Household Travel Survey FAQ
The following questions and answers were for participants in the 2007 Household Travel Survey.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why should I give you all this information?
What or who are BMC and BRTB?
Why was I selected to participate in this survey?
I do not live in a BMC jurisdiction; why am I getting this survey?
Do you really want to know if all I did was stop at the ATM?
What if I do not plan on going anywhere on my travel day?
What if I am not in the Baltimore region on my assigned travel day?
How will you sue this information about me?
Why do you want to know my children's trips?
Are there penalties if I do not participate?
Top 5 reasons to participate?
Why do you want information about me that is not about my travel?
What if I lose my diary?
Whom do I contact for more information?
Why should I give you all this information?
The information on your daily travel is meant to be representative of people with similar socio-economic characteristics. For instance, people who live in similar types of neighborhoods across the region, with similar household incomes and household compositions; are likely to have similar travel patterns. We need to know what those patterns are in order to predict how much travel all these people will be making in the years to come.
What or who are BMC and BRTB?
BMC or Baltimore Metropolitan Council is the organization of the Baltimore region’s elected executives, representing Baltimore City and Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Carroll, Harford and Howard counties. We identify regional interests and collaborate on strategies, plans and programs. Our goal is to improve the quality of life and economic vitality in the Baltimore region.
Our areas of activity include:
- Air and Water Quality Programs
- Building Permits Data System
- Computer Mapping Applications
- Cooperative Purchasing
- Economic and Demographic Research
- Emergency Preparedness and Public Safety
- Rideshare Coordination
- Transportation Planning
The BRTB or the Baltimore Regional Transportation Board is the federally recognized Metropolitan Planning Organization for transportation planning in the Baltimore region.
Members of the BMC Board serve on the BRTB. The Mayor of Annapolis and representatives of the Maryland Departments of Transportation, the Environment and Planning also serve on the BRTB.
BMC provides technical and staff support to the BRTB.
Why was I selected to participate in the survey?
We are randomly selecting households to participate. It is important to collect information from many different people since not everybody has the same travel patterns.
I do not live in a BMC jurisdiction, why am I getting this survey?
Although BMC is primarily interested in the BMC jurisdictions, we realize that people cross jurisdictional boundaries all the time in their daily travel. We are interested in learning about your travel since some of it may cross into BMC jurisdictions. Even if you do not travel into a BMC jurisdiction it is helpful to measure the trips that do not come in as much as those which do enter the region.
Do you really want to know if all I did was stop at the ATM?
Yes! This type of quick stop may seem inconsequential to you, but if many people are making little stops like this, then it affects the traffic patterns on the road network.
What if I do not plan on going anywhere on my travel day?
That is fine! We want to know about non-travelers as much as we want to know about travelers.
What if I am not in the Baltimore region on my assigned travel day?
If you are leaving, returning to, or out of the Baltimore region on your travel day, then we would like to know where you were or where you are going and about the trips you made. This helps us figure out how many area residents are absent from the region on any given day.
How will you use this information about me?
We need information about real people to know where they are going at what time of day in order to figure out how many cars are on the roads at any given time and how much demand there is for the various types of public transportation. This allows us to project the demands on our transportation network in years to come. Projecting future demand allows transportation planners to plan for projects that will be needed in the future.
Why do you want to know my children's trips?
Trips taken by and for children make up a significant amount of the miles driven each year, whether by private vehicles or by school buses. We need to know how many trips children are making so we can take it into account in estimating how much people drive each day and where they are going.
Are there penalties if I do not participate?
No, but it would be beneficial if you did participate. It is very important in a region that is congested as Baltimore, that we know where people are going on a daily basis so we can predict the future. With your help we can do that. Without your help, we could be erroneous in our predictions which could impact your travel in years to come.
Top 5 Reasons to Participate:
1. Improving mobility, air quality, and quality of life are important to our community2. Everybody needs transportation access to perform daily activities.3. Sound transportation planning requires reliable information.4. Making the right transportation improvements is extremely important to the health of our local economy.5. Your participation will provide a solid foundation for this region's transportation future.
Why do you want information about me that is not about my travel?
We ask personal questions about your household in order to gauge how many households look like you. This is important because we are more interested in all of the people you represent, rather than just you as an individual.
Household Travel Survey
Last Updated: 04/07/2009