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However, many requests are received from the industry, State and local government agencies, as well as research organizations, and other members of general public.

Pipeline Carrier Accident Report System.-This system, maintained by the Office of Pipeline Safety Operations (OPSO), which is part of the Research and Special Programs Administration, reports any failure in a liquid pipeline system where there is a release of commodity transported resulting in any of the following consequences: explosion or fire not intentionally set by carrier; loss of 50 or more barrels of liquid; escape to the atmosphere of more than 5 barrels a day of liquefied petroleum gas or other liquefied gas; death of any person; bodily harm to any person; and property damage of at least $1,000 to other than the carrier's facilities. This information is provided by pipeline carriers and augmented by reports of DOT investigators.

The pipeline reporting system contains such information as name and address of carrier; date, time and location of accident, part of carrier system involved and physical location; origin of liquid or vapor release; cause of accident; fatalities and injuries of the carrier's employees and other persons; property damage-items and dollar value; and commodity being transported-estimated loss in barrels; year of installation of facility; and whether there was fire or explosion.

Pipeline Leak and Test Failure Reporting System.— This system provides causal-related and safetyrelated information to identify trends and problem areas in support of rule making action and safety program development, and to furnish Congress with accident and casualty data in accordance with Section 14 of the Natural Gas Pipeline Safety Act of 1968. This information is provided by operators of distribution and/or transmission/gathering systems.

The system contains the following information: nationwide identification of companies; sizes, materials, and ages of gas systems; causes and number of leaks repaired; gas systems on coated or bare pipe; gas systems cathodically protected; fatalities and injuries; operator property damage estimates; value of property damage to others (settled); fires and explosions; leak surveys; and cathodic inspections.

Specific incident data show detailed information; when and where occurred; cause, pipe specifications, when installed, materials that failed; fatalities and injuries; estimated operator damage; environment of incident; estimated pressure at time of incident; maximum allowable operating pressure; time until escape of gas stopped; method of leak or failure

detection, such as rupture, ignition, explosion; type of repair; and other utilities contributed or repaired. Information is also provided concerning failures due to corrosion, outside forces, construction defects, and material failure.

5(a) Certification and 5(b) Agreement Data.-State participation in the Federal Gas Pipeline Safety Program of the Research and Special Programs Administration is achieved by filing a 5(a) certification or by entering into a Section 5(b) agreement with the Secretary of Transportation. The collection of data on these two documents is specifically required by the Natural Gas Pipeline Safety Act of 1968. The data is the minimum necessary to determine whether a State is eligible to qualify for the certificate of agreement. Fifty-three State jurisdictions, principally State public service commissions, provide the data to DOT.

The following information is required annually for certification: (1) State jurisdiction over intrastate gas facilities, (2) pipeline accidents occurring in preceding calendar year, (3) summary of State inspections and compliance action in preceding calendar year, (4) record maintenance report, and (5) State personnel involved in gas pipeline safety.

Information includes the State's attestation that it has adopted and is enforcing Federal safety standards, states jurisdiction, name and address of operators jurisdictional to State agencies, gas pipeline accident/incident information, and State enforcement and surveillance activity.

The data are used to prepare: (1) DOT's annual report to Congress concerning pipeline safety, (2) DOT's budget submission, and (3) OPSO management reports (i.e., table, charts, graphic displays).

The system is not automated; therefore query capability is on a direct information retrieval basis. There are no known plans to publish the data collected. The information is unclassified, for internal use, and available to the public.

Pipeline Safety Grant-in-Aid Program.-This information system of the RSPA is necessary to determine if application for grant-in-aid should be approved, if any restrictions should be placed upon the grantee, and the magnitude of the grant. Approximately 47 State jurisdictions (principally public service commissions) provide financial and program information to DOT.

Program information is submitted to DOT annually with the State's application for grant-in-aid. This program information requires a narrative description

of all ongoing and planned pipeline safety activities in the State during the ensuing calendar year.

Program information includes on-site inspections, hiring of safety personnel, accident investigations and reports, adoption of safety regulations, training of staff personnel, lowering of number of gas incidents in each State, monitoring of gas operations, review of inspection and maintenance plans, maintenance of records, State statutes, and procurement of safety equipment.

Financial information includes estimated, actual, and variances of gas pipeline safety expenses categorized by cost codes.

Financial information represents subsidiary or supporting documentation for an accounting system maintained in the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Administration. There is no routine reporting of the information collected in this system. The information collected is unclassified, for internal use, and is available to the public.

Planning and Program Development

National Transportation Needs Studies.-These surveys are conducted on 2- to 4-year intervals to collect information on the plans and programs of State and local governments with respect to their transportation capital improvement program and operation and maintenance of public sector facilities and services related to transportation. The 1972 study collected information on transportation investment needs and capital improvement programs under three alternative Federal funding assumptions over a 20year period. The 1974 study focused on improvement plans to the year 1990 and a funding program to 1980 under a specified Federal funding assistance program.

