12.0 TRAVEL BEHAVIOR INVENTORY

12.1 Purpose and Approach

The Metropolitan Council will conduct the Travel Behavior Inventory (TBI) in 2010 to correspond to the 2010 U.S. Census. The anticipated elements of the TBI include a home interview survey, external station traffic counts, an external station origin/destination survey, a highway speed survey, and a survey of MnPASS users/non-users. These surveys were conducted in 1990 and 2000. Data from the TBI surveys are used by the Metropolitan Council and other agencies to update travel forecasting models and planning tools.

The home interview survey is a computer aided telephone interview expected to cover a one percent sample of the households in the metropolitan area. It also includes the completion of a 24-hour travel diary for all household members over 5 years of age. Another survey recently identified to be conducted under the TBI in 2010 is a MnPASS survey. The purpose of that study is to contrast the demographic characteristics, attitudes, and preferences that separate MnPASS users from non-users in the I-394 corridor and to measure differences in preferences for road pricing and MnPASS usage in the I-35W corridor. This survey may be a more appropriate venue than the home interview survey to obtain information needed for the Minnesota UPA national evaluation.

The Metropolitan Council is currently conducting the consultant selection process for the TBI, and anticipates having the consultant selected and under contract by October 2009. The development of the actual survey instrument will be initiated at that time. It is anticipated that the home interview survey and the MnPASS survey will be conducted beginning in April 2010.

Based on discussions with Metropolitan Council staff, it appears the opportunity exists to add four-to-five questions relating to UPA projects, such as the HOT lanes on I-35W and I-394 and telecommuting to one of the TBI surveys. In addition, the MnPASS survey recently identified to be included as part of the 2010 TBI appears to be of benefit to the national UPA evaluation. Adding a few questions would not have a significant impact on the cost of conducting the survey. The addition of numerous questions or conducting an over sample in the I-35W corridor would have significant cost implications, however, and staff indicated these options are probably not feasible.

12.2 2010 TBI

The Metropolitan Council will begin developing the TBI survey question after the consultant selection is finalized, which is anticipated to occur by October 2009. Members of the Battelle team will work with Metropolitan Council staff to determine the feasibility of adding questions related to UPA project elements to the appropriate survey. Questions related to use of telecommuting and the I-35W and I-394 MnPASS toll lanes may be appropriate for inclusion on the surveys for the full metropolitan area, and would be of benefit in the Minnesota UPA national evaluation.

Examples of possible questions are presented below.

Bullet	Example
•	Are you a MnPASS toll customer with an active transponder? _____Yes _____ No If yes, how frequently do you use the I-35W or I-394 MnPASS Express Lanes as a solo driver? I-35W _____ One day a week _____ Two or three days per week _____ More than three days per week _____ One or two days per month I-394 _____ One day a week _____ Two or three days per week _____ More than three days per week _____ One or two days per month
•	Do you ever work from home (telecommute) instead of commuting to your normal place of work? _____Yes _____ No If yes, how many days a week do normally work from home? _____ One _____ Two _____ Three or more

Examples of possible questions are presented below.

12.3 Analysis Methods

The Metropolitan Council and their contractor document the results of the home interview survey in a report. Metropolitan Council staff have indicated that a tabulation of the results specific to UPA-related questions can be provided in advance of the final report. Members of the Battelle team will examine the responses to questions related to the UPA projects for use in assessing the impacts of the I-35W HOT lanes, telecommuting, and other related projects. This sort of descriptive tabulation is amenable to conducting t-tests and chi-square tests to determine significant differences. However, if possible the Battelle team would like to have access to the weighted survey data so that additional, and more sophisticated statistical analyses can be performed. For example, the results of the home interview may provide illumination on the validity of the other survey results in terms of reported travel versus actual travel.

12.4 Schedule and Responsibilities

Once the consultant selection and contracting process has been completed, which is anticipated to be in October 2009, members of the Battelle team will work with Metropolitan Council staff to determine if questions related to the Minnesota UPA projects can be added to one of the TBI surveys. Based on the results of these discussions, members of the Battelle team will work with Metropolitan Council staff and their contractors to finalize the questions to be included in the appropriate survey, which is anticipated to be conducted beginning no later than April 2010. The Metropolitan Council will provide the results of the survey questions relating to the UPA projects to the Battelle team in electronic format. Members of the Battelle team will analyze the results and incorporate the results into the final evaluation report.