Innovative survey method slashes costs and improves transportation planning accuracy.
A new survey method was developed by the Delaware Department of Transportation and the University of Delaware to update the state's travel demand model. This method involves conducting a cost-effective telephone survey that collects detailed demographic information on all household members but trip information from only one member. The survey helps estimate household trip productions and normalizes data for a single year. In 2003, this survey was used to update DelDOT's travel demand model, providing key information for the modeling process. This innovative survey approach has the potential for widespread use, especially for microsimulation models that do not require additional household synthesis steps.