles not reported.

• CI is Confidence Interval. 

16 to 19 4,633 5,662 4,986 8,485 7,624 7,331 6,244 540

20 to 34 9,348 11,063 11,531 14,776 15,098 15,650 13,709 615

35 to 54 9,771 11,539 12,627 14,836 15,291 15,627 15,117 321

55 to 64 8,611 9,196 9,611 11,436 11,972 13,177 12,528 387

65+ 5,171 5,475 5,386 7,084 7,646 7,684 8,250 346

ALL 8,685 10,006 10,536 13,125 13,476 13,827 12,888 204

16 to 19 5,461 7,045 5,908 9,543 8,206 8,228 6,652 633

20 to 34 13,133 15,222 15,844 18,310 17,976 18,634 15,716 1041

35 to 54 12,841 16,097 17,808 18,871 18,858 19,287 17,654 450

55 to 64 10,696 12,455 13,431 15,224 15,859 16,883 15,117 555

65+ 5,919 6,795 7,198 9,162 10,304 10,163 10,322 324

ALL 11,352 13,397 13,962 16,536 16,550 16,946 15,139 328

16 to 19 3,586 4,036 3,874 7,387 6,873 6,106 5,753 881

20 to 34 5,512 6,571 7,121 11,174 12,004 12,266 11,484 472

35 to 54 6,003 6,534 7,347 10,539 11,464 11,590 12,035 381

55 to 64 5,375 5,097 5,432 7,211 7,780 8,795 9,544 407

65+ 3,664 3,572 3,308 4,750 4,785 4,803 5,824 646

ALL 5,411 5,940 6,382 9,528 10,142 10,267 10,244 213

 Women 

 Men

2009

 ALL 

Driver's Age 1969 1977 1983 1990 1995 2001 95% CI
Summary of Travel Trends

COMMUTE TRAVEL PATTERNS 44

7.0 COMMUTE TRAVEL PATTERNS

The number of commute vehicle trips, the vehicle miles of travel (VMT) for commuting, and the total 

vehicle miles for commuting are about the same as the 2001 estimate (within the margin of error). The 

total estimated number of workers increased between 2001 and 2009, while the annual commute 

vehicle trips per worker decreased.

Table 24. Commute Trips and VMT and Total VMT by Year

1969, 1977, 1983, 1990 and 1995 NPTS, and 2001 and 2009 NHTS.

Note:

• 1995 Vehicle Miles of Travel (VMT) and vehicle trips with "To or From Work" as a trip purpose is believed to be 

overstated.

• Slightly different approaches were used in defining workers and commute trips between the 1990 and 1995 

Nationwide Personal Transportation Survey (NPTS).

• CI is Confidence Interval. 

1969 1977 1983 1990 1995 2001 2009 95% CI

Commute Vehicle Trips 

(000,000) 27,844 31,886 35,271 41,792 54,782 51,395 51,699 897

Commute VMT (000,000) 260,716 287,710 301,644 453,042 642,610 614,548 623,479 16,794

Total VMT (000,000) 775,940 907,603 1,002,139 1,695,290 2,068,368 2,274,797 2,245,112 56,158

% Commute VMT of Total 

VMT 33.60% 31.70% 30.10% 26.72% 31.07% 27.02% 27.77%

Workers (000) 75,758 93,019 103,244 118,343 131,697 145,272 151,373 893

Annual Commute Vehicle 

Trips per Worker 368 343 342 353 416 354 342 5.41
2009 National Household Travel Survey (NHTS)

COMMUTE TRAVEL PATTERNS 45

Figure 10. Trends in the Distribution of Workers by Usual Commute Mode

1969, 1977, 1983, 1990 and 1995 NPTS, and 2001 and 2009 NHTS.

 Note: 

• The usual mode is defined as the means of transportation usually used to go to work in the week prior to the 

travel day.

• The 1969 survey excluded walk trips.

• Public Transit includes local bus, commuter bus, commuter train, subway, trolley, and streetcar.

• Other includes other modes not shown above such as motorcycle, Amtrak, airplane, taxi, bike, school bus, 

and other.

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

1969 1977 1983 1990 1995 2001 2009

Percent of Workers

Auto, Truck, Van, or SUV Public Transit Walk Other
Summary of Travel Trends

COMMUTE TRAVEL PATTERNS 46

Since 1969, workers in the U.S. predominately traveled to work in privately-owned vehicles. The 

proportion of workers who usually commute by transit has remained about the same since 1995--

5.1% of the commuters reported public transit as their usual mode to work. 

Table 25. Distribution of Workers by Usual Commute Mode

1969, 1977, 1983, 1990 and 1995 NPTS, and 2001 and 2009 NHTS.

Note:

• Usual mode is defined as the means of transportation usually used to go to work during the week before the 

interview. 

• Data in this table are derived from the person file.

• The 1969 survey excludes walk trips.

• All modes do not include workers who worked at home or any unreported modes.

• Other includes other modes not shown above such as motorcycle, Amtrak, airplane, taxi, bike, school bus, and 

other.

• Public Transit includes local bus, commuter bus, commuter train, subway, trolley, and streetcar.

Usual Commute Mode

1969 1977 1983 1990 1995 2001 2009 95% CI

All Modes 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 0.00

Auto, Truck, Van, or 

SUV 90.8 87.0 88.6 87.8 91.0 90.8 89.4 0.52

Public Transit 8.4 6.0 5.3 5.3 5.1 5.1 5.1 0.41

Walk N/A 4.1 4.3 4.0 2.6 2.8 2.8 0.34

Other 0.8 2.9 1.8 2.9 1.3 1.3 2.7 0.25
2009 National Household Travel Survey (NHTS)

COMMUTE TRAVEL PATTERNS 47

Table 26. Usual Commute Mode to Work vs. Actual Work Trip Mode on Travel Day

2009 NHTS.

Note: 

• Based on workers who reported both a usual commute mode 'last week' and a work trip mode on the 

assigned travel day.

Drove 

Alone

Carpool Transit Walk Bike Other

Drove Alone 93.5 5.6 0.1 0.5 0.1 0.4

Carpool 42.9 54.8 0.5 1.0 0.0 0.8

Transit 13.2 9.2 68.3 6.6 0.8 1.9

Walk 6.1 9.3 3.4 80.2 0.2 0.7

Bike 13.8 3.3 6.0 2.6 73.0 1.4

Other 64.1 19.0 4.2 4.3 0.3 8.0

'Usual' Commute Mode:

On Travel Day Commuted by:
Summary of Travel Trends

COMMUTE TRAVEL PATTERNS 48

Table 27. General Commute Patterns by Mode of Transportation 

1977, 1983, 1990, and 1995 NPTS, and 2001 and 2009 NHTS.

Note:

• Trip miles and travel times were calculated using actual trips to and from work as reported in the travel day file.

• Average commute speed was calculated using only those trips with both trip mileage and travel time information 

present.

• Average commute trip length was calculated using only those records with trip mileage information present.

• In 2001 the mode "Bus" was divided into "Local Public Transit Bus," "Commuter Bus," "Charter/tour bus," and 

"City to city bus." Only "Local Public Transit Bus" and "Commuter Bus" are included in public transit 

calculations.

• Public transit includes local bus, commuter bus, commuter train, subway, trolley, and streetcar.

