With all the news justifiably vying for your attention, has the 2020 United States Census flown under your radar? Searching National Academies Press or the
Transportation Research Record (TRR) for reports that cite Census or ACS data yields thousands of results.
“Census data is the basic building block for transportation analysis,” says Krishnan Viswanathan of Cambridge Systematics and a TRB volunteer.
“It is critical that researchers have access to this data to make sure models and analytical tools are based on a foundation of data that is representative of the population. Hopefully the ability to respond online will mean that even more people will respond,” continues Viswanathan. “Having the data accessible and available in a timely manner is vital for good policy making.”
Federal funding for localities is determined by the numbers from latest Census – in this case 2010 – so newspapers from
Tucson, Arizona to
Sarasota, Florida are encouraging citizens to fill out their surveys. This data will play a role in determining transportation improvements through federal funding throughout the United States.
In addition to the decennial Census, The American Community Survey (ACS) is administered by the U.S. Bureau of Census every year to 2.5% of households across the nation. This year, some households will receive requests to
fill out both surveys. The data collected through the ACS and the 2020 Census help determine how to allocate more than
$675 billion per year in federal funds spent on schools, hospitals, roads, public works and, other vital programs.
The Census is crucial in tribal communities
Questions about race on the decennial Census help governments and communities enforce antidiscrimination measures and administer programs for specific groups. For instance, tribal governments can ensure that programs are operating as intended. The American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) Census results have a significant role in several federal fund distribution formulas, including the Tribal Transportation Program (TTP) administered by the Federal Highway Administration and Bureau of Indian Affairs Norm DeWeaver, an independent consultant, presented at a
2019 TRB webinar on the topic.
“Of the money provided to tribes as a result of Census data, the largest portion goes to transportation,” says DeWeaver. “That distribution gives tribes direct access to funds and allows tribes to get community members to medical appointments, school, and work.”
The
coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has hit minority communities particularly hard. The Navajo Nation is suffering in
gravely disproportionate rates in comparison to other communities.
“Tribes worked hard to ensure that Census participation would be emphasized at a number of events in 2020. Now those have been cancelled or moved online because of the pandemic,” DeWeaver continues. “There is a significant distrust of outsiders asking personal questions in the community, so without leaders being able to instill trust through face-to-face conversations, it will be harder to get people to respond.”
He suggests tribal leaders remind transportation staff, people using transportation, and other services on reservations of the benefits provided due to money allocated from the Census.
Anonymous data leads to visible progress
Local agencies use Census data to help design their bus routes, determine where traffic signals go, and which bridges to build, along with a number of other projects across modes. TRB’s National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) has examined compliance with the ACS Disclosure Review Board data suppression rules. A set of computer programs that uses cell suppression to mine data are available in
Producing Transportation Data Products from the American Community Survey That Comply With Disclosure Rules.
The Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS) data provided by the ACS are subjected to data disclosure avoidance techniques to protect respondents’ confidentiality. An NCHRP synthesis
reviews the ways transportation agencies use PUMS data. Research showed that agencies with a good understanding of the data can use it as an essential part of their toolbox used in fulfilling their mission. In particular, this data proves useful in advanced demand modeling and analyzing population subgroups from whom data can be hard to find.
Using ACS information to understand changes in demographics, preferences, and markets is particularly useful for public transportation planning. TRB’s Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP) research shows that
demographic, location, and market-based preferences are all crucial for predicting future transit markets. Age, preferences, and location together have affected past changes and can clarify future changes for transit. Transit level of service is more important to agencies than having a pro-transit population, as analysis of these combined factors reveals.
Due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, fewer Americans are commuting to jobs than they were at the beginning of 2020 either due to furloughs, layoffs, or telework. To fully understand what commuting has looked like in the past,
Commuting in America III analyzes 2000 decennial Census data for a fuller picture of population and worker trends, the demographics of a changing population and households, vehicle availability, modal usage, travel times, congestion, and work locations. What story will the 2020 tell?
Data analysis leads to changes in management
Questions on the decennial Census that may seem specific have wide-reaching ramifications. Highway congestion data found in previous decennial Censuses and the ACS results imply that commuters spent an average of 27 hours more per year traveling to and from work in 2006 than in 1980. TRB’s
Funding Options for Freight Transportation Projects suggests that nearly all congestion costs of long-distance truck travel are incurred in urban areas and that these costs are highly sensitive to the time of day. By looking at these factors together, it’s easier to see that ways to improve freight performance and increase future cost-effectiveness require corrected operations management and more targeted public infrastructure funding.
To receive federal funding, state departments of transportation (DOTs) and metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) present a long-range plan for up to 20 years with updates every four years. NCHRP’s
Strategic Issues Facing Transportation, Volume 6: The Effects of Socio-Demographics on Future Travel Demand offers information from the Census and other sources to help balance current needs with responsible, sustainable, and cost-effective long-term decisions. Based on this data, the report suggests strategic thinking focus less on forecasting and more on interacting with models to produce a number of realistic scenarios for long-term planning.
A TCRP report
synthesized how funds are sub-allocated in urbanized areas. These areas are determined by Census results with formulas that are the primary source of financial support for public transportation capital projects. The methods of sub-allocation affects how money is spent and agencies noted that once a method is established, change is particularly difficult as it means one party will have increased funding at the expense of another.
Keeping the conversation going
A
2011 TRB conference investigated how data collected by the U.S. Census Bureau could be used on topics ranging from environmental and social equity, to demographic and travel forecasting, to population dynamics and applications across different transportation modes. It also looked at data delivery, synthesis, and the limits of Census data in transportation.
More recently, TRB held
Applying Census Data for Transportation, which documents 50 years of TRB meetings that had a profound effect on the design of current questions related to journeys to work according to Rolf Schmitt of the U.S. Department of Transportation. Schmitt is an Emeritus Member of the TRB
Standing Committee on Freight Transportation Data and
Section on Transportation and Society. The conference proceedings document conversations on new techniques for integrating multiple data sets from difference sources in transportation planning and decision making. Presenters also addressed opportunities, challenges, and needs for both research and training.
The decennial Census provides a wealth of information and opportunity, but that requires the best possible information. When you, your friends and colleagues, barbers and stylists, cashiers, bus drivers, parking-lot attendants, and everyone else sends in the form, more people benefit.
Upcoming TRB research will depend on the data in some way, including planned NCHRP research which may use decennial Census data in finding effective practices for right-sizing
rural transit fleets.
Share your expertise in using these powerful tools.
Submit your research to potentially be presented at the TRB Annual Meeting and/or published in TRR. Get involved with future Cooperative Research Program work using Census data. Look for
ongoing information on new projects, requests for proposals, or to nominate yourself or others to serve on a project panel. Become a friend of TRB’s
Standing Committee on Urban Transportation Data and Information Systems or the
Data Information Systems Section.
TRB resources cited in this article:
Related TRB resources:
Related National Academies resources:
External resources cited in this article:
Contact:
Beth Ewoldsen, Content Strategist
Transportation Research Board
202-334-2353;
bewoldsen@nas.edu
Published June 22, 2020
This Summary Last Modified On: 7/30/2020