 Americans are becoming increasingly aware that improving our transportation system is crucial. We are also learning that making these improvements involves more than just building new roads. It will require providing increased travel options, protecting our air and water, reducing traffic congestion, providing better transportation for the disabled and economically disadvantaged, and working toward a more energy efficient future. This program has been produced to introduce you to an important tool to help achieve these goals, the Census Transportation Planning Package. We will be showing you some of the ways the 1990 census can help government and the private sector respond to today's transportation issues. Let's take a look at why this package is so important. In a time of tight budgets and limited resources, transportation professionals and decision makers need cost-effective, practical, and easy to use data sources to support critical decisions and the delivery of public services. This is where the Census Transportation Planning Package, or CTPP, can help address transportation problems at all levels. But first, what makes the CTPP so useful? During this program, we will demonstrate three important aspects of this data source that set it apart as a key element of any transportation planning program. First, the Census Transportation Planning Package is extremely practical for transportation applications. The data tables that comprise the CTPP can be directly used for a wide variety of activities. Second, the Census Transportation Planning Package is very cost-effective. Much of the information contained in the CTPP can be used to do a better job of targeting the information gathered through other, more expensive data collection efforts. Third, this planning package is easy to use and is fully accessible with a standard personal computer. Just what is the CTPP? Well, you are already familiar with other Census products like block data used in redistricting for elections, and you probably know the Census gives us population data used to identify the trends and characteristics of our communities. But another Census product, specifically for transportation, is the Census Transportation Planning Package. It differs from other Census products because not only does it report characteristics of people at their home location, but gives information on characteristics of people at their work location and information about their travel between home and work. The Census long form in 1990 included several very specific questions related to transportation, including the travel mode used to get to work, the length of the work trip, and the departure time to work. This information has been summarized for each community to provide a consistent, easily comparable database. The CTPP allows you to look at the existing travel characteristics from city to city, suburb to suburb, or suburb to downtown, and has been reported for a variety of geographic levels. It allows you to identify trends and use characteristics at the statewide level, urban area, individual city or county, or at a very detailed traffic zone level, which is particularly useful for transportation planners and traffic analysis. The different summary levels allow for different types of analysis to be conducted, from updating travel demand forecasting models for an entire urban area to looking at commuter travel in a given corridor. One of the unique aspects of this package is that it's a relatively inexpensive data source. The collection of the data was part of the decennial census with a sample of one in six households nationwide. The production of the CTPP tabulations was paid for by all the State Departments of Transportation under sponsorship from AASHTO. There are over 300 urban areas receiving an urban package, which can allow planners to look at travel to work data at the very detailed traffic analysis zone level. It is a resource that can augment other data sources or it can be used to better target new data collection efforts. Now that we've been introduced to the census transportation planning package, let's discuss some specific applications. First of all, it's helpful to understand that the census provides a snapshot of existing conditions, a benchmark. The tables contained in the CTPP can be used to observe trends over time or to assess program performance by comparing 1990 data with data collected in a prior year or in a future year, such as the year 2000 census. Many areas of the country are now preparing strategies to manage growth and congestion so that public facilities and natural resources are not overburdened. This requires a very clear understanding of commuter travel. In terms of travel time, mode of travel and place of work characteristics at a detailed geographic level. As state DOTs, MPOs and local governments develop priorities and funding commitments to manage growth and traffic congestion, the CTPP can provide an easy to use and cost effective way of identifying focus areas quickly. We asked Gloria Jeff, the associate administrator for policy at FHWA, how the CTPP is useful in the TIP development process. Well the CTPP helps with preparation of the transportation improvement programs because of the fact that those transportation improvement programs or TIPS represent a three year listing of projects that we anticipate undertaking. By utilizing the data from the CTPP to update our transportation information and do a better job of looking at transportation flows, we are then going to be able to do a better job of identifying projects. And the better projects we identify, the better transportation system we have here in the individual metropolitan areas and statewide. So from that standpoint it's a real asset in that it helps us shortcut a process and still deliver high quality. It's helped us here in Michigan from the standpoint that we've not been able to utilize, update a number of our origin destination studies