Travel surveys play a vital role in the transportation planning process, in addition to informing a wide variety of public policy decisions. While the household travel survey enjoys the lion’s share of attention, the “establishment” or “work place” survey fills a unique niche in the travel behavior researcher’s toolbox. The establishment survey documents travel patterns to and from non-home destinations (establishments or work places), providing a wealth of information on traveler, trip and establishment characteristics. One of the unique contributions of the establishment survey is its ability to estimate non-resident travel in urban areas.

This presentation will provide a broad overview of the establishment survey methodology used in support of the Texas Department of Transportation’s Travel Survey Program. The bulk of the presentation will focus on how establishment survey data are used to (1) estimate non-resident travel and (2) assess the magnitude of non-resident travel in urban areas, such as Waco, TX, which is used as a case study.