• Commute time for public transit includes total trip time in 2001 and 2009, including access and egress.

• NPTS is Nationwide Personal Transportation Survey. CI is Confidence Interval. 

1977 1983 1990 1995 2001 2009 95% CI

All

Average Commute Trip Length (miles) 9.06 8.54 10.65 11.63 12.11 11.79 0.29

Average Commute Travel Time (minutes) 19.23 18.20 19.60 20.65 23.32 23.85 0.35

Average Commute Speed (miles per hour) 34.72 26.84 33.35 34.67 32.23 27.50 0.33

Private Vehicle

Average Commute Trip Length (miles) 9.61 8.86 11.02 11.84 12.10 12.09 0.25

Average Commute Travel Time (minutes) 18.95 17.62 19.05 20.10 22.49 22.85 0.34

Average Commute Speed (miles per hour) 37.50 27.78 31.49 35.18 32.27 28.87 0.31

Public Transit

Average Commute Trip Length (miles) 7.48 9.00 12.75 12.88 11.73 10.18 1.54

Average Commute Travel Time (minutes) 37.59 37.79 41.10 41.95 55.50 52.98 4.19

Average Commute Speed (miles per hour) 12.58 15.44 18.02 18.22 12.96 11.42 0.99

Walk

Average Commute Trip Length (miles) - - 0.83 0.74 0.91 0.98 0.23

Average Commute Travel Time (minutes) - - 9.79 10.86 14.06 16.15 2.28

Average Commute Speed (miles per hour) - - 4.99 3.58 3.18 4.77 0.51

All Modes

Private Vehicle

Public Transit

Walk
2009 National Household Travel Survey (NHTS)

COMMUTE TRAVEL PATTERNS 49

The average speed of commuting has declined slightly in all metro areas, regardless of size. 

Since 1990, the middle-sized metro areas have seen the greatest decline in commute speed

(including all modes of travel). For instance, in 1990 areas between 500 thousand and one million 

in population had calculated average commute speeds of 31 miles per hour. In 2009, the average 

commute speed in the same sized areas had declined over ten percent to about 28 miles per hour.

Figure 11. Average Commute Speeds by MSA Size (All Modes) 

1990 and 1995 NPTS and 2001 and 2009 NHTS.

Note:

• The U.S. Census Bureau defines the geographic boundaries of Metropolitan Statistical Areas 

(MSA) in urbanized areas based on U.S. population data. The 2009 NHTS includes the 2003 U.S. 

Census definitions for statistical areas and established benchmarks based on those definitions. 

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

< 250K < 500K < 1M 1M- < 3M 3M+

Miles Per Hour for Commutes

1990 1995 2001 2009
Summary of Travel Trends

COMMUTE TRAVEL PATTERNS 50

Table 28. Average Commute Speed by MSA Size 

1977, 1983, 1990, and 1995 NPTS, and 2001 and 2009 NHTS (Miles per Hour).

Note:

• Average Commute Speed is calculated using only those trips with both trip mileage and travel time information 

present.

• All trip miles and travel times were calculated using actual trips to and from work as reported in the travel day 

file.

• Average commute speed for 'All Modes' does not include wait time for transit.

• The population size groups for 1977 - 1983 Nationwide Personal Transportation Survey (NPTS) are Standard 

Metropolitan Statistical Area (SMSA) Size Groups and 1990 - 2001 are MSA Size Groups.

• CI is Confidence Interval. POV is Privately Owned Vehicle. MSA is Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Rural, Not in 

(S)MSA

Less than 

250,000

250,000 to 

499,999

500,000 to 

999,999

1 to 2.9 

million

3 million and 

over

1977 - 29.1 26.5 26.7 29.0 22.0

1983 29.6 26.0 26.7 27.9 28.2 27.0

1990 33.4 30.7 31.1 32.5 31.4 30.2

1995 32.1 30.0 30.7 31.2 30.6 30.3

2001 32.6 29.1 28.8 29.3 28.7 27.1

2009 32.5 28.4 28.4 28.8 28.7 26.8

95% CI 0.82 0.82 0.02 0.81 0.63 0.51

1977 - 25.8 26.5 26.5 27.5 20.0

1983 28.9 25.6 26.3 27.3 27.4 24.8

1990 32.0 29.7 30.4 31.4 30.2 27.7

1995 31.2 28.9 30.0 30.4 29.9 28.4

2001 31.9 28.5 28.3 28.8 27.9 25.4

2009 31.6 27.6 27.6 28.1 27.8 24.7

95% CI 0.77 0.77 0.23 0.85 0.70 0.52

MSA Size

POV

ALL MODES (INCLUDING POV)
2009 National Household Travel Survey (NHTS)

TEMPORAL DISTRIBUTION 51

8.0 TEMPORAL DISTRIBUTION

The percent of person trips by time of day has remained about the same during the past decade –

more than two-fifths of all person trips started between 9 o’clock in the morning and 4 o’clock in the 

afternoon. 

Table 29. Distribution of Person Trips by Start Time of Trip 

1983, 1990, and 1995 NPTS, and 2001 and 2009 NHTS (Percent).

Note:

• All tables reporting totals could include some unreported characteristics.

• 1990 person and vehicle trips were adjusted to account for survey collection method changes (see 2001 

Summary of Travel Trends Appendix 2). 

• NPTS is Nationwide Personal Travel Survey. CI is Confidence Interval. 

 10 pm - 1 am 4.0 4.1 3.5 2.9 2.6 0.13

 1 - 6 am 3.3 1.8 1.7 1.8 1.8 0.08

 6 - 9 am 14.4 12.5 13.8 14.4 15.0 0.21

 9 am - 1 pm 23.4 20.6 24.2 24.6 24.8 0.29

 1 - 4 pm 20.8 20.7 22.1 22.1 22.4 0.34

 4 - 7 pm 21.2 22.9 23.0 22.3 22.6 0.29

 7 - 10 pm 12.3 13.2 11.8 11.7 11.0 0.23

 ALL 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 0.00

Time of Day 1983 1990 1995 2001 2009 95% CI
Summary of Travel Trends

TEMPORAL DISTRIBUTION 52

Looking at vehicle trips by time of day and purpose shows that the morning and evening peak 

periods include not just commutes, but family and personal errands, school trips, and other nonwork trips which add to the number of vehicles during the peak periods. As expected, commuting 

to and from work began predominately between 6 and 9 o’clock in the morning and between 4 and 

7 o’clock in the afternoon while more than half of non work-related trips started between 9 am and 

4 pm.

Figure 12. Distribution of Vehicle Trips by Trip Purpose and Start Time of Trip

2009 NHTS.

0

2,000

4,000

6,000

8,000

10,000

12,000

14,000

16,000

18,000

20,000

Midnight 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Noon 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

Vehicle Trips/Day (millions)

Start Hour 

Number of Vehicle Trips by Start Time and Purpose

Commute Fam/Pers (inc. Shop) School/Ch Soc/Rec Total
2009 National Household Travel Survey (NHTS)

TEMPORAL DISTRIBUTION 53

Table 30. Daily Travel Statistics by Weekday vs. Weekend 

1990 and 1995 NPTS and 2001 and 2009 NHTS.

