ohim/tvtw/08septvt Travel Trends (September 2008) - September 2008

Travel Trends (September 2008)

Based on preliminary reports from the State Highway Agencies, travel during September 2008 on all roads and streets in the nation changed by -4.4 percent (-10.7 billion vehicle miles) resulting in estimated travel for the month at 232.8** billion vehicle-miles.

This total includes 80.4 billion vehicle-miles on rural roads and 152.5 billion vehicle-miles on urban roads and streets.

Cumulative Travel changed by -3.5 percent (-79.2 billion vehicle miles).

The larger changes to rural and urban travel are primarily because of the expansion in urban boundaries reflected in the 2000 census. Travel estimates for 2004 and beyond will also reflect this adjustment.

Travel for the current month, the cumulative yearly total, as well as the moving 12-month total on all roads and streets is shown below. Similar totals for each year since 1983 are also included.

Travel in Millions of Vehicle Miles All Roads and Streets
Year	September	Year to Date	Moving 12-Month
1983	139,938	1,241,588	1,634,567
1984	146,074	1,295,792	1,703,312
1985	150,424	1,337,720	1,758,697
1986	155,462	1,381,366	1,818,409
1987	164,184	1,446,236	1,903,111
1988	171,072	1,522,352	2,000,444
1989	177,326	1,587,193	2,090,426
1990	178,415	1,624,682	2,144,530
1991	183,594	1,641,294	2,164,112
1992	190,908	1,693,936	2,224,857
1993	193,765	1,729,762	2,282,978
1994	200,511	1,771,563	2,338,506
1995	203,866	1,828,558	2,414,582
1996	207,604	1,865,442	2,459,660
1997	213,547	1,929,411	2,546,170
1998	219,461	1,969,360	2,600,322
1999	224,306	2,002,507	2,658,510
2000	227,899	2,069,224	2,746,176
2001	226,304	2,094,423	2,772,123
2002	233,600	2,144,857	2,845,982
2003	237,398	2,163,521	2,873,926
2004	243,635	2,224,032	2,950,187
2005	242,381	2,247,687	2,987,823
2006	245,133	2,255,228	2,996,274
2007	243,555	2,256,259	3,006,604
2008	232,847	2,177,022	2,917,225

Traffic Volume Trends is a monthly report based on hourly traffic count data. These data, collected at approximately 4,000 continuous traffic counting locations nationwide, are used to determine the percent change in traffic for the current month compared to the same month in the previous year. This percent change is applied to the travel for the same month of the previous year to obtain an estimate of travel for the current month. Because of the limited sample sizes, caution should be used with theses estimates. The highway Performance Monitoring System provides more accurate information on an anual basis.

** System entries may not add up to the give "All Systems" total due to rounding on pages 2 to 8.

September 2008 Traffic Volume Trends

Travel Trends (September 2008)