The American Travel Market (1999)

The American Travel Market

The American Travel Survey, prepared by The Bureau of Transportation Statistics,  describes travel in the United States. The survey counted trips where the one-way distance was 100 miles or more. Annual trip volumes and passenger miles were projected from a national sample of 80,000 households.  This summary is based on data obtained from that report.

Market Overview

·         In 1995, Americans took more than a billion trips where the one-way distance between origin and destination was at least 100 miles. All but 4% were to destinations inside the US. Of all foreign trips, more than half were to Canada (28%) and Mexico (23%). Europe accounted for less than 18%. 

Trip Purpose

·         Business travel accounted for a surprisingly small portion of total travel – less than one fourth of trips and just 26% of passenger miles. The remaining three fourths was for personal reasons and most likely at personal expense.

·         Visiting Friends and Relatives was the most frequent motivation for personal travel – accounting for roughly one third of all trips and miles.  Leisure was next with 30% followed by personal business (weddings, funerals, school, medical treatment, etc.) with 15%. 

·         The length of trip did not vary greatly by purpose. Business trips were longer than average but only by 14%. Personal business trips were shorter than average but by 11%.

·         Within the Leisure category, Rest and Relaxation was the most frequent motivation accounting for one third of leisure travel and more than 11% of all travel.  Outdoor recreation was next following by entertainment, sightseeing and shopping/miscellaneous.

·         Within the leisure travel category, average trip length varied greatly by purpose with sightseeing being the longer than average by 44% and shopping being the shorter than average by 58%.

* Subcategories of Leisure.

Seasonality

Total travel is greatest in the third quarter  (22% above average) and lowest in the first quarter  (20% below average).  Business travel shows the least seasonal variation, leisure travel the most.  Personal Business and Visiting Friends and Relatives fall between these extremes.

Within the Leisure category, Sightseeing shows the greatest seasonal variation, followed by Rest and Relaxation. All Leisure sub-categories exhibit significant spikes in the third quarter except Shopping which peaks in the fourth.  

Length of Trip – Distance

·         Most trips are relatively short with 58% under 250 miles and nearly 80% under 500 miles.

·         Very long distance trips are a small segment of the total travel market. Fewer than 10% of all trips are 1,000 miles or longer but these trips accounted for nearly 42% of all passenger miles.

Length of Trip – Time

Nearly one fourth of all trips were day trips. Trips involving 1 to 3 nights away from home were the most typical, accounting for half of trips and 40% of passenger miles.  Trips of more than 7 nights accounted for less than 7.5% of trips but 18% of all passenger miles because the trip length averaged nearly a thousand miles. Not surprisingly, nights away from home correlated with distance traveled.

Mode Share – Total Market

·         Personal Use Vehicles (cars, etc) accounted for more than 80% of all trips, commercial air for 16%.   Trains accounted for only one half of one percent.

·         Average trip varied greatly by mode.  Cars had the shortest and – except for cruise ships – air had the longest. Train trips – at 436 miles – were longer than other forms of ground transportation.

·         Air accounted for just 16% of trips, but 43% of passenger miles.

Mode Share by Purpose of Trip

·         The automobile dominated all types of travel regardless of purpose but was weaker for business travel.

·         Commercial air was in second place with greatest strength in business and weakest in Leisure and Personal Business. 

·         Rail finished a distance third in Visiting Friends and Relatives, fourth in business and personal business and fifth in Leisure (ahead only of “all other” and intercity bus).

·         In terms of comparative strength, however, the train was above average in the business and visiting friends and relatives categories, average in the personal business category and weakest in leisure travel where tour buses and ships had their greatest strength.

Leisure Travel By Subcategory

Within the Leisure subcategories, the automobile was again the dominant factor showing the greatest relative strength in shopping.  Commercial air was second in all categories except shopping where Charter and Tour buses came in second. Rail showed relative strength only in sightseeing and was especially weak in shopping and outdoor recreation.

Modal Share by Distance Traveled

·         The percentage of trips taken by automobile declines as distance increases.  The drop is particularly significant when distance exceeds 500 miles. However, the automobile still has the dominant share for trips up to 1,000 miles and still accounts for more than one fifth of all trips over a thousand miles. 

·         The percentage of trips taken by air predictably increases with the distance traveled. Air accounts for and dominates the market over 1,000 miles with nearly three fourths of all travel. Air, however, does not get a significant share of trips until the distance exceeds 500 miles. However, even for short distance travel for trips between 100 and 150 miles, air has a higher share than rail – perhaps reflecting the larger number of city pairs served.

·         The market share for rail – although universally low – does not vary as significantly by distance as it does for automobile and air. Interestingly, rail’s share is nearly as strong for trips over 1,000 miles as it is for trips of 150-250. Rail’s greatest weakness involves trips in the 500-1000 mile category – again perhaps reflecting lack of service rather than customer choice.

Amtrak’s Current Business Base

Where does Amtrak’s business come from today? It depends on whether you count passengers or passenger miles. Based on the 1995 BTS data, it appears that trips between 100 and 500 miles accounted for 82% of Amtrak’s “long distance” ridership but only 43% of its passenger miles. Conversely, travel over 1,000 miles accounted for just over 10% of ridership but 45% of passenger miles.

Business travel produced slightly more than one fourth of Amtrak’s ridership (one way distance at least 100 miles).  Visiting friends and relatives was the most significant motivation, accounting for 40% of volume.  These two types of travel account for two thirds of Amtrak’s current business. Travel for “leisure” purposes was not quite 19%.

Within the leisure category, sightseeing was the most significant factor, accounting for 46% of leisure trips, followed by rest & relaxation at just under 29%.

National Association of Railroad Passengers

September 7, 1999