On March 31, 1997, the Census Bureau submitted to Congress the topics for questions it will include in the 2000 Census. The proposed form will provide a "short" form in 2000 that is much shorter than the one used in 1990. The proposed short form will include six population subjects, one fewer than in 1990, and one housing subject, four fewer than the last census.

The Census 2000 long form will include 27 more topics than the short form. Only one in six households will receive the long form. The Census Bureau's Journey-To-Work Branch is not expecting any major changes to journey-to-work questions (see Journey-To-Work 2000 article in this report).

The actual wording of the census questions must be submitted to Congress by April 1, 1998. [Top]

The Dress Rehearsal transportation related questions are listed on page 4 of this report. [Top]

Collectively, the Transportation community has come out in strong support for sampling methodology. During the 2000 Dress Rehearsal, sampling for non-response will be tested at the Sacramento, CA site and the total enumeration method will be used at the Columbia, South Carolina site. At the end of the Dress Rehearsal, the methods will be evaluated and Congress will make the final decision. To help Congress, an eight member Review Board has been assembled.

The criteria for acceptance of digital MPO / DOT files is: (1) the existence of an accurate address centerline file (with feature names attached and a unique ID#) and (2) linear data and correct topology (i.e. nodes / intersections). Census Regional Offices can accept almost any GIS EXPORT format (e.g. MapInfo, AtlasGIS, CAD, Maptitude, etc), but they work primarily with ArcInfo EXPORT files. The digital files are submitted by the MPOs to their Census Regional Office staff, who, since 1996, have been trained in converting and implementing the data into TIGER. [Top]

A detailed letter and instructions for this new process will be sent out to all MPOs / DOTs in the next few months. Funding for this effort has not yet been determined. For MPO areas which do not have, or don't want, TAZ boundary delineations, the 2000 Census Tract and Block Group boundaries can be used as area definitions for the 2000 CTPP. [Top]  

Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI) was selected by the Census Bureau to assist in the development of DADS. ESRI will partner with IBM.

A DADS97 Beta Test was scheduled to take place during February 9 -20, 1998. The Beta test results are an important mechanism for collecting feedback to improve the design and functionality of this prototype.

• residence location
• workplace location
• the flow between residence and workplace.

There have been two national conferences to follow-up on the 1990 CTPP. Recommendations from those conferences include:

• more timely data delivery
• improved workplace coding
• retaining journey-to-work data
• maintaining small area data.

• consistent, nationwide coverage allowing comparisons across areas
• cost effective data collection
• easy contractual mechanism through AASHTO.

AASHTO has again offered their services in 2000 CTPP administration, and FHWA is working to expedite the process.  [Top]

We want to know what you used from the 1990 CTPP and what you want from a 2000 CTPP product? We are envisioning an integrated package of data and software. Also, it would be helpful to learn what access tools would work best for you, for example, GIS-based, DBF-based, etc.?

We are in the process of setting up a CTPP Advisory Group as part of the TRB Subcommittee on Census Data for Transportation Planning chaired by Ed Christopher. If interested, write or call Ed.

b. Name of city, town, or post office
____________________________

c. Is the work location inside the limits of that city or town?
[ ] Yes
[ ] No, outside the city/town limits

d. Name of county
____________________________

e. Name of U.S. State or foreign country
____________________________

f. ZIP code ____________________

22a. How did this person usually get to work LAST WEEK? If this person usually used more than one method of transportation during the trip, mark [X] the box of the one used for most of the distance.
[ ] Car, truck, or van
[ ] Bus or trolley bus
[ ] Streetcar or trolley car
[ ] Subway or elevated
[ ] Railroad
[ ] Ferryboat
[ ] Taxicab
[ ] Motorcycle
[ ] Bicycle
[ ] Walked
[ ] Worked at home -- Skip to 27-29
[ ] Other method

If "Car, truck, or van" is marked in 22a, go to 22b. Otherwise, skip to 23a.
 
b. How many people, including this person, usually rode to work in the car, truck, or van LAST WEEK?
[ ] Drove alone
[ ] 2 people
[ ] 3 people
[ ] 4 people
[ ] 5 or 6 people
[ ] 7 or more people

23a. What time did this person usually leave home to go to work LAST WEEK?
[ ] a.m.
______ : ______ [ ] p.m.

b. How many minutes did it usually take this person to get from home to work LAST WEEK?
_______ Minutes                                                               [Top]

On Monday night, January 12, 1998, the newly formed subcommittee on Census Data for Transportation Planning held its inaugural meeting. The subcommittee is organized under the Urban Data and Information Systems Committee. Ed Limoges of SEMCOG has agreed to serve as the Secretary.

The meeting was well attended and featured informative presentations and lively discussion. Jay Waite, Assistant Director for the Decennial Censuses, gave the committee an overview of the activities leading to the 2000 Census, while Phil Salopek, Chief of the Journey-to-Work and Migration Branch, reported on the status of the Journey­to­Work (JTW) questions. On the surface, the 2000 Census is shaping up to be similar in content and nature to the 1990 Census. However, there are still some contentious points over methodology.

Other issues discussed included the questionnaire content, building TAZs, geocoding, the new industrial classification, the 2000 Dress Rehearsal, and the prospects for the local review of high level tabs to help alleviate bad and erroneous data before it gets released.

There was general agreement that the CTPP CD-ROM type products developed for 1990 were good ones and that steps be taken to identify the content for a 2000 CTPP while putting together a process to pay for it. It was noted that the process used for 1990 provided a good foundation on which to build.

Continuous Measurement, now called the American Community Survey, was also discussed. It will be completed on a limited basis between 1999 and 2001. Once complete, the transportation planning community will have continuous data to compare with the traditional long form data.

While the JTW questions proposed for Census 2000 (see page 4 of this report) represent a continued refinement of what the transportation community needs, there are discussions underway focusing beyond the 2000 Census. Issues of concern include: multiple jobs, access modes and trip links. Though we have a lot of work ahead of us in the next few years, I believe our first meeting provided us with a good beginning.

Anyone with a special interest in the past, present and future census activities is encouraged to participate in the committee. According to TRB procedures, subcommittees do not have a fixed membership and all individuals are encouraged to become part of the process. For more information, please contact me at (312) 793­3467 or by
at berwyned@mcs.com.

Finally, I believe that disseminating information on the use, content, and design of the census and its products is one of the most important functions the committee can serve. Thus I have developed a census subcommittee webpage (http://www.mcs.com/~berwyned/census). Your comments and suggestions for improving the webpage would be appreciated.

Ed Christopher
Chair

1. What tables did you use from the 1990 CTPP?

B. Urban, please list: 

2. What tables from the 1990 CTPP were of least importance to you?

A. Statewide, please list: 

B. Urban, please list: 

3. What data or tabulations would you like to have available for the 2000 CTPP which were not part of the 1990 CTPP? 

4. What is the best way for you to access the 2000 CTPP data tables [ASCII, dBASE, Spreadsheet (Excel, Lotus, Quattro Pro), SAS, GIS-based, other - please specify]? 

5. What GIS software / hardware do you currently use? What GIS format would be best for digital file exchange [ASCII comma delimited, ASCII space delimited, ARC Export files or shapefiles, other GIS data formats (Transcad, MapInfo, Intergraph, etc), CAD dxf]?? 

6. What is the source of your GIS base map (TIGER, ETAK, other private vendor, created in-house, other)? 

7. If given the opportunity, would you assign staff and resources to participate in workplace coding for 2000?