In addition to the planning information, the 1972 and 1974 studies collected substantial amounts of inventory and performance data in the following data categories: physical facilities, physical capacity, utilization of facilities by vehicles, passenger utilization safety performance (fatalities, injuries), land use, air pollution, and financial information (annual capital and operating costs, revenues). The modes for which the information was collected included: urban highways; rural highways; urban public transportation; airports; marine terminals, waterways, and harbors; parking facilities; intercity bus, railway, and trucking terminals, and other transportation systems.

National Highway Needs.-The objectives of the reporting process are to: (1) inform the Congress of the extent, condition, and performance of the existing highway network and future highway needs, and (2) develop policy on the direction of the Federal

highway program and assess the impacts of different highway investment programs.

The reports describe the miles of highways by functional classification; physical condition of roadways; highway performance characteristics; highway finance data; current and forecasted travel by highway system and area; and the cost and location of current and future needed highway improvements.

Federal Airports Program.-The information collected under this program covers airport inventory, planning, operations, and programming. This information includes: (1) airport location, physical characteristics, services, and activity; (2) planning data and environmental impact statements for support of certain airport planning and development and design and construction standards; (3) records on airport grant projects and compliance status; (4) surplus property transfer deeds and information; (5) relocation assistance guidance; (6) airport certification standards, guidance, compliance, and violations; and (7) information on rescue equipment and airport safety matters.

Both internal and external sources are used to derive this information. Basic data on airport physical characteristics are collected by FAA personnel. National Airport System Plan data are derived by FAA field offices, in large measure from airport management, planning agencies, and various other non-FAA aviation sources. Planning grant and development grant data are obtained from sponsors and supplemented by FAA inspections, audits, correspondence, and so forth. Airport certification data are submitted by applicant airports and verified and supplemented by FAA visits. Illustrative uses of this information include providing support for Federal involvement in the identification and planning of a National System of Airports; providing grant-in-aid support for airport master planning and development; and providing support for analysis and policymaking in the area of airport ground safety.

National Aviation System Plans.-The data in this information category are planning requirements, program funding plans, and intermodal transportation planning. The National Aviation System Plan serves aviation users, aviation manufacturers, and FAA personnel who are developing and maintaining the System. Information is derived from the aviation community through the annual Aviation Review Conference and other consultative sessions. The National Aviation System Ten-Year Plan is published annually as a guide to those responsible for formulating future program plans and budget submissions.

Recommended Program Modifications and

Additions

Transportation is a component of the economy that is subject to fairly rapid changes over the years in terms of new services provided through advancing technology and changes in consumer, industry, and government demands. It is an area substantially affected by public policy programs and regulations originating at the Federal, State and local levels of government. Safety, convenience, transportation cost and taxpayers' burden are directly related to these policies, programs and regulations. The decision to construct the interstate system, for example, affects not only highway users but railroads, urban development, industrial location and many others. The advent of the jet aircraft further stimulated an already dynamic and growing industry. The growth in automobile use affected the demand for mass transit services and urban land use patterns. Containership development substantially improved maritime freight service as well as impacting port economies. Significant changes in basic economic relationships such as these generate major national issues, which are translated into new policy initiatives, legislation, programs or regulations.

If the Federal responsibilities and challenges associated with these changing conditions are to be met effectively, a continuous monitoring of the transportation system, the demands for transportation services, and the performance of the system is required. Moreover, the information systems designed to provide this continuous flow of information must be flexible enough to provide the necessary data to meet these changing conditions and emerging issues.

The transportation statistics information systems must also be adaptable to the developments in analytical methodology and technology. For example, advances in statistical analysis such as the disaggregated modeling techniques have affected the type of data required as well as the quantity. Generally, these techniques require an increase in the depth of information required from individual respondents which adds to the individual respondent's burden. However, the methods require much smaller samples of observations which decreases the total burden on the community. These techniques allow certain types of analyses which have the potential of providing new knowledge and understanding of causal factors.

The changes in analytical methodology also affect the resources required for data collection as well as the respondent burden. For example, computer assisted interview techniques may permit interviews to be conducted more quickly and accurately.

The recommended statistical program modifications and additions presented below are designed to fill the data gaps created by the aforementioned changing conditions and to strengthen methodological techniques in collecting, analyzing, and reporting the information.

National Urban Transportation Reporting System (UMTA/FHWA)

The National Urban Transportation Reporting System (UTRS) contains certain key data elements which describe the characteristics and performance of urban transportation systems. The information is to be used for Federal level policy and budget decisions, program monitoring, and program evaluation. The major data elements are:

-Highway Data: road miles, lane miles, vehicle miles of travel, passenger occupancy, traffic volume, and congestion;

-Public Transit Data: access to transit, trip characteristics (purpose, time, distance), rider characteristics, transit operating characteristics (vehicle miles, vehicles in use, etc.);

-Demographic Data: population, dwelling units, employment, passenger vehicle registrations, land area; and

-Measures of System Performance: highway and public transit travel time contours from specified major activity centers.

