Survey of Transportation Agencies on the Current State of Transportation Data Collection Practice in Canada

High quality, comprehensive data on travel behaviour, transport network performance and land use characteristics are essential to the planning and design of urban transport systems. Such information is derived from a variety of sources. In order to gain an understanding of current Canadian collection practice, issues and needs, a survey of transportation agencies was undertaken. Based on the survey results, 57% of respondents either conduct or commission household travel surveys, while another 18% either plan to, or would like to use, such surveys. Of the agencies that conduct or commission household surveys, 94% have undertaken at least one survey over the past 10 years. Telephone-based methods dominate Canadian survey practice, with 55% using telephone listings for their sampling frame, and 57% using telephones as their interview medium. However, web-based methods are emerging as the second most popular form of interview medium (24%). In addition to surveys, many types of counts and inventories are also conducted to provide supplemental data. It was clear, however, that all agencies encounter challenges, both fiscal and methodological. The main concerns included selecting properly representative sample frames, given the declining use of land-line phones, and the associated issues of low response rates, under-reporting of trips and insufficient sample sizes. Canadian agencies recognize that emerging technologies and new data sources can play a role in addressing these challenges. This survey provides a baseline of current methods upon which to construct a standardized framework for the collection of data on personal travel.