|
 This
study is composed of three surveys that the FHWA conducted in 2000.
Each survey measured public satisfaction from a slightly different
perspective:
- The Operations and Planning/Environment Survey studied the
public's satisfaction and concerns with roadway transportation,
recommendations for improvement, highway-related travel patterns
and travel times, and the effects of transportation systems on
communities.
- The Infrastructure Survey was based on the 1995 NQI National
Highway User S urvey. It looked at changes in the public's
satisfaction with specific characteristics of the nation's
roads. It also included questions focused on satisfaction from
a community perspective.
- The Federal Lands Highway Survey gathered customer feedback
regarding access to and within Federal lands. The survey measured
satisfaction with and the importance of a comprehensive set of
roadway characteristics. The findings supplement other Federal
Lands Highway measures.
Taken together, these surveys form a more complete picture of the
public's satisfaction with the roadways and transportation
in communities.
Survey Design and Administration
The FHWA designed and administered each survey to meet the specific
needs of its sponsoring organization. For example:
- The Operations and Planning/Environment Survey focused on establishing
a baseline for traditional and emerging issues. A wide-ranging
questionnaire was designed to assess nationwide perspectives on
general highway operations, travel patterns, work zones, signals,
accidents, congestion, and effects of transportation systems on
communities.
- The Infrastructure Survey consisted of two forms to manage survey
length but still assess a wide variety of topics. One form compared
satisfaction levels with the elements of the 1995 NQI National
Highway User Survey; the other form assessed satisfaction from
a community perspective. The U.S. Department of Transportation's
Bureau of Transportation Statistics assisted in the design and
administration of this survey.
- The Federal Lands Highway Survey was conducted on-site with
drivers at six National Parks and six National Forests to determine
the gap between satisfaction and the importance of roadway characteristics.
The following table provides a more detailed description of how
the FHWA designed and administered each survey.
Survey Design, Administration, and Sample
| |
Operations
and Planning/Environment Survey |
Infrastructure
Survey |
Federal
Lands Highway Survey |
Survey
Design |
Participants were asked 29 survey questions
and 15 screening/demographic questions.
|
Participants were asked
17 survey questions in Form A, 21 survey questions in Form b,
and 21 screening/demographic questions. |
Participants were asked
9 survey questions and 8 deomographic questions. |
| Likert-scale,1
randomized multiple choice, and open-ended questions were used. |
Likert-scale and randomized
multiple-choice questions were used. |
Liker-scale questions were
used. |
| Survey
Administration |
A Random Digit Dial (RDD)
telephone survey was conducted with U.S. adults (aged 18 and
older) between June 21 and July 1, 2000. CATI (Computer Assisted
Telephone Interview) technologies were used to enhance data
collection and facilitate data coding and analysis. |
An RDD telephone survey
was conducted with U.S. adults (aged 18 and older) between May
31 and June 25, 2000. CATI technologies were used to enhance
data collection and facilitate data coding and analysis. |
Direct personal interviews
were conducted at six National Parks and six National Forests
between May 25 and August 29, 2000. Randomized versions of the
questionnaire were used to eliminate response bias. Interviewers
recorded responses in the field. |
| In each household called,
the individual with the most recent birthday and over the age
of 18 was selected to answer the survey questions. |
The participating household
member was selected randomly from a list of the household members'
initials. |
The driver of each participating
traveling party was interviewed. |
| Average completion time
was 24 minutes. |
Average completion time
was 13 minutes. |
Interviews generally took
5 minutes or less. |
| Population
Sampling |
A sample was selected to
be representative of the nine Census Divisions. |
A sample was selected so
that survey results could be used to make inferences about adults
in the U.S. household population. The sample was based on the
nine Census Divisions. |
Specific locations to conduct
interviews were randomly selected from a list of locations that
travelers visit for recreational activities. In addition, travelers
were randomly selected according to the time they entered a
specific location. |
| A sample size of 11,969
resulted in 2,057 completed surveys. This size produces a margin
of error of ±2%. |
A sample size of 9,089
resulted in 2,030 completed surveys. This produced a margin
of error of ±2%. |
A sample of a least 96
travelers was interviewed at each site. A total of 1,236 travelers
were interviewed. This produced a margin of error of ±3%. |
| The non-response rate was
27%. |
The non-response rate was
16%. |
The non-response rate was less than
1%.
|
| 1A Likert-scale is
a continuum of responses where the low end represents a negative
response and the high end respresents a positive response. |
Profile of Respondents
In each survey, the FHWA asked participants questions about themselves
to create a profile of respondents. This information helped to determine
satisfaction levels and the needs of particular population subgroups.
The following table shows the profile of respondents for each of
the three surveys conducted.
Survey Respondent Profile (percent)
| |
Population
Subgroup |
Population
Estimate |
Operations
and
Planning/
Environment
Survey |
Infrastructure
Survey |
Federal
Lands Highway Survey |
| Year |
|
1999
|
2000
|
2000
|
1995*
|
2000
|
| Total |
|
272,691,000 |
2,057 |
2,030 |
2,205 |
1,236 |
| Gender
and Age |
Male |
49 |
48 |
41 |
49 |
72 |
| Female |
51 |
52 |
59 |
51 |
28 |
| 18-34 |
23 |
24 |
27 |
35 |
24 |
| 35-54 |
30 |
41 |
42 |
38 |
55 |
| 55+ |
21 |
35 |
31 |
26 |
21 |
Residence
by
Census Region |
North
East |
19 |
19 |
21 |
15 |
8 |
| Mid-West/North
Central |
23 |
23 |
24 |
27 |
13 |
| South |
35 |
35 |
34 |
35 |
30 |
| West |
23 |
23 |
21 |
23 |
42 |
| Other-Int'l |
NA |
NA |
NA |
NA |
7 |
| Primary
Trip and Vehicle Type |
Commute
to/from
Work/School |
|
51 |
NA |
30 |
NA |
| For
Business |
|
6 |
NA |
14 |
4 |
| Shopping/Errands |
|
27 |
NA |
26 |
NA |
| Recreation |
|
11 |
NA |
30 |
94 |
| Other |
|
5 |
NA |
0 |
2 |
| Car |
|
65 |
67 |
66 |
21 |
| Van |
|
7 |
9 |
9 |
11 |
| SUV |
|
8 |
8 |
5 |
23 |
| Truck |
|
19 |
12 |
17 |
15 |
| Oversized |
|
NA |
NA |
NA |
28 |
| Other |
|
0 |
3 |
3 |
2 |
*The 1995 study was conducted as the NQI National
Highway User Survey.
NA=Not applicable.
|