Daily Travel 

Statistics

1990 1995 2001 2009 95% CI

Weekday Sat/Sun Weekday Sat/Sun Weekday Sat/Sun Weekday Sat/Sun Weekday Sat/Sun

Vehicle Trips per 

Driver 3.41 2.89 3.81 2.99 3.56 2.85 3.21 2.53 0.03 0.05

% work trips 27.80% 9.70% 31.90% 12.50% 31.20% 10.60% 30.99% 10.14% 0.58 0.65

% non-work trips 72.20% 90.30% 68.10% 87.50% 68.80% 89.40% 69.01% 89.86% 0.58 0.65

VMT per Driver 28.54 28.36 33.46 28.87 34.35 28.70 30.55 25.01 0.89 1.05

Average Vehicle Trip 

Length 8.47 9.96 8.85 9.73 9.75 10.22 9.62 10.03 0.26 0.46

Average Time Spent 

Driving (in minutes) 50.68 46.07 59.48 48.05 64.79 52.39 59.83 46.68 0.84 1.32

Person Trips 3.82 3.60 4.43 3.96 4.18 3.86 3.91 3.51 0.04 0.07

Person Miles of 

Travel 32.6 40.64 37.68 41.14 39.41 42.31 35.76 37.05 1.33 3.32

Average Person Trip 

Length 9.47 11.51 8.63 10.53 9.60 11.18 9.37 10.80 0.34 0.99

Note:

• Average time spent driving includes all drivers, even those who did not drive a private vehicle on the day in which the household was interviewed.

• Average trip length is calculated using only those records with trip mileage information present.

• 1990 person and vehicle trips were adjusted to account for survey collection method changes (see 2001 Summary of Travel Trends Appendix 2).

• "% Work Trips" also includes Work-Related Business.

• NPTS is Nationwide Personal Travel Survey. CI is Confidence Interval. VMT is Vehicle Miles of Travel. PMT is Person Miles of Travel. 
Summary of Travel Trends

TRAVEL BEHAVIOR OF SPECIAL POPULATIONS 54

9.0 TRAVEL BEHAVIOR OF SPECIAL-POPULATIONS

On a daily basis, individuals 65 and older took fewer trips in 2009 than in 2001 and in 1995. The 

average time spent driving (including drivers who reported trips and those that did not) was less in 

2009 than in 2001. Person trips and person miles of travel by all means (PMT) was less than in 

2001. However, the average person trip length was about the same in 2009 as in 2001 (the 2001 

estimate is within the margin of error). 

Table 31. Daily Travel Statistics of People 65 and Older 1983, 1990, and 1995 NPTS and

2001 and 2009 NHTS.

Note:

• Average time spent driving includes all drivers, even those who did not drive a private vehicle on the day in 

which the household was interviewed. 

• Average trip length is calculated using only those records with trip mileage information present.

• 1990 person and vehicle trips were adjusted to account for survey collection method changes (See 2001

Summary of Travel Trends Appendix 2).

• "% Work Trips" also includes Work-Related Business.

• NPTS is Nationwide Personal Travel Survey. CI is Confidence Interval. VMT is Vehicle Miles of Travel. 

Daily Travel Statistics 1983 1990 1995 2001 2009 95% CI

Vehicle Trips per Driver 1.66 2.27 2.94 2.84 2.67 0.05

% work trips 10.20% 4.80% 8.50% 6.20% 10.60% 0.97

% non-work trips 89.80% 95.20% 91.50% 93.80% 89.40% 0.97

VMT per Driver 9.8 14.83 19.56 21.13 19.69 0.75

Average Vehicle Trip Length 5.92 6.61 6.69 7.51 7.46 0.29

Average Time Spent Driving 

(in minutes) NA 30.83 42.89 49.11 46.37 1.26

Person Trips per Person 1.82 2.49 3.43 3.42 3.21 0.07

PMT per Person 12.21 19.85 25.24 28.04 24.96 1.25

Average Person Trip Length 6.7 8.12 7.46 8.35 7.99 0.42
2009 National Household Travel Survey (NHTS)

TRAVEL BEHAVIOR OF SPECIAL POPULATIONS 55

Table 32. Selected Data for Older Population Groups

2009 NHTS.

Note:

• Percent with Disability is based on respondents who answered that they had a temporary or permanent 

condition that makes it difficult for them to travel outside of the home. 

• CI is Confidence Interval.

Percent 

Drivers 95% CI Vehicle Miles/Driver 95% CI

Percent with 

Zero 

Vehicles 

Available

95% CI

Percent Who 

Did Not 

Travel on 

Travel Day

95% 

CI

Percent 

with 

Disability

95% CI

All Age Groups 50 

and Older

87.9% 0.52 26.83 0.6665 7.7% 0.40 17.3% 0.60 17.5% 0.53

50-59 93.7% 0.69 31.51 1.2909 4.9% 0.54 11.2% 0.71 10.9% 0.91

60-69 91.4% 0.89 27.63 1.1838 6.8% 0.92 14.9% 0.94 15.8% 0.87

70-79 83.0% 1.32 18.77 1.1409 10.3% 1.28 24.3% 1.58 22.6% 1.30

80 and older 61.7% 2.17 12.04 1.029 17.6% 1.84 38.0% 2.91 41.3% 2.11

Men 50 and Older 93.2% 0.50 33.55 1.1435 5.2% 0.47 14.3% 0.83 14.4% 0.71

50-59 95.7% 0.67 37.63 1.7578 4.5% 0.67 10.8% 1.11 9.9% 1.19

60-69 95.1% 0.94 34.62 2.2505 5.2% 1.09 12.8% 1.13 13.5% 1.26

70-79 90.8% 1.42 26.51 2.1808 5.4% 1.27 18.3% 1.87 18.6% 1.70

80 and older 77.4% 2.76 16.98 2.2002 9.0% 2.84 31.2% 3.90 34.2% 2.95

Women 50 and Older

83.3% 0.86 20.33 0.8645 9.9% 0.61 20.0% 0.84 20.2% 0.72

50-59 91.8% 1.19 25.29 1.8228 5.2% 0.94 11.7% 0.83 11.8% 1.26

60-69 88.2% 1.52 20.92 1.1825 8.3% 1.18 16.7% 1.40 17.9% 1.21

70-79 77.1% 1.97 11.84 0.7852 14.0% 1.90 28.9% 2.14 25.7% 2.01

80 and older 52.4% 2.73 7.76 0.8063 22.7% 2.23 42.1% 3.42 45.4% 2.77
Summary of Travel Trends

TRAVEL BEHAVIOR OF SPECIAL POPULATIONS 56

Younger drivers drove fewer miles per capita (including people who drove on the travel day and 

those who did not) in 2009 than in 1995 or 2001. In urbanized areas, where the majority of the 

population lives, the declines in vehicle miles of driving per day are significant for 16-34 but not for 

drivers 35 and older. In rural areas, the drops are only significant for drivers 25 years and older, 

not for the youngest age group. In 2009, drivers 35 to 44 years old drove more vehicle miles per 

day in both urban and rural areas than other age groups.

Table 33. Vehicle Miles of Travel (VMT) per day for Younger Population Groups by Urban and 

Rural Household Location 2009 NHTS.

Note:

• Urban and Rural are based on the household location and the Census 2000 Urbanized areas.

• Totals can include some unreported characteristics.

• VMT is Vehicle Miles of Travel. CI is Confidence Interval. 

