TheobjectivesoftheNew EraTravelBehaviorDataInitiativeareas follows:

1)      EstablishtheNew EraTravelBehaviorDataprogramtocollect,process,estimate,and report national, state and local travel behavior data on a 1–3-year basis.

2)      EnableandfacilitateStatetransportationdepartments,MPOs,andotherentities’participation in the new data collection program with high efficiency and great flexibility.

Since 1969, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has been collecting travel behavior data to answer evolving questionsrelated to how, why, when, and where people travel through a probability-basedrandomsamplingsurveyapproachundertheNationwidePersonalTransportationSurvey(NPTS) and the National Household Travel Survey (NHTS) programs.

The NPTS and NHTS programs have been proven highly successful in delivering the only national, publicly available travel behavior data by providing foundational data and information to the transportation community. Trip rate data and other relevant policy, program, and project related information have enabled broad transportation policy analysis, travel demand forecasting, and policy scenariotesting.However,movingthesehighlysuccessfultravelbehaviordataprogramsforwardisnot without significant challenges, such as the following:

·         ThedeclineoflandlinetelephoneserviceinAmericanhouseholdshasbeenrecognizedasbeing detrimental to the time-proven random digit dialing (RDD) sampling survey approach. This decline has forced data collectors to abandon the RDD approach during the 2017 NHTS and instead adopt an address-based sampling (ABS) method to reach a more representative sample.  In 2022, in addition to the ABS data collection, FHWA conducted research with a parallel data collection using a third-party probability-based panel.  An independent evaluation of the two survey methods revealed both were fit for purpose.

·         The decline in the public’s participation in surveys has posed another significant challenge. Despite heavy recruiting efforts carried out with the ABS collections in 2017, 2022, and 2025 NHTSs, the overall response rate has declined to under 10 percent. This low participation rate drives up survey costs due to the need for more extensive recruitment efforts, reduces data reliability due to the reduced representativenessoftheoverallsample,andgeneratesdoubtsaboutdatarepresentativeness.

Although there has been a decline in active public participation, the good news is that passive transportation data, such as Global Positioning System (GPS) navigation data, vehicle telematics data, location-basedservice(LBS)data,cellulardata,andsocialmediadata,arebecomingmoreprevalentand available than ever before, and the resultant data products are more meaningful in explaining travel behavior as we move forward. These developments require current data programs to be re-evaluated, adjusted, and transformed to ensure the relevance, reliability, and affordability of travel behavior data programs.

FHWA has been conducting extensive research in travel behavior data collection under its Exploratory Advanced Research Program to take advantage of advances in technology. These research efforts range fromdatafusiontosmartphone applicationdeployment,to integratedcellulardatautilization.FHWAis committedtodevelopinganddeployingthemostefficient,economical,andvalue-addedtravelbehavior data for the Nation, including supporting and collaborating with State transportation departments, metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs), local agencies, and other public and private entities to obtain State and local specific data.

FHWA has also conducted research on how to better collect data on micromobility modes. Micromobility refers to the following travel methods: pedestrian walking/running, electric bicycle riding, electric scooter riding, and non-electric bicycle and scooter riding. Based on the research findings, FHWA will look to incorporate additional micromobility questions into future NHTS surveys.

 Given the challenges and opportunities in collecting travel behavior data, FHWA is launching the New EraTravelBehaviorDataInitiativetoestablishacontinuoustravelmonitoringprogramthatwill provide more frequent national and local data. The work plan for the next 5 years is to collect and publish national travel behavior data every 1-3 years and offer opportunities for States, MPOs, and other entities to obtain agency-specific data.

(A complete scope of work can be found in the attached Solicitation document.) The New Era Travel Behavior Data Initiative will produce the following three major components of travel behavior data and information: • Component 1: National travel behavior data. • Component 2: National origin-destination (OD) data. • Component 3: State and local data. FHWA will be financially responsible for data collected and compiled under the framework of components 1 and 2. Component 3 will provide agency-specific data for State transportation departments, MPOs, and other entities participating in a pooled fund effort. Each component is described in further detail in the following subsections. Component 1: National Travel Behavior Data At the national level, the Next Generation Travel Behavior Data Initiative will continue to provide key travel behavior data of the existing NHTS Program as well as data on new and emerging travel trends, such as travel provided by transportation network companies (TNCs), impacts of online shopping, and micromobility travel. Such data, including trip-level records, weights, and summaries will be provided annually. As a start, the following data and information will be provided: • Average trip rate data, including daily person/vehicle trip rate, and average person/vehicle trip length. • Average trip rate data by trip purpose. • Person trip modal share. • Person trip modal share by trip purpose. • Average trip rate data by gender. • Average trip rate data by income. • Average trip rate data by age group. • Average trip rate data by age group and gender. • Average trip rate data by time of day. • National trip rates by urban and rural dimensions. Component 2: National OD Data This component will provide annual OD data (i.e., cumulative number of trips for an entire calendar year) at the metropolitan statistical area (MSA) and remainder of State levels by travel mode and trip purpose. The data should cover both inter-zonal and intra-zonal trips. More details about this Component can be found in the attached Solicitation document. Component 3: State and Local Data This component is reserved for participating State transportation departments, MPOs, and other entities to obtain agency-specific data under the framework of Component 1 and Component 2 in the pooled fund program. FHWA will be financially responsible for Components 1 and 2. For Component 3, participating agencies can purchase additional survey samples and/or more detailed passive data. For example, an agency may desire the geographic resolution to be extended to the traffic analysis zone level for OD information. Sample size can be enhanced in a specific geography, and local specific questions can also be asked. Agencies can tailor participation based on their data needs (with participation time periods linked to annual data products). Organizations and agencies can also participate in this pooled fund program without executing any actual local data procurements but desire to be kept informed with the latest developments and have an opportunity to contribute to the design decisions. The pooled fund effort plans to have annual workshops and periodic webinars for information sharing and learning opportunities. Agencies can increase their participation to purchase additional data on an annual basis. Participants in the pooled fund program will benefit from at least the following aspects: • Having the opportunity to shape the new New Era Travel Behavior Data Program and being a part of big data transformation in the travel behavior field. • Obtaining next generation travel behavior data at the State and local levels that can be applied to transportation modeling, planning, policy, and other areas. • Gaining nationally consistent data so that data controls and comparisons can be efficiently enabled. • Accessing the latest data and information, enabling participating agencies and organizations to keep up with the state of practice.• Gaining centralized technical and peer support in data applications.• Lowering the cost of data acquisition compared to individual procurements thanks to the economies of scale of the pooled fund program.• Having no or minimum contracting or oversight hassles (i.e., contractors will be coordinated centrally).

The project duration is 5 yr. • Participation for agencies and organizations that will acquire local data under component 3 will require each participant to pay between $25,000 and $2.5 million per specification per year. (The exact amount of contribution will be determined based on the degree of customization and sample size collected.) • Participation for agencies and organizations that will not acquire any local data under component 3 will require each participant to pay $5,000 per year. • All States, MPOs, local agencies, private organizations, and businesses are welcome to participate. • FHWA expects to receive approval for State Planning and Research Subpart A (planning) fund match waiver for State transportation departments and MPOs. • A complete description of the pooled fund effort, including details of the three components of deliverables, potential processes and procedures, and performance standards can be found in the attached Solicitation document.