and as a result of that we've been using all data. The new package has helped us recalibrate our models and in that regard then done a much better job of looking at what the transportation needs are, for example in metropolitan Muskegon and Grand Rapids. The frequent involvement of multiple agencies and levels of government in helping address transportation planning is critical to the ability to craft effective solutions to these issues. The CTPP data provides good baseline values so that even parties that disagree are more likely to agree on values taken from this well documented, nationally standardized product. The Federal Clean Air Act is one example of how the census transportation planning packages standing as a recognizable and quantifiable resource can help reach agreements between agencies. For communities not in attainment of federal clean air standards, there is a need to adequately monitor and assess changes in vehicle miles of travel, which is one measure of how much pollution will be produced by mobile sources such as automobiles. State and local governments can use the information in the tables to demonstrate that valid travel data are being used in the air quality modeling process or in alternatives analysis. We asked Chuck Purvis, a senior planner on the Metropolitan Transportation Commission for the San Francisco Bay Area, how the CTPP can be used by state and local governments in their efforts to meet air quality standards under the Clean Air Act amendments. This is a typical autumn day in the San Francisco Bay Area, nice and sunny and clean air. Most of our air quality problems might happen during the middle of summer when we might have 90 degree temperature and perhaps an ozone episode, or in the dead of winter when it gets down to 40 degrees or so at night then we may have some carbon monoxide problems, let's say in downtown San Francisco or downtown San Jose. What we're trying to do is increase the efficiency of our transportation system by diverting people from the drive-alone vehicle into carpools, into transit, into walking and bicycle trips. The CTPP assists us in meeting the analytical requirements of the 1990 Clean Air Act amendments. The 1990 CTPP is probably the best source of data for the aggregate validation of our work trip distribution and work trip mode choice models. With these validated models we can be more confident in the prediction of situations 10 or 20 years in the future. For many users the census journey to work tabulations are the most useful. They are especially helpful to the decision making process because of the requirements of various legislation, such as the 1991 Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act or ICT. These new laws require an understanding of travel demand, travel market identification, and require a good baseline data for future conditions analysis. One of the most helpful aspects of journey to work data relates to questions dealing with the travel mode used and travel time. Because the CTPP presents such a comprehensive and detailed profile of commuting habits, the data is especially important for such key planning activities as alternatives analysis. This allows transportation services and projects to be designed with better assurances that they will meet travel needs. Now let's take a look at how we can use this package to help define travel markets. Suppose that local governments and regional transit agencies are trying to improve commuter bus service. With an understanding that bus ridership among those who have access to a car is affected by comparative bus versus automobile travel times, planners can use the CTPP tables to identify corridors with comparatively poor bus travel times. This information can then be used to improve travel times for the identified routes. When used with CTPP place of residence or place of work characteristics, such valuable data on worker travel flows can provide keen insight into various travel markets. This knowledge makes it possible for public agencies to spend funds more efficiently and effectively on projects. Or, for example, it can be used to see if a particular combination of travel demand management strategies are likely to be effective. We asked Alan Pazarski, a national transportation policy consultant, why the journey to work tables are so important, if there are alternative sources, and if we should keep asking the questions on the year 2000 census. One of the issues today is how do we know, how will we know whether we're doing the right thing when we start designing new projects and we start developing new transportation services. And you might say that almost anything that can help you understand that better and do a better job of it is going to be valuable. But in particular, the journey to work statistics provide the level of detail and the breadth of coverage that permits you to better understand how these projects are going to function in the future and how future demands will affect those projects. I would think that as an input to the forecasting process that they would be absolutely central. And anything that tries to work outside the journey to work is just not going to be very effective. Years ago in the urban planning world we used to do urban transportation surveys and they cost millions of dollars back in the 50s and 60s. And then we got 1% or 3% of the population. The census counts everybody, tries to count everybody. And for the journey to work questions they talk to about 17% of the population. So they're getting an immense and a very rich level of detail that just can't be copied by anybody else. In terms of, it's a general purpose survey set that can't be captured in any specifically focused survey because it just, the costs would be out of sight. It'll be crucial to collect the journey to work data as part of the decennial census in the year 2000 because these kinds of journey to work data are going to be absolutely essential to local