All All 25.06 28.50 29.54 25.77 0.64

All 16-24 22.38 22.55 22.40 17.43 1.13

All 25-34 31.93 33.48 32.82 26.79 1.67

All 35-44 30.87 34.55 36.36 32.54 1.79

All 45+ 19.41 24.96 27.28 25.23 0.77

Urban All 22.41 25.00 27.30 23.14 0.72

Urban 16-24 20.22 19.71 20.89 14.61 0.98

Urban 25-34 28.54 30.06 30.71 24.51 2.00

Urban 35-44 27.36 30.33 33.34 30.11 2.14

Urban 45+ 16.97 21.46 25.02 22.41 0.83

Rural All 29.61 34.63 37.56 34.18 1.15

Rural 16-24 26.85 28.17 28.19 25.84 3.08

Rural 25-34 38.65 40.06 42.11 34.61 2.58

Rural 35-44 36.86 41.55 47.12 40.45 3.22

Rural 45+ 23.00 30.77 34.58 34.22 1.70

Household Location Age 1990 1995 2001 2009 95% CI
2009 National Household Travel Survey (NHTS)

TRAVEL BEHAVIOR OF SPECIAL POPULATIONS 57

The NHTS includes information on the household-based vehicle fleet, including the fuel efficiency 

of each vehicle, annual miles of vehicle use, the resulting amount of gallons of gasoline, and the 

average cost of gasoline at the household location during the interview period. The most recent 

NHTS was collected from April 2008 through April 2009. The average cost for a gallon of gasoline 

during that 13-month period was $2.96, although the summer of 2008 saw prices spike as high as 

$4.00.

When weighted to an annual estimate, an average household in the 2009 NHTS sample spent 

about $3,300 per year for gasoline for all the vehicles in the household. The same estimate for an 

average household in the 2001 NHTS was $1,275. These data show that the average 

expenditures on gasoline by U.S. households have more than doubled since 2001. 

Urban households spend less overall than rural households because they travel fewer miles for 

everyday trips and generally own smaller vehicles that are more fuel efficient.

Table 34. Annual Expenditures on Gasoline by Urban and Rural Households by Number of 

Vehicles 2001 and 2009 NHTS.

Note:

• Only households with one or more vehicles are included.

• Gasoline prices were assigned based on the household location and average pump price for the week of 

the interview. For more information, see http://nhts.ornl.gov/publications.shtml.

• All tables reporting totals could include some unreported characteristics.

• CI is Confidence Interval.

All $ 1,274.55 $ 3,308.38 36.3

One Vehicle $ 556.13 $ 1,431.74 32.5

Two Vehicle $ 1,324.72 $ 3,414.65 46.6

Three or more Vehicles $ 2,166.10 $ 5,805.61 106.7

All Urban $ 1,178.07 $ 2,981.09 32.2

Urban One Vehicle $ 538.12 $ 1,382.15 35.0

Urban Two Vehicle $ 1,285.99 $ 3,290.29 45.7

Urban Three or more Vehicles $ 2,065.38 $ 5,402.64 115.1

All Rural $ 1,622.62 $ 4,338.65 110.4

Rural One Vehicle $ 660.79 $ 1,701.37 115.7

Rural Two Vehicle $ 1,469.22 $ 3,804.67 127.7

Rural Three or more Vehicles $ 2,379.02 $ 6,515.68 197.2

Household Location 2001 Dollars/Year 2009 Dollars/Year 95% CI 
Summary of Travel Trends

TRAVEL BEHAVIOR OF SPECIAL POPULATIONS 58

The data indicates that on-line shopping is more prevalent in households with children, especially 

teens and young adults (children aged 16-21). Overall the average household reported purchasing 

three items from on-line sources in the last month, and 4 out of 5 of the on-line purchase (2.4 

items) were delivered to the household. Households with older children aged 16-21 years old 

reported purchasing the most items on-line last month – 5.2 purchases. 

Table 35. Average Number of On-Line Purchases and Deliveries to U.S. Households in the Last 

Month 2009 NHTS.

Note: 

• The 2009 NHTS was the first time data was collected on home deliveries from Internet shopping and on-line 

purchases. A trend analysis over time is not available.

• CI is Confidence Interval.

Household Type/Presence of Children

On-Line Purchases 

per Household in 

the Last Month

95% CI

Number of 

Purchases 

Delivered to the 

Household

95% CI

All Households 3.0 0.1 2.4 0.1

Households without Children 2.1 0.1 1.6 0.1

Households with Children 5-15 4.5 0.2 3.7 0.2

Households with Children 16-21 5.2 0.7 4.2 0.6
2009 National Household Travel Survey (NHTS)

TRAVEL BEHAVIOR OF SPECIAL POPULATIONS 59

The 2009 NHTS included details about workers, such as general occupation categories, questions to 

identify self-employed workers and workers who work at home, and more detail on commute options, 

such as arrival time flexibility. 

The data shows that many workers have the ability to set or change their arrival time at work--well over 

one-third of all workers and nearly half of those in professional, managerial, or technical occupations 

can set or change their arrival time at work.

One out of five workers either works exclusively from home (8.7 percent) or has the option to work at 

home instead of going into their regular workplace (10.9 percent). Over 18 percent of workers in 

professional occupations have the option of working at home.

Table 36. Special Commute Characteristics by General Occupation

2009 NHTS.

Note:

• The question on flexible arrival time was: "Do you have the ability to set or change your own start work time?"

• The option to work at home: "Do you have the option of working at home instead of going into your primary 

workplace?"

• Workers who work exclusively at home were not asked the previous questions.

• "Other" and "all" can include workers with no fixed work place, self-employed, and unclassified occupations.

General Occupation

Percent with 

Flexible 

Arrival Time

95% CI Has the Option of 

Working at Home 95% CI

Percent who 

Work 

Exclusively at 

Home

95% CI

Of All Workers 34.8% 0.6 10.9% 0.4 8.7% 0.4

Clerical or Adminstrative Support 36.0% 2.2 6.1% 0.9 4.4% 0.7

Manuf./Cons, Maintenance or Farming 20.7% 1.3 3.6% 0.7 11.4% 1.1

Professional, Managerial, or Technical 46.8% 1.1 18.3% 0.9 7.3% 0.5

Sales or Service 27.5% 1.0 7.2% 0.7 10.2% 0.8

Other 1.9% 0.3 8.8% 3.5 0.0% 0.0

2009 National Household Travel Survey (NHTS)

APPENDIX A – TRAVEL CONCEPTS AND GLOSSARY OF TERMS A-1

APPENDIX A: TRAVEL CONCEPTS AND GLOSSARY OF TERMS
Summary of Travel Trends

APPENDIX A – TRAVEL CONCEPTS AND GLOSSARY OF TERMS A-2

ABBREVIATIONS

AAPOR American Association for Public Opinion Research

AHI At Home Interviewers

CASRO Council of American Survey Research Organizations

CATI Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing

CBSA Core Based Statistical Area

CMSA Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Area

CPS Current Population Survey

CSA Combined Statistical Area

DOT Department of Transportation

FHWA Federal Highway Administration

FTA Federal Transit Administration

FIPS Federal Information Processing Standards

HH Household

HHM Household Member

ID Identification Number

METDIV Metropolitan Division

MPO Metropolitan Planning Organization

MSA Metropolitan Statistical Area

NHTS National Household Travel Survey

NHTSA National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

NPTS National Personal Transportation Survey

PMSA Primary Metropolitan Statistical Area

PMT Person Miles of Travel

POV Privately Operated Vehicle

PSU Primary Sampling Unit

RDD Random Digit Dialing

RTI Research Triangle Institute

SAS Statistical Analysis System

TRC Telephone Research Center

VMT Vehicle Miles of Travel

TRAVEL CONCEPTS

PERSON TRIP DEFINITION - A trip from one address to another by one person in any mode of 

transportation. This is the most basic and universal measure of personal travel. 

