1. DATELINE PMWG Meeting, Luxembourg, 24/25 April 2003
Design and Application of a Travel survey for European
Long-distance trips based on an International Network of Expertise
5th Framework Programme
Competitive and Sustainable Growth
European Commission - DG TREN / EUROSTAT
PMWG Meeting, Luxembourg, 24/25 April 2003

2. PMWG Meeting, Luxembourg, 24/25 April 2003
Project Objectives
To develop a total survey design for long-distance passenger travel applied in all 15 Member States of the European Union
To implement these surveys in all 15 Member States of the EU
To create a valid database that helps answering planning related questions and provides a basis for respective specialist analysis
To integrate this database in both a national context and in the EUROSTAT statistical programme
PMWG Meeting, Luxembourg, 24/25 April 2003

3. PMWG Meeting, Luxembourg, 24/25 April 2003
The Consortium
PMWG Meeting, Luxembourg, 24/25 April 2003

4. PMWG Meeting, Luxembourg, 24/25 April 2003
Survey Principles
Respondent friendliness
The respondent sets the standards, not the researcher
Flexibility
A survey design applicable in all 15 EU countries and CH
Validity
Quality and reliability of data
Harmonised data
Comparability between the 15 EU countries
PMWG Meeting, Luxembourg, 24/25 April 2003

5. PMWG Meeting, Luxembourg, 24/25 April 2003
Sampling
Method Random sampling
Net Sample Size persons
Sample Extension persons
Sample Frames Telephone + population registers
Distribution EU total area with equal distribution on NUTS1 level
PMWG Meeting, Luxembourg, 24/25 April 2003

6. PMWG Meeting, Luxembourg, 24/25 April 2003
Travel Definitions
JOURNEY
A journey is a series of trips starting and ending at home or a temporary location. Journeys that include a destination more than 100 km („as the crow flies“) away from the reference location are long-distance journeys.
TRIP
A trip connects two activities. Trips can begin and end at any location (home city, overnight location, temporary stop).
PMWG Meeting, Luxembourg, 24/25 April 2003

7. PMWG Meeting, Luxembourg, 24/25 April 2003
Journey Types
Holiday (> 100 km + 4 or more overnight stays)
Other Private (> 100 km + all other journeys that do not fall into Holiday, Business or Commuter category)
Business (> 100 km + any number of overnight stays)
Commuter (> 100 km + work / school)
PMWG Meeting, Luxembourg, 24/25 April 2003

8. PMWG Meeting, Luxembourg, 24/25 April 2003
Reporting System
SURVEY PERIOD
12 consecutive months
REPORTING PERIODS (RETROSPECTIVE)
Holiday Journeys = 12 months
Business Journeys = 3 months
Other Private Journeys = 3 months
Commuter = 1 month
No professional travel (e.g. pilots, truck drivers)
PMWG Meeting, Luxembourg, 24/25 April 2003

9. PMWG Meeting, Luxembourg, 24/25 April 2003
Survey Information
Method
- Postal: 7
- Telephone: 10
- Face-to-Face: 1
Conduct
- Survey organisations: 6
- Statistical offices: 3
- Ministries: 1
Questionnaires
- Languages: 11
- Versions: 14
Monitoring
- Continuous checks
- Telephone hotline
PMWG Meeting, Luxembourg, 24/25 April 2003

10. PMWG Meeting, Luxembourg, 24/25 April 2003
Two-Phase-System
To reduce the burden on the respondent
To focus on longer long-distance journeys
To focus on rarer modes of transport
To achieve a better response rate
PMWG Meeting, Luxembourg, 24/25 April 2003

11. PMWG Meeting, Luxembourg, 24/25 April 2003
Two-Phase-System
Journey selection
Phase 2
Trip level
Phase 1
Journey level
POSTAL
TELEPHONE /
FACE-TO-FACE
Journey selection
Phase 2
Trip level
Phase 1
Journey level
PMWG Meeting, Luxembourg, 24/25 April 2003

12. Survey Implementation PMWG Meeting, Luxembourg, 24/25 April 2003

13. PMWG Meeting, Luxembourg, 24/25 April 2003
Data Validation
EXPLORATION SURVEY
For 5% of all respondents
Validation of existing and non-reported journeys
Result: approx. 4% new journeys found
UNIT NON-RESPONSE SURVEY
For 10% of all non-respondents
Complete questionnaire or key questions
Increase of response rate by up to 13%
PMWG Meeting, Luxembourg, 24/25 April 2003

14. Data Coding and Preparation PMWG Meeting, Luxembourg, 24/25 April 2003
European Coding Book (documentation of coding procedure)
Software tool „Collect IT“ (developed specifically for the project)
Geocoding of place names (geographical co-ordinates)
Data correction procedure (feedback with survey organisations)
Error and plausibility checks
Data provision for weighting and analysis
PMWG Meeting, Luxembourg, 24/25 April 2003

15. Weighting and Projection Weighting on Person Level
Four weighting levels (Household, Person, Journey, Trip)
Socio-demographic characteristics (gender, age, car ownership)
Phase 2 selection procedure
Seasonal variation
Non-response effect
Exploration and correction
PMWG Meeting, Luxembourg, 24/25 April 2003
PMWG Meeting, Luxembourg, 24/25 April 2003