THE 1999 ANNUAL MOBILITY REPORT: INFORMATION FOR URBAN AMERICA

The mobility provided by the nation's transportation system is the subject of discussion and debate every day. This report provides data on the performance of some elements of that transport system in 68 urban areas. The travel, demographic, facility and operational performance statistics in the study from 1982 to 1997 are oriented to the broad public interest. The report is designed to present technical information to non-technical audiences. The primary performance measures are the travel rate index and travel delay. Both measures relate to the concerns of transport users - the amount of time required to travel. The travel rate index compares the time needed to travel during peak travel periods of the average day and the time needed to travel during free-flow conditions. The index is designed to be easy to understand and useful for a range of analyses and presentations. Travel delay is presented as an annual estimate of the amount of additional travel time caused by traffic congestion. Various federal, state, and local agencies provided the information used to update and verify the primary database - the Federal Highway Administration's Highway Performance Monitoring Systems (HPMS).