Each record in the Travel Day file in the NHTS dataset represents one person 

trip.

EXAMPLES - Two household members traveling together in one car are 

counted as two person trips. Three household members walking to the store 

together are counted as three person trips.

PERSON DEFINITION – For NHTS data, person travel includes all person trips

TRAVEL including but not limited to walking, biking, transit, and vehicle trips.
2009 National Household Travel Survey (NHTS)

APPENDIX A – TRAVEL CONCEPTS AND GLOSSARY OF TERMS A-3

COMMENTS - It excludes commercial trips, such as hauling freight, serving as a 

bus driver or an airline pilot. However, it does include the personal travel of 

workers in commercial driver occupations. 

PERSON DEFINITION - The number of miles traveled by each person on a trip. The

MILES OF purpose is to account for all MILES traveled by all people during one shared

TRAVEL (PMT) trip.

EXAMPLES - A four-mile van trip with a driver and three passengers counts as 

16 person miles of travel (4 people times 4 miles). 

VEHICLE TRIPS DEFINITION - A trip by a single privately operated vehicle (POV), regardless of 

the number of persons in the vehicle.

EXAMPLES - Two people traveling together in a car would be counted as one 

vehicle trip. Four people going to a restaurant in a van is considered one 

vehicle trip.

NHTS MODE RESTRICTIONS - To be considered a vehicle trip in NHTS, the 

trip must have been made in a POV, namely a household-based car, van, sport 

utility vehicle, pickup truck, other truck, recreational vehicle, motorcycle or other 

POV. The vehicle does not need to belong to the household, but must be 

operational and available for use.

Trips made in other highway vehicles, such as buses, streetcars, taxis, and 

school buses are collected in the NHTS, but these are shown as person trips by 

those modes. The design of the NHTS is such that it does not serve as a 

source for non-POV trips, vehicle trips in modes such as buses, because there 

is no way to trace the movement of the bus fleet throughout the day. Those 

interested in vehicle trips by buses, taxis, etc. need to use a data source that 

relies on reports from the fleet operators of those vehicles. The National Transit 

Database of the Federal Transit Administration is one such source.

http://www.ntdprogram.gov/ntdprogram/

VEHICLE MILES OF DEFINITION - One vehicle mile of travel is the movement of one privately

TRAVEL (VMT) operated vehicle (POV) for one mile, regardless of the number of people in the 

vehicle. 

EXAMPLES - When one person drives a car 12 miles to work, 12 vehicle miles 

of travel have been made (number of vehicles times the number of miles

traveled). If two people travel three miles by pickup, three vehicle miles of travel 

have been made.

NHTS MODE RESTRICTIONS - For NHTS data, vehicle miles are restricted to 

the same privately-operated vehicles as vehicle trips (see above), that is a 

household-based car, van, sport utility vehicle, pickup truck, other truck, 

recreational vehicle, or other POV.
Summary of Travel Trends

APPENDIX A – TRAVEL CONCEPTS AND GLOSSARY OF TERMS A-4

VEHICLE DEFINITION- For NHTS data, vehicle occupancy is generally computed

OCCUPANCY in two ways: mile-based method or trip-based method. The mile-based method 

calculates person miles of travel per vehicle mile. The trip-based method is 

calculated from the number of persons per vehicle trip (referred to as the

number on trip).

COMMENTS - Because longer trips often have higher occupancies, the milebased method generally yields a higher rate than the trip-based method. The 

calculation of the mile-based method requires that trip miles be reported, and so 

may be calculated on a smaller number of trips as it excludes non-reports.
2009 National Household Travel Survey (NHTS)

APPENDIX A – TRAVEL CONCEPTS AND GLOSSARY OF TERMS A-5

GLOSSARY 

This glossary provides definitions of the most common terms used in the National Household Travel 

Survey (NHTS). 

Adult A person 18 years or older.

Block Group A subdivision of a Census Bureau tract that averages 1,000 to 1,100 people, 

and approximately 400-500 housing units. The source used for the 2009 NHTS 

was TeleAtlas MatchMaker (derived from the Census 2000 definition).

Census Region The Census Bureau divides the country into four regions and nine

and Division divisions.

Note that the states are within their respective divisions and these divisions are 

wholly contained within a region, i.e., region lines do not split division lines. The 

regions and their component divisions are:

Northeast Region:

• New England Division: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New 

Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont

• Middle Atlantic Division: New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania

North Central Region:

• East North Central Division: Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin

• West North Central Division: Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, 

Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota

South Region

• South Atlantic Division: Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North 

Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia

• East South Central Division: Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, Tennessee 

• West South Central Division: Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Texas

West Region

• Mountain Division: Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New 

Mexico, Utah, Wyoming

• Pacific Division: Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon, Washington

For the 2009 NHTS the source used for the 2000 Census Region was: 

http://www.census.gov/geo/www/cob/rg2000.html

The source used for the 2000 Census Division was: 

http://www.census.gov/geo/www/cob/dv2000.html
Summary of Travel Trends

APPENDIX A – TRAVEL CONCEPTS AND GLOSSARY OF TERMS A-6

Census Tract A small subdivision of a county, containing approximately 4,000 persons. Tracts 

can range in population from 2,500 to 8,000. The geographic size of the tract 

may vary considerably, depending on population density. Tracts were designed 

to be homogeneous in regard to population characteristics, economic status and 

living conditions when they were first delineated. Since the first tracts were

defined for the 1890 Census and have remained unchanged, today’s tracts may

no longer be consistent. The source used for the 2009 NHTS was TeleAtlas 

MatchMaker (derived from the Census 2000 definition).

Combined Census states that combined statistical areas (CSAs) are groupings of 

Statistical Area adjacent metropolitan and/or micropolitan statistical areas that have social

(CSA) and economic ties as measured by commuting to work, but at lower levels than 

are found among counties within individual metropolitan and micropolitan 

statistical areas. Combined statistical areas represent larger regions that share 

broader social and economic interactions, such as wholesaling, commodity 

distribution, and weekend recreation activities. The CSAs, are likely to be of 

considerable interest to local and regional government authorities and to the 

private sector. The source used for the 2009 NHTS was 2003 Metropolitan and 

Micropolitan Statistical Areas: Cartographic Boundary Files. 

File cs99_03c.shp from http://www.census.gov/geo/www/cob/mmsa2003.html

For more information on Census statistical area definitions, please see 

http://www.census.gov/population/www/metroareas/metroarea.html

Consolidated A large metropolitan complex of one million or more population, containing

Metropolitan two or more identifiable component parts designated as Primary

Statistical Area Metropolitan Statistical Areas (PMSAs). 

