Just what do we actually know about household spending on transportation 

services and how are they changing in the 21st Century?

Jonathan R. Peters, Ph.D.

The College of Staten Island & The CUNY Graduate School

David A. King, Ph.D.

Arizona State University

Cameron E. Gordon, Ph.D.

University of Canberra

Nora Tabori Santiago, MUA

The CUNY High Performance Computing Center

Bureau of Labor Statistics

2018 Consumer Expenditure Surveys (CE) Microdata Users’ Workshop

Washington, DC 

July 20, 2018
How did we

(Transportation Finance Folks & Urban Planners) 

wind up here at the BLS? 

Part III (2014, 2017 & 2018)

Why are we interested in tracking the 

cost of transport services and fees?
The Changing US Portfolio of Travel

• Look at aspects of travel costs that are 

changing.

• How are these costs reflected in the CEX?

• How are these cost measured through other 

methods?

• How are these costs spread across income 

groups?

• How can we plan to measure future costs?
Ola Cabs - India

Sidecar - DOA
Uber Trips Origins in “New York” – From Uber 

Data Obtained From Uber by NYC Taxi and Limousine Commission for April – October 2014 


Rank City % car-free

1 New York City 56%

2 Washington, DC 38%

3 Boston 37%

4 Philadelphia 33%

5 San Francisco 31%

6 Baltimore 31%

7 Chicago 28%

8 Detroit 26%

US Households Without a Vehicle

U.S. Average = 9.22%
Household Modes of Travel

• Private Automobile

• Shared Vehicle – Carpool / Fampool

• Shared Vehicle – Taxi, Jitney, Lyft, Uber

• Walking

• Bicycle

• Mass Transit – Commuter Rail, Metro, Bus, Ferry

• Air Travel

• Non-Travel – Online Shopping / Video Meetings

• And Lodging - AirBNB versus Hotels
Changing Households

• Households used to travel a lot to get goods and services.

• Go to store to rent a DVD or buy a CD – Now Netflix and I-Tunes.

• Go to a restaurant to get a meal

• Go to store to purchase a physical map – now cell phone and GPS 

services

• Buy a car and have it for your own use every day – now Lyft, Uber 

and Zipcar.

• Travel to a location to have a meeting – now Skype or 

GotoMeeting.

• Now these services are bundled in some cases with transportation 

services, communications or the delivery of goods. 

• It will move the stuff between the UCC boxes.
Our First Project - 2014

Examining Tolling in Data

Price Data Should be in 

Producer Price Index (PPI) 

or 

Consumer Price Index (CPI)




Share of Expenditures Spent on Transportation
Last Year’s Project (2017)

– Social Justice

• Also known as Social Equity, Environmental 

Justice or Social Inclusion (in Europe)

• Measures of Fairness (in service quality)

• Measures of Burden (in costs and fees)

• So – we looked to examine the burden of 

tolling and fees by income class, race, gender 

and educational status

• Both in BLS Data and in other survey data.







CES Data from

(Public Use Microsample)

Data on Transportation Series


Why Use the CEX?

• Both Income and Consumption for households

• Longitudinal aspects of data

• Well organized and documented

• Has various aspects of household lifestyle

• Has geographic location

• Can compare consumption of various goods in 

same household
Options for Descriptives in the CEX

• Consumption by PSU

• Consumption by State (new – some states)

• Consumption by Income Group

• Consumption by Age Cohort (Generation)

• Consumption by Educational Status

• Consumption by Gender

• Consumption by Race

• Consumption patterns over time
Some Transportation Costs

• Local Tolls

• Parking Fees

• Taxi Type Services – Out of Town Trips

• Taxi Type Services – Local Use

• Gasoline Consumption

• Diesel Consumption

• Intracity Mass Transit
*libname DIARY 'c:\ces2011\diary\';

libname EXPN 'c:\ces2015\EXPN15\';

libname INTERV 'c:\ces2015\INTRVw15\';

data cesstate; set interv.cesstate3;

statename = state;

state=sct;

sc=sct;

proc sort; by sc;

data qtr1; set interv.mtbi153;

where ucc in ("470111") and ref_mo = "06";

tcount = 1;

proc sort; by newid;

proc corr;

data family; set interv.fmli153;

fcount =1;

sc=state+0;

