DVRPC continually strives to keep its travel simulation models up to date to ensure the accuracy of travel forecasts and to respond to new forecasting requirements associated with the FTA New Starts program, FHWA conformity demonstration requirements, and EPA clean air amendments and other environmental regulations. To meet this goal, the Office of Modeling & Analysis conducts various surveys in order to collect essential planning data.
The department undertakes the responsibility of collecting and developing the data sets DVRPC uses for all transportation modeling studies and analysis. Some of these duties include conducting transportation related surveys and developing employment and population forecasts derived from the US Census ACS and CTTP data sets, in order to understand travel behavior in the greater Philadelphia region.
Household Surveys
Household travel surveys are used to obtain information about work and non-work trip generation, trip distribution, modal split, and average vehicle occupancy. Updated household travel information can be used for modeling purposes as well as transportation planning projects such as high occupancy vehicle lanes, bicycle, and pedestrian studies, welfare-to-work programs, and traffic control studies.
2000 Household Travel Survey
The previous household travel survey was conducted from March through December 2000 under the auspices of DVRPC and the South Jersey Transportation Planning Organization (SJTPO). SJTPO represents Salem, Cumberland, Atlantic, and Cape May Counties. Detailed information on the survey can be found in the report Transportation for the 21st Century Household Survey Travel Survey Results for the DVRPC Region.
- Download Survey Data [2.6 MB zip]
This data has been cleaned to remove personal information in order to protect survey participants. - Transportation for the 21st Century Household Travel Survey
2012 Household Travel Survey
DVRPC conducted a household travel survey in the Delaware Valley region. The Household Travel Survey collected data about the daily travel behaviors of residents in Southern New Jersey and Southeastern Pennsylvania to determine how to improve roads, reduce traffic congestion, enhance walking and bicycle paths, and upgrade public transportation. The survey helps DVRPC better understand the region's travel characteristics and guide future transportation projects. Randomly selected participants used a travel diary to record how, where, and when they traveled for a single day. For each household member, information on travel mode (such as walking, biking, driving, riding the bus), trip purpose, destination, and time of day was recorded, along with demographic data such as age, gender, vehicle availability, and student and employment status.
- Download Survey Data [92.4 MB zip]
This data has been cleaned to remove personal information in order to protect survey participants. - 2012-2013 Household Travel Survey for the Delaware Valley Region
Regional Transit Surveys
Onboard Transit Survey
The Office of Modeling and Analysis conducted a transit onboard survey of all SEPTA, PATCO, and Pennsylvania TMA transit routes within the DVRPC region. The survey was a paper mailback form, and distribution was split into three phases. Phase one surveyed the PATCO service line, and was conducted during December of 2010. Phase two was completed during the spring of 2011. Services surveyed were the SEPTA Regional Rail Network, the Norristown High Speed Line (light rail), and ten Suburban Division bus routes, including the routes 123, 124, and 125. Phase three was responsible for the remainder of the SEPTA bus routes, and the Market-Frankford Elevated Line and the Broad Street Subway Surface Line. Phase three was scheduled during the fall of 2011.
- DVRPC Transit Survey Public Data Users Guide [0.1 MB pdf]
- Download Survey Data [6.4 MB zip]
This data has been cleaned to remove personal information in order to protect survey participants.
NJ Transit Burlington County Bus Survey
This survey was conducted to update several New Jersey Transit (NJ Transit) bus surveys that had been completed in previous years. An updated demographic profile of its rail and bus service will be created from this survey work. This survey will also help with calibrating the regional travel demand model. The study used mailback surveys distributed on board buses in Camden and Burlington counties to gather information regarding passenger demographics, satisfaction, and travel means, and to determine frequency and purpose of use.
Cordon Line Highway Traffic Survey
The DVRPC cordon line traffic survey was conducted to collect current information on traffic volumes and determine the origin-destination travel patterns, travel activity, and travel mode of vehicles crossing the nine-county DVRPC cordon line which forms the regional boundary. The external and through trip travel patterns are especially critical for transportation facilities located near the nine-county boundary, as this is an area where in recent years major new development has occurred. The survey, conducted in the spring and summer of 2001, updated trip characteristics and patterns that were last collected in the 1980s. The survey data will be used in the ongoing planning process, validation of travel simulation models, traffic forecasting, preliminary engineering, estimation of vehicle miles of travel (VMT), and monitoring of external and through travel. The toll authorities of the region, state transportation departments, neighboring metropolitan planning organizations, county planners, and interregional freight operators will benefit from this survey, which will provide useful data for the improvement of highway facilities in the next 20 years.
- Cordon Line Highway Survey for the Delaware Valley Region - Report No. 1 US 1 and NJ 70 Cordon Stations in Mercer and Burlington Counties
- Cordon Line Highway Survey for the Delaware Valley Region - Report No. 2 I-95, US 202 and PA 41 South Cordon Stations in Chester and Delaware Counties
- Cordon Line Highway Survey for the Delaware Valley Region - Report No. 3 PA 41 North and US 30 Cordon Stations in Chester County
- Cordon Line Highway Survey for the Delaware Valley Region - Report No. 4 Upper Black Eddy Bridge and US 202 Toll Bridge Cordon Stations in Bucks County
- Cordon Line Highway Survey for the Delaware Valley Region - Report No. 5 NJ 55 and NJ 77 Cordon Stations in Gloucester County
- Cordon Line Highway Survey for the Delaware Valley Region - Report No. 6 Regional Cordon Line Stations for the Delaware Valley Region
Travel Data
2010 Screen Line Reports
DVRPC conducts periodic monitoring of travel trends and patterns throughout the nine-county area via a series of "screen lines" throughout the region. The data is a collection of highway volumes taken by DVRPC staff, state and municipal counts, and ridership collected from the local transit agencies. The screen lines are a mix of major highway facilities, natural boundaries, and a few administrative areas. This data is used in at least three ways: to assess transportation trends in and out of the various DVRPC sub-regions; to calibrate the DVRPC transportation simulation model; and to estimate Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) in order to determine air quality conformity.
- 1995-2010 Travel Trends In the Delaware Valley Region
- 1980-2010 Travel Trends In the Philadelphia Central Business District
2015 Screen Line Reports
- 2000-2015 Travel Trends in the Delaware Valley Region
- 2000-2015 Travel Trends in the Philadelphia Central Business District
2020 Screen Line Reports
- 2000-2020 Travel Trends in the Delaware Valley Region
- 2000 - 2020 Travel Trends in the Philadelphia Central Business District
DVRPC Demographic and Employment Forecasts
The Office of Modeling and Analysis is responsible for developing the socio-economic data for the various modeling processes utilized by DVRPC. This data is derived from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey (ACS) and Census Transportation Planning package (CTPP), as well as supplemental employment data sources. The data sets are developed for DVRPC Traffic Analysis Zones (TAZ) used by the modeling process. Demographic attributes deal with population within a zone, how many vehicles per household, number of households within a zone, etc. Employment attributes are disaggregated into employment sector categories such as retail, manufacturing, mining, and agricultural. This data is also used to evaluate demographic and employment trends and patterns within the DVRPC region from county to county, urban to rural, and interactions with the DVRPC and the neighboring administrative entities.