[CTPP] 2004 ACS

No point in even thinking about reviving the long form. I'm sure our Congress folk haven't forgotten yet the outcry they got not from us bureaucrats but from "real people" back in 2000. I don't even recall long form data being that great either - even by 1990 the non-response and obvious mis-response were getting pretty high. I'm at the point now where due to this plus the timeliness of CTPP I'm developing metro travel models virtually all from SF1 and "secondary source" information, with long-form data only for control totals or relative adjustments to the totals from other sources. I'd rather see the Census Bureau concentrate first on getting the short-form numbers and the geography right, that'll be plenty enough of a challenge in 2010 and beyond. Sam Granato Ohio DOT, Office of Technical Services 1980 W. Broad Street, Columbus, OH 43223 Phone: 614-644-6796, Fax: 614-752-8646 "I think there is some methodology in my travels." - George W. Bush Of all the things that you outlined for alternatives to replace the ACS, I would say bring back the long-form. I know it is not easy to reverse the decision that was made by the CB two years ago. Although not perfect, the responses to the long-form will be more reliable because it will be conducted with the decennial census, which is respected by almost everyone in the country. I think that FHWA should take the lead in promoting this effort and tell the country that the ACS data are not acceptable for the transportation community since the margin of error is very large. I really don’t know the effective channels of communication to have the long-form back in Census 2010. But I think the ACS issues should be brought to the attention of decision makers within AASHTO, APTA, NARC, TRB, Public Data Users, 2010 Census Advisory Committee, AMPO, 2010 Census Advisory Committee, AMPO, House Subcommittee on the Census, and other organizations. Of course political pressure is always needed. The other options you outlined are not really alternatives to the long-form. Improvements to the ACS county program will help a little but won’t solve the problem. Large surveys similar to the surveys conducted in the 1950's and 1960's are out of the question.