PROC SORT; BY newid state cuid;

data allbang; merge family qtr1;

by newid;

*incclass = 4;

if 0 lt inc_rank le .10 then incclass = 1;

if .10001 lt inc_rank le .20 then incclass = 2;

if .20001 lt inc_rank le .30 then incclass = 3;

if .30001 lt inc_rank le .40 then incclass = 4;

if .40001 lt inc_rank le .50 then incclass = 5;

if .50001 lt inc_rank le .60 then incclass = 6;

if .60001 lt inc_rank le .70 then incclass = 7;
Income Surveys Payers Expenditures MVE Avg MVE Ave Payer Avg All Percent 

Class (Gasoline) (Gasoline) (Gasoline) Consuming

Note about 90% of HH in CEX consume gasoline

Lower Income HHs have a 73.4% Gasoline Usage Rate

High Income HH have a 97.6% Gasoline Usage Rate

Gasoline Consumption is 10x the level of Miscellaneous Vehicle Expenditures

Fuel Taxation is regressive as a source of tax revenue.
Income VEHQ Veh per HH Age_Ref Ave. Age

0% to 25% 2,023 1.23 86,271 52.48

25% to 50% 2,413 1.47 90,940 55.25

50% to 75% 3,343 2.09 78,409 49.01

75% to 100% 4,089 2.57 76,450 48.05

Total 11,868 1.83 332,070 51.24

Cohort Total Income Ann HH Income 

0% to 25% $ 6,812,904 $ 4,144

25% to 50% $ 41,901,198 $ 25,456

50% to 75% $ 91,367,932 $ 57,105

75% to 100% $ 238,313,343 $ 149,788

Income Group % of HHs % of Income % of GasolEquity Cumulative % HH Cumulative % Income Cumulative % Gasoline

0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0

0-10% 9.9% 0.0% 9.2% 9.9% 9.9% 0.0% 9.2%

10%-20% 10.3% 0.7% 6.1% 20.2% 20.2% 0.7% 15.3%

20% - 30% 10.4% 2.5% 5.2% 30.6% 30.6% 3.3% 20.5%

30%-40% 10.3% 4.0% 7.0% 40.8% 40.8% 7.3% 27.5%

40% - 50% 9.9% 5.6% 9.8% 50.7% 50.7% 12.9% 37.4%

50% - 60% 10.0% 7.7% 10.1% 60.8% 60.8% 20.6% 47.5%

60% - 70% 9.7% 10.1% 11.0% 70.5% 70.5% 30.7% 58.4%

70% - 80% 9.8% 13.7% 12.0% 80.4% 80.4% 44.4% 70.5%

80% - 90% 9.7% 18.5% 13.9% 90.1% 90.1% 62.9% 84.4%

90% - 100 9.9% 37.1% 15.6% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0%
Then – We can plot a Lorenz Curve


Blue - Overpunching - spending greater amounts than expected given spending

Red - Underpunching - consuming less than expected - given overall spending
Vehicles

Generation All consumer 

units

Millennial (born 

1981 and later)

Generation X 

(born 1965 to 

1980)

Baby Boom 

(born 1946 

to 1964)

Silent Generation 

(born 1929 to 

1945)

GI (born 1928 

and earlier)

Households 128,437,362 29,008,802 35,857,621 44,174,972 17,116,020 2,279,947

Percent of Households 22.6% 27.9% 34.4% 13.3% 1.8%

Total Vehicles in HH 244,030,988 43,513,203 75,301,004 97,184,938 27,385,632 1,823,958 

Percent of Vehicles 17.8% 30.9% 39.8% 11.2% 0.7%

Relative % of Vehicles as 

compared to HH 78.9% 110.5% 115.8% 84.2% 42.1%

Total expenditures as compared to 

Average HH 84.2% 119.7% 106.6% 75.6% 51.9%

Transport Dollar Spending as 

compared to Average HH $ (582.59) $ 1,723.35 $ 721.22 $ (3,177.51) -7,012.89

Transport Spending as a % of HH Spe 17.0% 18.9% 16.5% 17.1% 14.9% 8.6%

1.9 1.5 2.1 2.2 1.6 0.8
Generations in the CEX

• So – Geoffrey Paulin’s article and comments 

gave us a few new ideas as to how we can use 

the data.