(CMSA)

For more information on Census statistical area definitions, please see 

http://www.census.gov/population/www/metroareas/metroarea.html

Core Based Census states that each metropolitan or micropolitan statistical that

Statistical Area make up the collective CBSA consists of a core area containing a substantial

(CBSA) population nucleus, together with adjacent communities having a high 

degree of economic and social integration with that core. Metropolitan statistical 

areas contain at least one U.S. Census Bureau-defined urbanized area of 

50,000 or more population; micropolitan statistical areas contain at least one 

Census Bureau-defined urban cluster of at least 10,000 and less than 50,000 

population. The source used for the 2009 NHTS was 2003 Metropolitan and 

Micropolitan Statistical Areas: Cartographic Boundary 

Files. File cb99_03c.shp from

http://www.census.gov/geo/www/cob/mmsa2003.html

For more information on Census statistical area definitions, please see 

http://www.census.gov/population/www/metroareas/metroarea.html

Destination The destination is the point at which there is a break in travel, except if the break 
2009 National Household Travel Survey (NHTS)

APPENDIX A – TRAVEL CONCEPTS AND GLOSSARY OF TERMS A-7

is only to change vehicles or means of transport. For example, when a person 

leaves home and walks to the subway and then takes the train to work, the 

destination is work, not the subway AND work. However, if this person were to 

stop for coffee before going to the office, it would count as two trips (i.e., for the 

first trip, the origin is home and the coffee shop is a destination and, for the 

second trip, the origin is the coffee shop and the place of employment is 

destination.

Driver A driver is a person who operates a motorized vehicle, whether licensed or not. 

If more than one person drives on a single trip, the person who drives the most 

miles is classified as the principal driver.

Employed A person is considered employed if (s)he worked for pay or profit in the week 

before the interview, either full time or part time. 

Education Level The number of years of regular schooling completed in any graded public, 

private, or parochial schools, that advances a person toward an elementary or

high school diploma, or attends a college , university, or professional school, 

whether day school or night school is counted when applicable. In the NHTS, 

education level is collected for those 18 and older. 

Household (HH) A group of persons whose usual place of residence is a specific housing unit; 

these persons may or may not be related to each other. The total of all U.S. 

households represents the total civilian, non-institutionalized population. In 

NHTS an eligible sampled household does not include 10 or more persons living 

together, none of whom are related.

Household Income Household income is the pay earned by all family members in a household, 

including those temporarily absent, during the 12 months preceding the 

interview. Household income includes monies from all sources, such as wages 

and salary, commissions, tips, cash bonuses, income from a business or farm, 

pensions, dividends, interest, unemployment or workmen’s compensation, social 

security, veterans’ payments, rent received from owned property (minus the 

operating costs), public assistance payments, regular gifts of money from 

friends or relatives not living in the household, alimony, child support, and other 

kinds of periodic money income other than earnings. Household income 

excludes in-kind income such as room and board, insurance payments, lumpsum inheritances, occasional gifts of money from persons not living in the same 

household, withdrawal of savings from banks, tax refunds, and the proceeds of 

the sale of one’s house, car, or other personal property.

Household Household members include all people, whether present or temporarily 

Member (HHM) absent, whose usual place of residence is in the sample unit. Household 

members also include people staying in the sample unit who have no other 

usual place of residence elsewhere.
Summary of Travel Trends

APPENDIX A – TRAVEL CONCEPTS AND GLOSSARY OF TERMS A-8

Household Vehicle A household vehicle is a motorized vehicle that is owned, leased, rented or 

company-owned and available to be used regularly by household members. 

Household vehicles include autos used solely for business purposes or 

business-owned vehicles, so long as they are driven home and can be used for 

the home-to-work trip, (e.g., taxicabs, police cars, etc.). Household vehicles 

include all autos that were owned or available for use by members of the 

household on the travel day, even though a vehicle may have been sold before 

the interview. Vehicles excluded from household vehicles are those that are 

not working and were not expected to be working, and vehicles that were 

purchased or received after the designated travel day.

Means of A mode of travel used for going from one place (origin) to another 

Transportation (destination). A means of transportation includes private and public modes, 

as well as walking. 

The following transportation modes, grouped by major mode, are included in the 

NHTS data: 

Private Vehicle 

• Car. Includes autos and station wagons. Leased and rented cars are 

included if they are privately operated and not used for picking up passengers in 

return for fare.

• Van. Includes vans or minivans designed to carry 5 to 13 passengers, or 

to haul cargo.

• Sport Utility Vehicle. Includes vehicles that are a hybrid of design 

elements from a van, a pickup truck and a station wagon. Examples include a 

Ford Explorer, Jeep Cherokee, or Nissan Pathfinder. 

• Pickup Truck. Includes vehicles with an enclosed cab that usually 

accommodates 2-3 passengers, and has an open cargo area in the rear. Late 

model pickups often have a back seat that allows for total seating of 4 -6 

passengers. Pickup trucks usually have the same size of wheel-base as a fullsize station wagon. This category also includes pickups with campers.

• Other Truck: This category consists of all trucks other than pickup trucks 

(e.g., dump trucks, trailer trucks, etc.).

• RV or Motor Home: An RV or motor home includes a self-powered 

recreational vehicle that is operated as a unit without being towed by another 

vehicle (e.g., a Winnebago motor home).

• Motorcycle: This class includes large, medium, and small motorcycles 

and mopeds. 

• LEV/Golf Cart: This grouping includes all electric or gas operated 

vehicles designed for use on a golf course, but whose use has recently 

extended to use within smaller, often gated, communities.

• Other POV: A privately owned or operated vehicle that cannot be 

classified into one of the categories above (e.g., snowmobiles). 

Public Transportation, as used in FHWA publications and analysis of NHTS 

data, typically includes the following that are indicated in bold below, mass 
2009 National Household Travel Survey (NHTS)

APPENDIX A – TRAVEL CONCEPTS AND GLOSSARY OF TERMS A-9

transit bus, commuter bus, commuter train, subway/elevated rail, and 

streetcar/trolley. 

Bus: The bus category includes:

 Mass Transit Systems: general public transit buses ,

 Commuter Buses: buses used for short-distance public transport 

purposes (e.g., city bus or public bus),school buses, and 

 Shuttle Buses: that shuttle passengers from one fixed place to another 

(e.g., airport shuttles), 

 Charter/Tour Buses: private buses operating on a fixed schedule 

between population centers, and

 City to City Buses: buses that run from one urban center to the other 

(e.g., Greyhound).

Train: This category includes:

 Amtrak and intercity trains that run from one urban center to another on 

heavy rail tracks; 

 Commuter and passenger trains.

 Subway and elevated rail (also known as rail rapid transit) is a high 

capacity system operated on a fixed rail or guide way system on a 

private right of way; and

 Trolley/streetcars run on a fixed rail system powered by electricity 

obtained from an overhead power distribution system.

Other Modes 

• Taxi. Taxis include the use of an auto by a passenger for fare, including 

limousines. The taxi category does not include rental cars if they are privately 

operated.

• Ferry. This group includes travel by passenger line ferries.

• Airplane. Airplanes include commercial airplanes and smaller planes 

that are available for use by the general public in exchange for a fare. Private 

and corporate planes and helicopters are also included. 

• Bicycle. This category includes bicycles of all speeds and sizes that 

do not have a motor.

