ohim/tvtw/08aprtvt Travel Trends (April 2008) - April 2008

Travel Trends (April 2008)

Based on preliminary reports from the State Highway Agencies, travel during April 2008 on all roads and streets in the nation changed by -1.8 percent resulting in estimated travel for the month at 245.9** billion vehicle-miles.

This total includes 83.1 billion vehicle-miles on rural roads and 162.8 billion vehicle-miles on urban roads and streets.

Cumulative Travel changed by -2.1 percent.

Note: Annual travel has been adjusted to match the Highway Performance Monitoring System for 2003. While the adjustment to total travel was less than one percent, rural travel declined 5% and urban travel increased 4% because of this adjustment. 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	April	Year to Date	Moving 12-Month
1983	132,741	496,819	1,614,003
1984	141,327	518,647	1,670,936
1985	147,635	535,547	1,733,671
1986	150,277	557,984	1,797,200
1987	159,801	593,289	1,873,545
1988	166,804	625,267	1,956,306
1989	174,320	655,793	2,056,112
1990	179,033	674,963	2,126,210
1991	179,538	669,854	2,142,392
1992	186,069	697,702	2,200,062
1993	188,737	711,130	2,260,579
1994	195,407	727,355	2,312,930
1995	198,213	764,330	2,394,562
1996	205,253	769,452	2,427,897
1997	211,290	797,319	2,510,068
1998	217,921	816,180	2,579,234
1999	220,996	826,825	2,636,008
2000	227,809	863,387	2,716,021
2001	232,741	876,443	2,759,981
2002	237,464	897,493	2,816,660
2003	239,674	899,257	2,857,272
2004	250,944	939,044	2,930,238
2005	250,837	948,339	2,971,785
2006	250,505	959,843	3,004,246
2007	250,316	955,254	3,009,492
2008	245,888	934,767	2,981,806

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 annual basis.

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

April 2008 Traffic Volume Trends

Travel Trends (April 2008)