• And it sent us back to the detailed PUMS data 

for further analysis.

• We then cut the data by generation



IF AGE_REF GE 87 THEN GEN = "1 GREATEST ";

IF 70 Le AGE_REF LE 86 THEN GEN = "2 SILENT ";

IF 51 Le AGE_REF LE 69 THEN GEN = "3 BABYBOOM ";

IF 35 Le AGE_REF LE 50 THEN GEN = "4 GENERAT X";

IF AGE_REF LE 34 THEN GEN = "5 MILLENIAl";

SAS Code for 2015
SAS Code for 2005

IF AGE_REF GE 77 THEN GEN = "1 GREATEST ";

IF 60 Le AGE_REF LE 76 THEN GEN = "2 SILENT ";

IF 41 Le AGE_REF LE 59 THEN GEN = "3 BABYBOOM ";

IF 25 Le AGE_REF LE 40 THEN GEN = "4 GENERAT X";

IF AGE_REF LE 24 THEN GEN = "5 MILLENIAl";
Comparison of BLS CEX Data and U.S. Population - 2015

Average US % of US BLS CEX % of CEX Delta

Generation Age Population Population Surveys Surveys CEX to POP

GREATEST 87.00 1.9 1% 274 4% -3%

SILENT 75.17 29.8 12% 790 12% 0%

BABYBOOM 59.86 79.9 32% 2,245 35% -3%

GENERAT X 42.74 65.8 26% 1,773 27% -1%

MILLENIAl 27.65 75.4 30% 1,399 22% 8%

252.8 100% 6,481
Detailed Tables by Age Cohort

Transportation Fees and Goods
 Local Tolls - UCC 520541 - All Households - June 2005

Total Toll Ann. Avg. Exp. Ann. Avg. Exp. Percent of Number of Average Average 

Generation Surveys User % Local Tolls Local Tolls HH Spending Toll Users Income Vehicles

Of Users All HH on Local Tolls Per HH

GREATEST 611 2.62% $70.75 $1.85 0.01% 16 $28,766 1.152

SILENT 1503 9.18% $174.84 $16.05 0.03% 138 $50,570 1.929

BABYBOOM 2806 10.76% $213.91 $23.02 0.03% 302 $75,555 2.304

GENERAT X 2082 9.22% $227.79 $21.01 0.03% 192 $62,962 1.836

MILLENIAl 454 5.07% $76.17 $3.86 0.01% 23 $29,109 1.366

------ ------

7456 9.0% $18.15 671 $ 60,340
 Local Tolls - UCC 520541 - All Households - June 2010

Total Toll Ann. Avg. Exp. Ann. Avg. Exp. Percent of Number of Average Average 

Generatio Surveys User % Local Tolls Local Tolls HH Spending Toll Users Income Vehicles

Of Users All HH on Local Tolls Per HH

GREATEST 259 2.70% $57.71 $1.56 0.01% 7 $29,106 1.046

SILENT 776 6.19% $145.83 $9.02 0.02% 48 $40,280 1.523

BABYBOOM 2278 11.46% $267.91 $30.70 0.04% 261 $69,947 2.115

GENERAT X 2169 13.19% $296.94 $39.15 0.05% 286 $78,726 2.040

MILLENIAl 1577 9.00% $220.42 $19.85 0.04% 142 $50,951 1.450

------ ------

7059 10.5% $27.42 744 $ 63,641
 Local Tolls - UCC 520541 - All Households - June 2015

Total Toll Ann. Avg. Exp. Ann. Avg. Exp. Percent of Number of Average Average 

Generation Surveys User % Local Tolls Local Tolls HH Spending Toll Users Income Vehicles