planning efforts at both environmental planning and transportation planning as well as state and national understanding of what's happening out there. We just, we have such amazing ignorance of what is happening and these are one of the few data sets that shed light and insight on what's happening. Alternatives to the construction of highways that encourage single occupant use are now receiving more attention, carpooling programs and designated high occupancy vehicle lanes, bicycle and pedestrian paths and expanded transit systems are all important alternatives to the single occupant automobile. For instance, as highways become increasingly difficult to build local governments are taking a renewed look at public transit as a way of improving mobility. In light of the Americans with Disabilities Act it is imperative that transit agencies identify those who might need access to transit service. With the CTPP urban element the agency can determine which corridors are likely to support different types of service changes. One of the first checks would be to identify areas with a high percentage of transit dependent residents and those with a relatively lower level of automobile ownership. The agency's planning staff can review key tables on population and household characteristics including such information as mobility limitation status by age group number of workers in household by household income or household size by vehicles available. With regard to the increasing need to encourage commuters to use transit and other alternatives to the single occupant auto we asked Shirley Xiao with the technical services section of the Orange County Transportation Authority how the CTPP helps agencies provide better alternatives at employment centers. The data that CTPP provides particularly the journey to work tabulations help agencies to understand the commuter travel characteristics and to further develop transportation alternatives other than drive along to work. These alternatives include express bus routing, parking ride facilities and feeder bus design to commuter rail stations. All this information help the agency to enhance carpooling and other transit programs. For example the Orange County Transportation Authority recently applied the workplace destination survey data to identify the most proper feeder bus routing for commuter rail service from Orange County to Los Angeles. In this study the ultimate bus routing can be designed to serve the greatest number of potential rail riders. Now let's look at another way the Census Transportation Planning Package can help transportation decision makers like yourself evaluating and selecting projects and program priorities. With more flexible funding for transportation projects federal, state and local agencies must now be able to clearly identify how different projects and programs fit into the overall transportation program. Decision makers are being asked to trade off costs and benefits of projects often with scarce resources and tight budgets. With various interest groups and agencies competing for funding the CTPP provides a common recognizable basis for this decision making process. We asked Mary McCumber executive director of the Puget Sound Regional Council how Census data is being used for growth management. For the first time because of our State Growth Management Act cities and counties and regions are having to figure out where growth should go and what kind of densities. So basically the urban form like figuring out for the first time how to deal with growth issues and then how transportation fits. What kind of transportation system do we need to get between the urban parts of the region and how to get within. Revolution in how we do things in Washington. The CTPP information is really critical to our work. We rely on that information. It provides us a common set of data that we use and I would encourage all regions and other jurisdictions to use that information in their work. The Federal Highway Administration, the Census Bureau and the Federal Transit Administration have teamed up to provide a wide range of technical assistance to state and local governments on the use and application of this planning package. These three agencies have established a hotline for the sole purpose of assisting users with accessing and using the CTPP tables. The number for the hotline is area code 301-763-2601. The Census Bureau also has a computer bulletin board system where materials are available from an online library and users can read about the latest CTPP developments and leave messages. Informational materials and technical assistance related to the Census Transportation Planning Package are available from the Federal Highway Administration in Washington, D.C. The materials include a CTPP handbook that offers guidance on the use of the tables and an introductory brochure that provides an overview of this package. TransView, Browse and Extract software for use with the CTPP was created through the Federal Bureau of Transportation Statistics. FHWA staff are also available for field assistance and will work with a local agency to arrange for such support. In previous years, only an urban area transportation package was created which had limited geographic coverage. Now, for the first time, the Census Bureau has created a statewide element of the Census Transportation Planning Package that provides detailed socioeconomic and journey-to-work data at the place, county and state levels. Both the statewide and urban elements of the CTPP are available on a nine-track computer tape and compact disc. Now that you've seen how vital the CTPP is for transportation planning, we hope you will take advantage of this resource as we build a transportation system to keep America moving, whether that's by car, bus, rail, magnetic levitation, or bicycle. As we join in planning our transportation future, this is where the Census Transportation Planning Package can help.