Re: [CTPP] USA Today article on drive alone commute (long post) - ctpp-news

31 May 2002

Don't any of you guys know about the specialized voice recognition 
software that the media uses?  Say you give a 10-word answer to a 
reporter's question.  The program than generates all 10-factorial word 
combinations and runs them through what cynics might call the 
Sensationalism Index.

More seriously, don't waste time worrying about "careful explanations" to 
reporters (unless it's going out live).  Like you, reporters have a chain 
of command to answer to.  Refer them to whichever Census field office you 
never deal with and enjoy your "day off" from the media's glare.

Sam Granato
Ohio DOT, Office of Technical Services
1980 W. Broad Street, Columbus, OH  43223
Phone:  614-644-6796, Fax:  614-752-8646
"We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are."  Anais Nin

"Alan E. Pisarski" &lt;PISARSKI(a)ix.netcom.com&gt;
Sent by: owner-ctpp-news(a)chrispy.net
05/31/02 11:48 AM

        To:     "Tom Reinauer" &lt;treinauer(a)edd.uct.usm.maine.edu&gt;du>,
"Chuck Purvis" 
&lt;CPurvis(a)mtc.ca.gov&gt;ov>, &lt;ctpp-news(a)chrispy.net&gt;
        cc: 
        Subject:        Re: [CTPP] USA Today article on drive alone commute (long post)

Chuck:  re your questions:  I noticed the 90 boo boo (I AM ASTONISHED AT 
THE
FACT THAT LA AND SF ARE ALMOST IDENTICAL TO 90 IN MODE SHARE - LIKE 
SOMEONE
MADE IT UP)  When I cited these data to Larry Dahms - he considered it a
moral victory if 2000 shares stayed at 90 levels.
No I wasn't the source re the carpooling citation.
Yes I'll bet that Michigan especially Detroit will "win" the SOV 
sweepstakes
again.
I always ask reporters where they get these anecdotal commuters from. 
There
must be a secret file somewhere of the longest commuters, etc. It all 
comes
from reporting 101 where they tell them to  make it a human interest 
story.
In the case of Haya El Nasser, who is a very competent analyst,  she was 
led
to this story instead of the standard national trends story by the many
anecdotal responses she got describing the positives of commuting solo.  I
get it also from people on talk shows - but what a sample is people who 
call
in to talk shows, or listen to them - or talk on them - like me. A lot of 
it
these days is NPR talk shows. AEP

----- Original Message -----
From: Tom Reinauer &lt;treinauer(a)edd.uct.usm.maine.edu&gt;
To: Chuck Purvis &lt;CPurvis(a)mtc.ca.gov&gt;ov>; &lt;ctpp-news(a)chrispy.net&gt;
Sent: Friday, May 31, 2002 9:05 AM
Subject: Re: [CTPP] USA Today article on drive alone commute (long post)

...
  The mistake on the 1990 figure for the San Fran metro
area I consider a
 minor problem compared to one-sided stories (depending on the intent of  a
...
  particular article) or the misinterpretation and/or
misunderstanding of the
...
  data.
 Wait until local and national newspapers start delving into more  detailed
...
  statistics.  I suspect that even with careful
explanation from planners, it
...
  will often be twisted and hardly helpful.
 Content because my baseball team is 35-15.

 Tom Reinauer, Transportation Director
 Southern Maine RPC
 21 Bradeen St.   Suite 304
 Springvale, ME 04083
 (207)324-2952
 FAX  -2958
 treinauer(a)server.eddmaine.org
 www.smrpc.maine.org
 ----- Original Message -----
 From: "Chuck Purvis" &lt;CPurvis(a)mtc.ca.gov&gt;
 To: &lt;ctpp-news(a)chrispy.net&gt;
 Sent: Thursday, May 30, 2002 7:21 PM
 Subject: [CTPP] USA Today article on drive alone commute (long post)

 > TO: CTPP-News
 >
 > Here's the link to today's USA Today article on driving alone in
America.
...
  Of course, the Census Bureau hasn't yet released
data for nine states  and
...
  Puerto Rico (which are due out next week.) My bet is
that Michigan (data not
...
  yet released) is still the #1 state in terms of drive
alone share of  total
...
  commute!
 >
 > http://www.usatoday.com/money/covers/2002-05-30-driving-alone.htm
 >
 > By the way, my old web site has 1990 data on state-level  commute-to-work
...
  shares, at:
 >
 > http://home.earthlink.net/~clpurvis/metrodat/
 >
 > and, more specifically:
 >
 > http://home.earthlink.net/~clpurvis/metrodat/statec5.htm
 >
 > Reading this USA Today article reminds me of a book that I just read -  -
...
  "Damn Lies and Statistics: Untangling Numbers
from the Media,  Politicians
...
  and Activists" by Joel Best, UC Press, 2001.
Recommended reading. Excellent
...
  for critical thinking about the statistics that media
and others use.

 Which brings me to my point about lies and statistics in the USA Today  article.
I'll try to be brief.

 1. USA Today states that the drive alone commute share in the San  Francisco metro
area declined from 73 percent in 1990 to 68 percent in 2000.
...
  The 2000 figure is accurate at 68.0 percent. On the
other hand, our 1990
 drive alone commute share was 68.2 percent. So, our overall drive alone
 commute share declined from 68.2 percent to 68.0 percent. (This is nice, but
...
  not "wow"!)

 2. USA Today claims that "Many transportation officials, planners and 
environmentalists have concluded that carpooling lanes don't help reduce
 traffic." Well, this is pretty shaky journalism. Like, who or what's the
 source of this information? Alan, is this from you? You're cited in the next
...
  paragraph!

 I will agree that the USA Today article is entertaining, though the  blending of
factual information with anecdotal commutes is getting to be
 tiring.

 Some more quips and quotes from the USA Today article:

 1. "Forty minutes in the car may be the equivalent of the bubble bath"
 2. "There is more to life than quality time in your car, no matter how  great
your sound system is"
  3. "The car is often the last refuge of
smokers....California law  prohibits all smoking in workplaces, including offices,
stores and
 restaurants." (Note that California prohibits smoking in bars, as well.
 However, we do allow you to smoke inside your own home, even in your own
 bubble bath!)
 > 4. "Consumers of audio books listen to them on average 4.4 hours a  week
in
...
  their cars, compared with 1.1 hours on mass transit,
according to the Audio
...
  Publishers Association." (Gotta wonder who's
answering these surveys!)

 On the plus side, the USA Today's graphics are pretty darned good.

 Chuck Purvis
 Cranky Because My Baseball Team is 24-27.

 ***********************************************
 Charles L. Purvis, AICP
 Senior Transportation Planner/Analyst
 Metropolitan Transportation Commission
 101 Eighth Street
 Oakland, CA 94607-4700
 (510) 464-7731 (office)
 (510) 464-7848 (fax)
 www: http://www.mtc.ca.gov/
 Census WWW: http://census.mtc.ca.gov/
 *********************************************** 