Of Users All HH on Local Tolls Per HH

GREATEST 274 4.01% $103.27 $4.15 0.01% 11 $28,050 0.956

SILENT 790 9.11% $217.89 $19.86 0.04% 72 $45,049 1.670

BABYBOOM 2245 14.03% $287.52 $40.34 0.06% 315 $73,219 2.103

GENERAT X 1773 16.47% $330.32 $54.40 0.06% 292 $88,275 1.966

MILLENIAl 1399 11.44% $246.35 $28.17 0.05% 160 $57,957 1.486

------ ------

6481 13.1% $37.53 850
Key Patterns

• Comparing 2005 to 2010 to 2015

• Looking at each generation as a unique group

• Not at a pattern of consumption at a given age

• But the consumption pattern for a generation

• Shrinking size of sample from older 

generations

• Increase in sample of younger generation

• Reduction in some activities as we age
General Trends

• Declining vehicle ownership for Greatest and 

Silent Generations from 2005 to 2015.

• Increasing ownership rate of vehicles for Baby 

Boom, Generation X and Millennials from 

2005 to 2015.

• Increasing income for BB, GX & MI

• Examine Participation Rates – 2005 to 2015

• Examine Average Expenditures – 2005 to 2015
Paid Parking - UCC 520531 - All Households - June 2005

Total Parking Ann. Avg. Exp. Ann. Avg. Exp. Percent of Number of Average Average 

Generation Surveys User % Paid Parking Paid Parking HH Spending Paid Parking Income Vehicles

Of Users All HH on Paid Parking Users Per HH

GREATEST 611 3.27% $232.20 $7.60 0.03% 20 $28,766 1.152

SILENT 1503 8.45% $145.70 $12.31 0.02% 127 $50,570 1.929

BABYBOOM 2806 10.51% $280.08 $29.45 0.04% 295 $75,555 2.304

GENERAT X 2082 11.34% $255.32 $28.94 0.05% 236 $62,962 1.836

MILLENIAl 454 9.69% $286.73 $27.79 0.10% 44 $29,109 1.366

------ ------

7456 9.7% $23.96 722 $60,340
Paid Parking - UCC 520531 - All Households - June 2015

Total Parking Ann. Avg. Exp. Ann. Avg. Exp. Percent of Number of Average Average 

Generation Surveys User % Paid Parking Paid Parking HH Spending Paid Parking Income Vehicles

Of Users All HH on Paid ParkingUsers Per HH

GREATEST 274 4.01% $362.55 $14.55 0.05% 11 $28,050 0.956

SILENT 790 7.97% $267.49 $21.33 0.05% 63 $45,049 1.670

BABYBOOM 2245 12.43% $307.48 $38.21 0.05% 279 $73,219 2.103

GENERAT X 1773 14.44% $375.03 $54.15 0.06% 256 $88,275 1.966

MILLENIAl 1399 14.58% $358.10 $52.22 0.09% 204 $57,957 1.486

------ ------

6481 12.5% $42.54 813 $68,700
Out of Town Use - Taxi Type Services - UCC 530411 - All Households - June 2005

Total Taxi Type Ann. Avg. Exp. Ann. Avg. Exp. Percent of Number of Average Average 

Generation Surveys User % Taxi Type Taxi Type HH Spending Taxi Type Income Vehicles

Of Users All HH on Taxi Type Users Per HH

GREATEST 611 0.98% $137.64 $1.35 0.00% 6 $28,766 1.152

SILENT 1505 3.26% $386.37 $12.58 0.02% 49 $50,747 1.932

BABYBOOM 2806 3.17% $349.01 $11.07 0.01% 89 $75,555 2.304

GENERAT X 2083 2.59% $233.18 $6.04 0.01% 54 $62,966 1.836

MILLENIAl 454 1.10% $101.23 $1.11 0.00% 5 $29,109 1.366

------ ------

7459 2.7% $8.57 203
Out of Town Use of Taxi Type Services - UCC 530411 - All Households - June 2015

Total Taxi Type Ann. Avg. Exp. Ann. Avg. Exp. Percent of Number of Average Average 