• Walk. This category includes walking and jogging. 

• Special Transit for People with Disabilities. This group includes 

paratransit programs like “Dial-A-Ride”.

• Other. Includes any type of transportation not previously listed, (e.g. 

skate boards, roller blades, sailboats, cruise ships, etc). 

Metropolitan A Metropolitan Statistical Area containing a single core with a population of

Division at minimum 2.5 million may be subdivided into areas known as 

Metropolitan Divisions. The source used for the 2009 NHTS was 2003 

Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Areas: Cartographic Boundary 

Files. File md99_03c.shp from

http://www.census.gov/geo/www/cob/mmsa2003.html
Summary of Travel Trends

APPENDIX A – TRAVEL CONCEPTS AND GLOSSARY OF TERMS A-10

Metropolitan Except in the New England States, a Metropolitan Statistical Area is a

Statistical Area county or group of contiguous counties which contain at least one city of 

(MSAs) 50,000 inhabitants or more or ‘twin cities’ with combined populations of 50,000 

or more. Each metro area consists of one or more counties and includes the

counties containing the core urban area, as well as any adjacent counties that 

have a high degree of social and economic integration (as measured by 

commuting patterns to work) with the urban core. For more information, see:

http://www.census.gov/population/www/metroareas/metroarea.html

Motorized Vehicle Vehicles are all vehicles that are licensed for highway driving. 

Occupancy The number of persons, including driver and passenger(s) in a vehicle. NHTS 

provides this number in the variable NUMONTRP. 

Origin Origin is the starting point of a trip. 

Passenger For a specific trip, a passenger is any occupant of a motorized vehicle, other 

than the driver.

Person Miles PMT is a primary measure of person travel and is described in the Travel of

Of Travel (PMT) Concepts section at the beginning of this Glossary. 

Person Trip A person trip is a trip from one address to another by one or more persons in 

any mode of transportation. Each person is considered as making one person 

trip. For example, four persons traveling together in one auto are counted as 

four person trips.

POV A privately-owned vehicle or privately-operated vehicle. This is not a vehicle 

available to the public for a fee, such as a bus, subway, taxi, etc. 

Public 

Transportation See Mode of Transportation

Travel Day A travel day is a 24-hour period from 4:00 a.m. to 3:59 a.m. designated as the 

reference period for studying trips and travel by members of a sampled 

household.

Travel Day Trip A travel day trip is defined as any time the respondent went from one address to 

another by private motor vehicle, public transportation, bicycle, walking, or other 

means. However, a separate trip is not counted in two instances:

1. When the sole purpose for the trip is to get to another vehicle or mode of 

transportation in order to continue to the destination. 
2009 National Household Travel Survey (NHTS)

APPENDIX A – TRAVEL CONCEPTS AND GLOSSARY OF TERMS A-11

2. Travel within a shopping center, mall or shopping areas of 4-5 blocks is 

considered travel to one destination. 

Travel Day A trip purpose is the primary purpose of a trip. 

Trip Purpose There are 36 travel day trip purposes used in the 2009 NHTS.

For each trip, the origin and destination are documented in specific terms if 

properly reported by the respondent (e.g. from place of employment). The 36 

trip reasons are defined below. The numbers in parentheses represent the value 

of WHYTO (trip purpose) in the dataset.

Return Trip:

1. To Home (01). A trip to the respondents’ primary residence. 

To Work:

2. Go to Work (11). The first trip to the work location on travel day.

Return Trip:

3. Return to Work (12). A trip to work that is not the first trip to the workplace 

on the travel day (e.g., returning to work after lunch).

Work-Related:

4. Attend Business Meeting/Trip (13). A work-related trip such as a business 

meeting.

5. Other Work Related (14). A work-related trip with an unspecified purpose.

School/Church:

6. Go to School as a Student (21). A trip to school as a student.

7. Go to Religious Activity (22). A trip to a place to attend a religious activity.

8. Go to Library, School Related (23). A trip to go to the library as part of a 

school related activity.

9. Go to Daycare/Before or After School Care (24). A trip to attend day care 

or a supervised before or after school care program.

10. Other School/Religious Activity (20). School and religious activities that are 

not captured in WHYTO 21-24 above.

Medical Dental:

11. Medical/Dental Services (30). A trip made to obtain medical, dental, or 

mental health treatment, or other related professional services.

Family and Personal Business/Errands:

12. Shopping/Errands (40). Shopping and errand trips that are not captured in 

WHYTO 41-43 above.

13. Buy Goods: groceries/clothing/hardware store (41). A shopping trip to 

purchase commodities for use or consumption elsewhere. This trip can

also include shopping trips even if nothing is purchased. 

14. Buy Services (42). This category includes the purchase of services other 

than medical/dental or other professional services, including video rentals, 
Summary of Travel Trends

APPENDIX A – TRAVEL CONCEPTS AND GLOSSARY OF TERMS A-12

dry cleaning, post office, car service, or a bank.

15. Buy Gas (43). A trip made specifically to get gas.

16. Use Professional Services: (61). A trip made for to engage professional 

services (such as an attorney or accountant) other than for medical/dental 

purposes.

17. Attend Funeral/Wedding (62). A trip to attend a funeral or a wedding.

18. Use Personal Services (63). A trip for personal services such as a 

massage, manicure, or a haircut.

19. Pet Care (64). Walking the dog or veterinary visits 

20. Attend Meeting (65). A trip to attend a non-work related meeting, such as a 

community meeting, PTA home owner’s associate, or local government 

meetings.

21. Family Personal Business/Obligations (60). Represents a trip for personal 

business but is not captured in WHYTO 61-65 above.

22. Pick up Someone (71). A trip to pick up a passenger. 

23. Take and Wait (72). A trip to take someone to a destination, then wait with 

or for them at the destination, and then depart together.

24. Drop Someone Off (73). A trip to drop off a passenger but not wait for 

them. 

25. Transport Someone (70). A trip with a passenger that involves picking up 

or dropping off someone but is not captured in WHYTO 71-73 above.

Social and Recreational:

26. Social/Recreational (50). This category includes social and recreational 

trips that are not captured in WHYTO 51-55 above.

27. Go to the Gym/Exercise/Play Sports (51). A trip to engage in exercise or to 

participate in a sport.

28. Rest or Relaxation/Vacation (52). A trip for relaxing or taking a vacation 

that does not include visiting family. 

29. Visit Friends/Relatives (53). A social/recreational trip to visit with family 

and friends.

30. Go out/Hang out (54). A trip for entertainment (i.e. theatre/sports event/go 

to bar/seeing friends) that typically take place in a public venue.

31. Visit Public Place (55). A trip purpose that is educational or enlightening. 

32. Get/Eat Meal (82). A trip to get and eat a meal.

33. Coffee/Ice Cream/Snacks (83). A trip to get/eat a quantity of snack or drink

that is, something less than a meal.

34. Meals (80). A trip to eat or get a meal that is not captured in WHYTO 81-

83 above.

35. Social Event (81). A trip to attend a social event where eating a meal is not 

a key component of the event.

Other:

36. Other (97). A trip purpose not captured by any of the specific WHYTO 

categories described above.

Urban and Rural The NHTS 2009 used the available Urban and Rural classifications at the

Classification time of data coding, which were from the Census 2000.

