Long Distance Travel in the
United States
Transportation Research Board Annual Conference
January 2009
Nancy McGuckin, Travel Behavior Analyst
Long-Distance Travel Facts
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Most people do not take a long distance trip
People in the west-central region take more long
distance trips (stuff is farther away?)
62 percent of long-distance trips are within the
travelers home state
56 percent of long-distance trips are taken for pleasure
– vacation, sightseeing, visiting friends and relatives,
and outdoor recreation
9 out of 10 long-distance trips are by personal vehicle
Long-distance vehicle travel accounts for about 15% of
daily VMT
For trips of about 750 miles, air becomes the
predominant mode
More than half of people
take no long-distance trips
Percent of People w ith Zero or With One or More Long Distance Trips
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Zero
1+
Source: NHTS 2001
Overall, people in the WestCentral region take more trips…
Source: 1995 ATS Annual
Purpose Distribution of Longdistance Trips
Personal
Business,
12.6
Commute,
12.7
Business,
15.9
Pleasure,
55.5
Source: NHTS 2001
Percent Access and Egress Trips by Mode
Access and Egress Modes
80
70
Air
Bus
Train
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Car
Transit
Bike/walk
Car
Access
Transit
Egress
Source: NHTS 2001
Bike/Walk
Private vehicle dominates
for all purposes
Personal
Business
Commute
Business
Pleasure
Personal vehicle
96.4
79.3
90.4
89.3
96.6
Air
1.5
17.8
6.7
4.7
1.9
Bus
0.5
0.8
2.2
5.6
0.5
Train
1.7
1.6
0.5
0.3
0.0
Other
0.0
0.5
0.2
0.1
1.0
Source: NHTS 2001
Other
Overall, air starts to dominate
for trips more than 750 miles….
Mode Share for Personal Vehicle and Air at Various Trip Lenghts
100
Personal Vehicle
90
Air
80
Percent
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
50-499 miles
500-749 miles
750-999 miles
One-Way Trip Length
Source: NHTS 2001
1000-1499 miles
1500+ miles
But people in poorer
households will drive further..
Share of Private Vehicle Trips by Distance and Income (Comparing Low and High
Income only)
100
Less than $25,000k
Share of POV
75
$100,000k and more
50
25
0
<400
400-599
600-799
800-999
1,000-1,199 1,200-1,399 1.400-1,599 1,600-1,799 1,800-1,999 2,000 and
more
Round Trip Distance in Miles
People who travel for business
travel more for other purposes too
Number of Long Distance Trips by Purpose, All Modes
7
6
Business Travelers
5
Non-Business Travelers
4
3
2
1
0
Business and Bus/Pleas
Leisure
Source: NHTS 2001
Other
Long distance vehicle travel
adds considerably to total VMT
Freight
14%
Commercial
Drivers
4%
Highway Statistics
Total VMT
(000,000s)
2,781,462
Highway Statistics
Passenger Travel
2,282,890
NHTS 2001 VMT
2,281,863
Passenger
Travel
82%
Base: HPMS –Highway Statistics: Table VM-2
Trips of more than 100 miles
account for almost 15% of daily
passenger vehicle miles…
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Less than 10 1.01-10 miles
miles
10.01-20
miles
20.01-30
miles
30.01-50
miles
Source: NHTS 2001
50.01-75
miles
75.01-100
miles
More than
100 miles
Who Travels Long-Distance
o
o
o
o
o
Men make 57 percent of long-distance trips
Business travelers are more likley to travel
for other purposes
People in households with children are
more likely to drive for recreational travel
57 percent of long distance trips are made
by people with household incomes above
$50,000
About 2/3 of long-distance trips are made
by people age 25-64
This chart is really hard to
read…
LIF_CYC
HHFAMINC
COUNT
PERCENT
adlts/no children
less than $40K
185923296.4
29.9%
adlts/no children
$40-$80K
261757323.2
42.1%
adlts/no children
$80K plus
174489009.2
28.0%
622169628.8
100.0%
Children 0-15 in HH
less than $40K
338339041.6
30.2%
Children 0-15 in HH
$40-$80K
479140460.7
42.8%
Children 0-15 in HH
$80K plus
302007925.3
27.0%
1119487428
100.0%
Teens in HH
less than $40K
53087090.11
27.3%
Teens in HH
$40-$80K
85212186.22
43.8%
Teens in HH
$80K plus
56390377.95
29.0%
194689654.3
100.0%
Retired
less than $40K
142648125.3
48.9%
Retired
$40-$80K
101027457.6
34.6%
Retired
$80K plus
48083709.64
16.5%
People in households with children make
more vacation vehicle trips…
Vehicle Vacation Trips by Household Type
Household w ith
children (0-15)
Adults/No children
Retired
Household w ith
teens
0.0%
10.0%
20.0%
30.0%
40.0%
50.0%
Percent of Vacation Vehicle Trips
Source: NHTS 2001
60.0%
People use Vans and SUVs more than
cars
Average Round Trip Distance by Vehicle Type
Pick-up
Motorcycle
SUV
Van
Car
0
50
100
150
200
250
Average Round-Trip Distance (GCD
Source: NHTS 2001
300
350
400
More recreational vehicle trips are
taken during summer…
Seasonality of Recreational Vehicle Trips
Thousands
6,000,000
5,000,000
Number of Vehicle Trips for R&R
4,000,000
3,000,000
2,000,000
1,000,000
0
Jan/Feb/Mar
Apr/May/Jun
Jul/Aug/Sep
Source: NHTS 2001
Oct/Nov/Dec
Since 2001, the gas cost R&R
vehicle trips rose
Change in the cost of a vehicle trip for vacation,
2001-2008
Summary Thoughts
Long distance travel is important
People trade off between air and car based on trip
distance, travel party size, and income
Overall, long-distance travel accounts for almost 15%
of VMT
Access and egress choices to/from air, rail, and bus
terminals is important to understand
It’s too bad we can’t figure out how to collect data
efficiently