Generation Surveys User % Taxi Type Taxi Type HH Spending Taxi Type Income Vehicles

of Users All HH on Taxi Type Users Per HH

GREATEST 274 1.46% $248.64 $3.63 0.01% 4 $28,050 0.956

SILENT 791 1.77% $642.53 $11.37 0.02% 14 $45,611 1.671

BABYBOOM 2250 2.71% $450.91 $12.22 0.02% 61 $73,507 2.102

GENERAT X 1774 2.82% $401.38 $11.31 0.01% 50 $88,399 1.966

MILLENIAl 1400 1.50% $324.12 $4.86 0.01% 21 $57,986 1.486

------ ------

6489 2.3% $9.92 150 $68,909
Local Use - Taxi Type Services - UCC 530412 - All Households - June 2005

Total Taxi Type Services - UC Ann. Avg. EAnn. Avg. Percent ofNumber oAverage Average 

Generation Surveys User % Taxi Type Taxi Type HH SpendiTaxi Type Income Vehicles

Of Users All HH on Taxi Ty Users Per HH

GREATEST 611 2.29% $364.00 $8.34 0.03% 14 $28,766 1.152

SILENT 1503 3.06% $353.57 $10.82 0.02% 46 $50,570 1.929

BABYBOOM 2806 3.31% $541.51 $17.95 0.02% 93 $75,555 2.304

GENERAT X 2082 3.94% $499.61 $19.68 0.03% 82 $62,962 1.836

MILLENNIAL 454 3.08% $510.29 $15.74 0.05% 14 $29,109 1.366

------ ------

7456 3.3% $16.07 249 1.946
Local Use - Taxi Type Services - UCC 530412 - All Households - June 2015

Total Taxi Type Services - UC Ann. Avg. EAnn. Avg. Percent ofNumber oAverage Average 

Generation Surveys User % Taxi Type Taxi Type HH SpendiTaxi Type Income Vehicles

Of Users All HH on Taxi Ty Users Per HH

GREATEST 274 3.28% $241.78 $7.94 0.03% 9 $28,050 0.956

SILENT 790 3.92% $709.68 $27.85 0.06% 31 $45,049 1.670

BABYBOOM 2245 3.43% $475.27 $16.30 0.02% 77 $73,219 2.103

GENERAT X 1773 5.64% $563.36 $31.77 0.04% 100 $88,275 1.966

MILLENNIAL 1399 7.43% $388.31 $28.87 0.05% 104 $57,957 1.486

------ ------

6481 5.0% $24.30 321 1.831
Gasoline Consumption - UCC 470111 - All Households - June 2005

Total Gasoline Ann. Avg. Exp. Ann. Avg. Exp. Percent of Number of Average Average 

Generation Surveys User % Gasoline Gasoline HH Spending Gasoline Income Vehicles

Of Users All HH Gasoline Users Per HH

GREATEST 611 77.74% $1,065.75 $828.53 2.88% 475 $28,766 1.152

SILENT 1503 90.69% $1,726.42 $1,565.61 3.10% 1363 $50,570 1.929

BABYBOOM 2806 91.59% $2,569.17 $2,353.09 3.11% 2570 $75,555 2.304

GENERAT X 2082 90.63% $2,387.34 $2,163.74 3.44% 1887 $62,962 1.836

MILLENIAl 454 86.34% $1,841.97 $1,590.42 5.46% 392 $29,109 1.366

------ ------

7456 89.7% $1,970.10 6687
Gasoline Consumption - UCC 470111 - All Households - June 2015

Total Gasoline Ann. Avg. Exp. Ann. Avg. Exp. Percent of Number of Average Average 

Generation Surveys User % Gasoline Gasoline HH Spending Gasoline Income Vehicles

of Users All HH Gasoline Users Per HH

GREATEST 274 67.52% $1,097.45 $740.98 2.64% 185 $28,050 0.956

SILENT 790 86.96% $1,644.12 $1,429.76 3.17% 687 $45,049 1.670

BABYBOOM 2245 89.35% $2,302.07 $2,056.99 2.81% 2006 $73,219 2.103

GENERAT X 1773 91.60% $2,728.59 $2,499.28 2.83% 1624 $88,275 1.966

MILLENIAl 1399 88.56% $2,273.56 $2,013.54 3.47% 1239 $57,957 1.486

------ ------

6481 88.6% $2,036.52 5741
Diesel Consumption - UCC 470112 - All Households - June 2005

