[CTPP] Census Question on Departure Time from home-to-work

TO: CTPP listserv recipients: Your IMMEDIATE help is needed! At the meeting of our Transportation Research Board (TRB) Subcommittee on Census Data for Transportation Planning (A1D08-1) this past month, we discussed issues relating to keeping, deleting, or adding new questions to the 2003-and-beyond versions of the American Community Survey (ACS) questionnaire. As many of you are aware, the ACS is intended as the eventual replacement to the decennial census long form. One of the census questions, that is being questioned (i.e., congressmen have apparently heard complaints that the question is intrusive or threatening), is item #24a on the current long form: "What time did this person usually leave home to go to work LAST WEEK?" (Question #24b is "How many minutes did it usually take this person to get from home to work LAST WEEK?") The "time-of-departure" question first appeared on the 1990 Census long form. The "work trip duration" question has been with us since the 1980 Census. The focus of our current inquiry is the time-of-departure question, *NOT* the work trip duration question. At our subcommittee meeting, I volunteered to assemble either a "white paper," "discussion paper" or "point/counterpoint" discussion on the use and value of the census time-of-departure question in transportation planning. Rather than clutter up this valuable listserv with detailed responses to this issue, I would ask that folks "reply" to me (cpurvis(a)mtc.ca.gov) and I will compile responses and re-send all responses to this listserv (which may, in turn, set off a new round of dialogue?) (Unsigned responses will be considered anonymous, if you prefer.) Questions regarding this "time-of-departure-from-home-to-work" are: 1. Who used this particular data from the 1990 Census, and how and why it was used? 2. Are there questions that could be substituted that would be less "intrusive" (e.g., time-of-arrival-at-work?) 3. What are the implications of deleting this question of time-of-departure? 4. What other questions should be added (or deleted) to the American Community Survey to meet the needs of transportation analysis? (Generally I would prefer that we ask the last question -- new questions to ask in the Upcoming Census -- at our typical mid-decade Census-Transportation Conference that we've had in 1973, 1984, 1994 and 1996. This type of conference is very useful for face-to-face discussions of census issues important to the transportation planning & data community. We may agree or disagree on issues, but at least we have a forum to discuss adding, deleting, or modifying census questions in the hopes of gleaning better information. Unfortunately, the tenor at the Census Bureau and Congress is apparently towards restricting and constricting the ACS form, rather than improving or expanding it. Content determination is based more on politics and what's written into law rather than what's needed. This is my perspective from way out here on the West Coast. End of soapbox.) I am uncertain when our subcommittee's "white paper" on this census departure time question is needed. Our need is to provide this information to our colleagues at the US Department of Transportation and the Census Bureau to understand some of the voices of the transportation community. I would hope to have this somewhat rushed effort completed by 2/28/01. MANY THANKS for your help in advance! Chuck Purvis, Metropolitan Transportation Commission & Chair, TRB Committee on Urban Transportation Data & Information Systems. ******************************************************* e-mail: cpurvis(a)mtc.ca.gov Chuck Purvis, AICP Senior Transportation Planner/Analyst, Planning Section Metropolitan Transportation Commission 101 Eighth Street, Oakland, CA 94607-4700 (510) 464-7731 (voice) (510) 464-7848 (fax) WWW: http://www.mtc.ca.gov/ MTC DataMart: http://www.mtc.ca.gov/datamart/ MTC FTP Site: ftp://ftp.abag.ca.gov/pub/mtc/planning/ *******************************************************