ohim/tvtw/11maytvt Travel Trends (May 2011) - May 2011

Travel Trends (May 2011)

Based on preliminary reports from the State Highway Agencies, travel during May 2011 on all roads and streets in the nation changed by -1.9 percent (-5.0 billion vehicle miles) resulting in estimated travel for the month at 254.0** billion vehicle-miles.

This total includes 84.7 billion vehicle-miles on rural roads and 169.3 billion vehicle-miles on urban roads and streets.

Cumulative Travel changed by -1.0 percent (-11.7 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 1986 are also included.

Travel in Millions of Vehicle Miles All Roads and Streets
Year	May	Year to Date	Moving 12-Month
1986	160,459	718,443	1,800,933
1987	167,776	761,065	1,880,862
1988	178,042	803,309	1,966,572
1989	184,823	840,616	2,062,893
1990	189,247	864,210	2,130,634
1991	191,929	861,783	2,145,074
1992	196,725	894,428	2,204,858
1993	205,981	917,111	2,269,835
1994	206,594	933,949	2,313,543
1995	212,586	976,916	2,400,555
1996	218,676	988,128	2,433,987
1997	226,082	1,023,401	2,517,474
1998	227,899	1,044,079	2,581,051
1999	230,786	1,057,611	2,638,895
2000	242,557	1,105,644	2,727,492
2001	245,089	1,120,562	2,762,440
2002	251,219	1,147,787	2,822,836
2003	252,724	1,150,971	2,858,693
2004	256,235	1,193,611	2,932,863
2005	261,748	1,208,978	2,980,155
2006	262,444	1,222,837	3,003,289
2007	266,715	1,231,208	3,022,742
2008	260,983	1,220,750	3,020,666
2009	259,487	1,207,092	2,962,870
2010	258,991	1,205,295	2,975,798
2011	254,029	1,193,569	2,988,239

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.

May 2011 Traffic Volume Trends

Travel Trends (May 2011)