Total Diesel Ann. Avg. Exp. Ann. Avg. Exp. Percent of Number of Average Average 

Generation Surveys User % Diesel Diesel HH Spending Diesel Income Vehicles

Of Users All HH Diesel Users Per HH

GREATEST 611 0.16% $960.00 $1.57 0.01% 1 $28,766 1.152

SILENT 1503 2.46% $1,440.00 $35.45 0.07% 37 $50,570 1.929

BABYBOOM 2806 2.35% $1,908.18 $44.88 0.06% 66 $75,555 2.304

GENERAT X 2082 1.83% $1,776.95 $32.43 0.05% 38 $62,962 1.836

MILLENIAl 454 0.66% $1,648.00 $10.89 0.04% 3 $29,109 1.366

------ ------

7456 1.9% $33.89 145
Diesel Consumption - UCC 470112 - All Households - June 2015

Total Diesel Ann. Avg. Exp. Ann. Avg. Exp. Percent of Number of Average Average 

Generation Surveys User % Diesel Diesel HH Spending Diesel Income Vehicles

of Users All HH Diesel Users Per HH

GREATEST 274 0.73% $570.00 $4.16 0.01% 2 $28,050 0.956

SILENT 790 1.90% $1,420.00 $26.96 0.06% 15 $45,049 1.670

BABYBOOM 2245 3.83% $2,020.60 $77.40 0.11% 86 $73,219 2.103

GENERAT X 1773 3.61% $2,163.00 $78.08 0.09% 64 $88,275 1.966

MILLENIAl 1399 1.57% $1,573.09 $24.74 0.04% 22 $57,957 1.486

------ ------

6481 2.9% $56.97 189
Intracity Mass Transit - UCC 530311 - All Households - June 2005

Total Mass Tra. Ann. Avg. Exp. Ann. Avg. Exp. Percent of Number of Average Average 

Generation Surveys User % Mass Tra. Mass Tra. HH Spending Mass Tra. Income Vehicles

Of Users All HH Mass Tra. Users Per HH

GREATEST 616 4.87% $207.20 $10.09 0.04% 30 $28,647 1.146

SILENT 1523 7.55% $432.52 $32.66 0.06% 115 $50,656 1.917

BABYBOOM 2875 9.15% $647.91 $59.27 0.08% 263 $74,808 2.269

GENERAT X 2157 12.10% $606.67 $73.41 0.12% 261 $62,812 1.801

MILLENIAl 465 10.75% $444.48 $47.79 0.17% 50 $28,941 1.353

------ ------

7636 9.4% $53.29 719
Intracity Mass Transit - UCC 530311 - All Households - June 2015

Total Mass TransAnn. Avg. Exp. Ann. Avg. Exp. Percent of Number of Average Average 

Generation Surveys User % Mass Transit Mass Transit HH Spending Mass Transit Income Vehicles

of Users All HH Mass Transit Users Per HH

GREATEST 275 2.91% $321.00 $9.34 0.03% 8 $28,025 0.953

SILENT 793 5.30% $426.57 $22.59 0.05% 42 $45,081 1.667

BABYBOOM 2297 10.84% $801.25 $86.86 0.12% 249 $72,959 2.082

GENERAT X 1817 11.34% $1,030.19 $116.80 0.13% 206 $88,092 1.935

MILLENIAl 1445 13.70% $932.06 $127.71 0.22% 198 $58,925 1.461

------ ------

6627 10.6% $93.07 703
Findings

• Lots of new areas to study

• Further research is needed to continue to 

evaluate new spending and taxing patterns.

• Household consumption appears to be changing 

– there is a need for continued evaluation of CE 

survey questions.

• Additional external sources may suggest future 

research areas and questions.

• BLS Staff is continuing to develop survey and 

methods to reflect new spending categories.
Questions?

Jonathan.peters@csi.cuny.edu