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Americans and Their Vehicles

Presentation by

Pat Hu, Director

Center for Transportation Analysis

Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Slide 2.

During the past three decades, the number of vehicles increased at a faster rate than most other demographic indicators. 

Line graph depicting how the number of vehicles increased faster than most other demographic indicators for years 1969, 1977, 1983, 1990, 1995 and 2001. Table containing data follows.

1969 1977 1983 1990 1995 2001
Household 1 1.21 1.37 1.49 1.58 1.72
Persons 1 1.08 1.16 1.21 1.32 1.41
Drivers 1 1.24 1.43 1.58 1.71 1.85
Workers 1 1.23 1.36 1.56 1.74 1.91
Vehicles 1 1.66 1.98 2.28 2.43 2.81

 

Slide 3.

During the past decade, the amount of driving increased by approximately 50%, both in terms of VMT and the number of vehicle trips.

Line graph depicting how the amount of driving increased by approximately 50%, both in terms of VMT and number of vehicle trips for years 1990, 1995, and 2001. Table containing data follows.

1990 1995 2001
V. Trips 1 1.44 1.47
VMT 1 1.47 1.62
Trip length 1 1.01 1.09

 

Slide 4.

NPTS and NHTS surveys are the only information sources at the national level that link households to vehicles to driving patterns and  households to drivers to driving patterns.

Picture depicting relationship between information sources at national level.

 

Slide 5.

Linking data on households, drivers, vehicles, vehicle usage, driving and trip-making gives better understanding of:

  • Who owns what type of vehicle, going where, when, and for what purpose,
  • Driving patterns (changes),
  • Crash exposure by demographic characteristics for youth and mature drivers,
  • Energy consumption,
  • Vehicle emissions, 
  • Deployment of vehicle-based ITS technologies, other vehicle technologies, and alternative fuels, 
  • Etc.

Slide 6.

What types of vehicles do Americans drive?

  • There are still more automobiles on the roads than other types of vehicles
  • However, automobiles continued to lose popularity.
  • The number of SUVs doubled in 2001; vans increased by 33%; pickup trucks by 20%.
  • Increase in motorcycles is an artifact due to improvements in 2001 survey.

Bar graph comparing the percent of vehicles types that Americans drove in years 1995 to 2001. Table containing data follows.

Auto Van SUV Pickup Other trucks RV Motorcycle Other POV N/A, refused
1995 64.34 7.84 6.9 17.67 0.4 0.52 0.94 0.08 1.3
2001 56.86 9.02 11.81 18.21 0.44 0.71 2.43 0.52 0

Slide 7.

How many vehicles does a typical household own?

  • Percent of households without a vehicle decreased marginally, though the number of households without a vehicle increased from 8 million households in 1995 to 8.5 million households in 2001.
  • Shift from 1-2 vehicle households to 3+ vehicle households.
  • Vehicle-owning households owned an average of 1.93 vehicles in 1995, compared to 2.06 in 2001.

Bar graph comparing years 1995 to 2001 for the number of vehicles owned by what percent of households. Table containing data follows.

0 1 2 3 4 5

6+
1995 8.07 32.39 40.43 14 3.61 1.05 0.45
2001 7.91 31.37 37.14 15.05 5.56 1.79 1.17

Slide 8.

There were significantly more households in 2001 than in 1995 who owned a greater number of vehicles than there were drivers in the household.

1995 2001
3 persons per vehicle 15 million households 14.5 million households
1 person per vehicle 63 million households 64.5 million households
1 person per 1 and 1/2 vehicle 14 million households 20 million households
1 person to 3 vehicles 1.4 million households 2.8 million households

 

Slide 9.

How long did Americans keep their vehicles?  Americans kept their vehicles longer in 2001 than in 1995. This is true for almost every vehicle type.

 

Bar graph comparing how long Americans kept their vehicles in years 1995 to 2001. Table containing data follows.

Auto Van SUV
1995 8.24 6.68 6.56
2001 9.04 7.61 6.53

 

Slide 10.

The average amount of time we spent in a vehicle in 2001 was slightly more than an hour and varied greatly by individual's age. Children younger than 5 years old spent an average of three-quarters of an hour a day in vehicles.

Bar graph depicting the average amount of time spent in vehicle in 2001 by individual's age. Table containing data follows.

0-5 18-Jun 19-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65+
Time spent 47.95 44.58 70.89 75.01 82.81 80.69 75.31 57.6

 

Slide 11.

Compared to 1995, Americans spent about 10% more time in their vehicles and traveled about the same number of miles.

Line graph depicting years 1995 and 2001 time spent in vehicles as compared to miles driven. Table containing data follows.

Not MSA MSA < 250K MSA between 250-500K MSA between 500K and 1M MSA between 1M and 3M MSA > 3M Average
Time spent - 01 69.47 68.32 65.26 67.29 66.62 64.47 66.44
Miles traveled - 01 42.54 37.3 34.84 34.45 33.99 31.02 34.9
Time spent - 95 64.37 61.48 60.68 64.27 61.91 57.85 60.89
Miles traveled - 95 41.3 36.09 34.96 37.46 35.84 31.31 35.26

 

 

Slide 12.

85% of the time we went to places in privately-owned vehicles (POV). This tendency varied by the availability of rail/subway services. Preliminary analysis suggests decreasing POV-use in 2001 in areas where rail services were provided.

 

Bar graph comparing year 1995 to 2001 for percent trips using POV to Rail/Subway, No rail, and all. Table containing data follows.

Rail/Subway

 No Rail ALL
1995 77.80% 85.50% 84.50%
2001 73.90% 86.40% 84.20%

 

Slide 13.

Part of the trend continued in which older vehicles were being driven more than before.

Bar graph comparing annual VMT by vehicle age for years 1995 and 2001. Table containing data follows.

2-Jan 5-Mar 8-Jun 12-Sep 13-15 16+
1995 10,824 12,960 11,812 10,313 8,217 5,927
2001 13,003 13,089 11,966 10,261 8,559 5,140

 

Slide 14.

To use the 2001 NHTS data visit http://nhts.ornl.gov.

Picture of 2001 NHTS website homepage.

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