Oregon Travel Study underway this spring

ODOT and Metro partner to research travel habits in greater Portland, state.

Transportation agencies across Oregon will soon survey several thousand households about their daily travel habits, asking people where, how far and how often they travel and what modes they use – whether driving, using transit, biking or walking.

The study is a statewide, multi-agency project sponsored by the Oregon Department of Transportation, the Federal Highway Administration, and local planning organizations throughout the state, including Metro. As technologies evolve and travel behaviors change, current travel data is essential information for planning future transportation investments and prioritizing improvements. This survey provides real-world information about people’s experiences, needs and choices, a key step in planning a more efficient future transportation system.

As the metropolitan planning organization for greater Portland, Metro coordinates and plans investments in the transportation system and its miles of roadways, bridges, sidewalks, bikeways and transit service. The periodic Oregon Travel Survey is one of the major data sources in Metro’s travel model, which looks at how future public transportation investments help or impact people.

Currently, Metro is developing its Regional Transportation Plan, a 20-year plan for transportation projects that rely on federal funds or will otherwise be significant investments for how people get around greater Portland. As part of that process, Metro will model how greater Portland’s transportation system will work if the 1,100 plus transportation projects on the list are built.

At least 20,000 households from across Oregon are expected to participate in the study between April 2023 and June 2024. Randomly selected households will be invited to participate by a mailed invitation. The large statewide survey will kick off with a pilot study this month. The pilot study will give ODOT and other partners the chance to test the survey with a limited number of households before inviting larger numbers of households for the main study.

Households invited to participate in the pilot will have the option to complete the survey online, by phone, or through a smartphone app (rMove™) developed by the project consultants, RSG.

Received an invitation to participate in the Oregon Travel Study? Visit the survey website oregontravelstudy.com to learn more and complete the survey. To find out more about the Regional Transportation Plan, visit oregonmetro.gov/rtp.