For Census 2000, the Census Bureau classified as "urban" all territory, 

population, and housing units located within an urbanized area (UA) or an urban 
2009 National Household Travel Survey (NHTS)

APPENDIX A – TRAVEL CONCEPTS AND GLOSSARY OF TERMS A-13

cluster (UC). It defines UA and UC boundaries to encompass densely settled 

territory that consists of: 

• core Census block groups or blocks that have a population density of at 

least 1,000 people per square mile and 

• surrounding census blocks that have an overall density of at least 500 

people per square mile 

In addition, under certain conditions, less densely settled territory may be part of 

each UA or UC. 

The Census Bureau's classification of "rural" consists of all territory, population, 

and housing units located outside of UAs and UCs. The rural component 

contains both place and nonplace territory. Geographic entities, such as Census 

tracts, counties, metropolitan areas, and the territory outside metropolitan areas, 

often are "split" between urban and rural territory, and the population and 

housing units they contain often are partly classified as urban and partly 

classified as rural. For more information, see: 

http://www.census.gov/geo/www/ua/ua_2k.html

Urbanized Area An urbanized area consists of the built-up area surrounding a central core (or 

central city), with a population density of at least 1,000 persons per square mile. 

Urbanized areas do not follow jurisdictional boundaries, therefore it is common 

for the urbanized area border to divide a county. For the 2009 NHTS, Urban 

areas were coded in the variable URBAN. Four codes are used:

01 = In an urban area 

02 = In an Urban cluster 

03 = In an area surrounded by urban areas 

04 = Not in urban area

Vehicle Includes autos, passenger vans, sport utility vehicles, pickups and other light 

trucks, RV’s, motorcycles and mopeds, and golf carts owned and/or available to 

the household for regular use. 

Vehicle Miles of VMT is a unit to measure vehicle travel made by a private vehicle, such as 

Travel (VMT) an automobile, van, pickup truck, or motorcycle. Each mile traveled is counted 

as one vehicle mile regardless of the number of persons in the vehicle. 

Vehicle Occupancy Vehicle occupancy is the number of persons, including driver and passenger(s) 

in a vehicle; also includes persons who did not complete a whole trip. NHTS 

provides this number in the variable NUMONTRP. Mile-based vehicle 

occupancy is calculated using NUMONTRP weighted per vehicle mile. 

Vehicle Trip A trip by a single privately-operated vehicle (POV) regardless of the number of 

persons in the vehicle. 
Summary of Travel Trends

APPENDIX A – TRAVEL CONCEPTS AND GLOSSARY OF TERMS A-14

Vehicle Type One of the following: 

1. Automobile (including station wagon)

2. Van 

3. Sport Utility Vehicle 

4. Pickup Truck (including pickup with camper)

5. Other Truck

6. RV or Motor Home

7. Motorcycle

8. Other

See Means of Transportation for definitions of these vehicle types. Much of 

the analysis conducted using the NHTS data limits vehicle types to privately 

operated vehicles (POVs) because other vehicles that the respondent may have 

ridden in (e.g., bus) were not tracked throughout the entire day. 

Worker See Employed.
2009 National Household Travel Survey (NHTS)

APPENDIX B – KEY CHANGES OVER TIME IN THE NPTS/NHTS DATA SERIES B-1

APPENDIX B. KEY CHANGES OVER TIME IN THE NPTS/NHTS DATA 

SERIES
Summary of Travel Trends

APPENDIX B – KEY CHANGES OVER TIME IN THE NPTS/NHTS DATA SERIES B-2

Key Changes Over Time in the NPTS/NHTS Data Series

1969 1977 1983 1990 1995 2001 2009

15,000 18,000 6,500

18,000 national 

and 4,300 addon

21,000 national 

and 21,000 addon

26,000 national 

and 44,000 addon

25,000 national 

and 125,000 addon (Combined 

into single 

sample)

Outgoing 

panels of 

Census 

Quarterly 

Housing 

Survey

Outgoing 

panels of 

Census 

Current 

Population 

Survey

Outgoing

panels of 

Census 

Current 

Population 

Survey

RDD 

Telephone 

sample

RDD Telephone 

sample

RDD Telephone 

sample

RDD Telephone 

sample plus Cell 

Phone Only 

sample

In-home 

interview with 

some 

telephone 

follow-up

In-home 

interview with 

some 

telephone 

follow-up

In-home 

interview with 

some 

telephone

follow-up

One-stage: 

CATI recruit 

and recall

Two stage: 

CATI recruitmail out diaryCATI collection

Two stage: CATI 

recruit-mail out 

diary-CATI 

collection

Two stage: CATI 

recruit-mail out 

diary-CATI 

collection

None None None None

Advance Letter 

and 2$ per 

person with 

diary

Advance Letter 

and 2$ per 

person with 

diary

Advance Letter 

and 2$ per 

person with diary

None: 

Respondent 

recalled 

'yesterday'

None: 

Respondent 

recalled 

'yesterday'

None:

Respondent 

recalled 

'yesterday'

None: 

Respondent 

recalled 

'yesterday'

Diary as a 

memory jogger

Diary as a 

memory jogger

Diary as a 

memory jogger

None None None None

Full day trip 

rostering by 

begin time only

Full day trip 

rostering by time 

and destination

Full day trip 

rostering by time 

and destination
2009 National Household Travel Survey (NHTS)

APPENDIX B – KEY CHANGES OVER TIME IN THE NPTS/NHTS DATA SERIES B-3

1969 1977 1983 1990 1995 2001 2009

All household 

members

All household 

members

All household 

members

Household 

members aged 

5 and older

Household 

members aged 

5 and older

All household 

members

Household 

members aged 5 

and older

No Proxy 

Allowed

No Proxy 

Allowed

No Proxy 

Allowed

Proxy reports 

required for 

household 

members 13 

years and 

under, adult 

proxy allowed

Proxy reports 

required for 13 

and under. 

parental 

approval for 14-

15 year olds. 

Adult proxy from 

diary allowed.

Proxy reports

required for 13 

and under. 

Parental 

approval for 14-

15 year olds. 

Adult proxy from 

diary after 3 

days.

Proxy reports 

required for 13 

and under. 

Parental approval 

for 14-15 year 

olds. Adult proxy 

from diary after 

three days.

Travel by 

walking within 

a defined 

area (such as 

a strip mall) 

not counted

Travel by 

walking within 

a block area 

(such as a 

strip mall) not 

counted

Travel by 

walking within 

a block area 

(such as a 

strip mall) not 

counted

Travel by 

walking within 

a block area 

(such as a strip 

mall) not 

counted

Any stop from 

one address to 

another, 

including trips to 

change 

transportation 

mode 

Any trip from

one address to 

another, mode 

changes not 

included (access 

and egress 

asked 

separately) 

Any trip from one 

address to 

another, mode 

changes not 

included (access 

and egress asked 

separately) 

None None None None None

Prompts to 

include 

walk/bike trips

Prompts to 

include walk/bike-

-added transit

Did not collect 

walk and bike 

trips

Collected 

walk and bike

Collected 

walk and bike

Collected walk 

and bike

Collected walk 

and bike

Collected walk 

and bike. Split 

home-to-home 

trips to geocode 

trip location

Collected walk 

and bike. Split 

home-to-home 

trips to geocode 

trip location