Several features of the design of the UTRS should be pointed out. First, the analysis of a number of urban transportation issues, particularly energy and environmental issues, depend upon reliable estimates of changes in vehicle miles of travel, vehicle occupancy, and the general effectiveness of urban transportation systems. Although a number of studies of these variables have been made in the past, currently there is no program that periodically collects this information on a uniform basis from urban areas where the major urban transportation problems exist. The UTRS is designed to fill this important data gap.

Second, many of the data elements in the system are collected regularly by Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPO's) or other local planning agencies. However, current local data collection procedures are not uniform among localities, and this seriously impairs comparative and aggregative analyses needed at the Federal level. By adopting UTRS specifications in their normal data collection programs, the local agencies will automatically generate the needed uniformity.

Third, the UTRS is designed to complement the FARE Reporting System for reporting public transportation information. However, the FARE Reporting System requirements apply only to recipients of UMTA Section 5 funds; therefore, in some areas the basic operational information needed for analyses at the Federal level would not be available for those operations that do not receive Section 5 funds. The UTRS, therefore, fills an important data gap with respect to transit operations. In addition, the UTRS collects accessibility, trip, and rider characteristics information which is not supplied by the FARE Reporting System. This additional information is usually collected by operators and/or urban planning agencies, but, again, there is a need for uniform procedures.

National Travel Survey (OST, FHWA, UMTA,
NHTSA, Census)

The National Travel Survey (NTS) is part of the quinquennial census of Transportation. For the 1977 survey, the NTS was expanded to include information on short trips that had previously been collected in the Nationwide Personal Transportation Survey (NPTS) sponsored by the FHWA and NHTSA. The NTS was also expanded to obtain more information on long trips (over 75 miles) than had been collected in the 1972 NTS, and the survey procedure was changed from a mail questionnaire to a home interview. Preparation for the 1982 NTS should include research into the feasibility of simulating intercity travel using disaggregate demand modeling techniques. If successful, this could allow a substantial reduction in the sample size required for the 1982 NTS, as well as an increase in the transportation related information to be collected. The NPTS expansion of the NTS should be continued as an integral component of the quinquennial census. CAB Ten-Percent Sample Data Program (CAB)

This program should be expanded to include fare or ticket prices of the sample data base because that information is unaudited at the time of processing and subject to further change. However, the value of the missing data to the Department of Transportation far exceeds the difficulties presented by the error in the data. Supplemental data on the aggregate error rates occurring in the data should be useful in compensating for the errors that may be caused by including prices in the original sample.

Expansion of the Commodity Transportation Survey (Census)

If technically possible, this survey, conducted by the Bureau of the Census as part of the economic

census program, needs to be expanded to cover additional goods shipped, for instance, shipments of farm products (other than fruits and vegetables), and additional shippers such as agricultural assemblers.

The 1977 Commodity Transportation Survey provided for a significant expansion over prior efforts, but more coverage is still needed. New data collected in 1977 on receiving establishments are a potentially rich source of information for (1) more sophisticated and reliable economic impact analyses for industries and economic areas and (2) a systematized procedure for crosschecking the product shipments data in the censuses of manufacturers. These are only potentially significant data because lack of funding prevents any definite plans for their tabulation.

Other recent research has suggested that freight flow data might be more effectively and efficiently collected if the sample population were the receivers of shipments rather than the shippers. This approach would potentially yield better data with which to calibrate disaggregative models. This modeling technique, if current research efforts prove successful, would substantially improve analytic capabilities for forecasting freight movement by mode. It could also reduce the amount of data collection (sample size) needed for analytic purposes. Additional research is needed to further determine the scope of this type of survey in terms of the length of haul (i.e., intercity versus urban local goods movement).

Data on commodity flows represent an important aspect of interindustry (input-output) and regional economic analysis. The commodity transportation survey is especially useful for development of missing inputs for commodity sectors and some service sectors in addition to the transportation sectors. The necessary adjunct to the CTS would be the Standard Industrial Classification definition of the receiver as well as the shipper. This would be possible to achieve in the 1977 Census of Transportation if the receiving plant is identified by name and address and then matched with the computer files of the Census Standard Statistical Establishment List. However, there is a fairly sizable cost associated with this matching and the preparation of the associated tables which has not been funded.

Moreover, these data could be very useful for multiregional input-output studies, and regional analysis generally, if they indicated State to State flows instead of flows between production areas. Some States are not included in the Census production areas, even though the sample has doubled to about 50 areas for 1977. The regional flows give estimates of regional exports and imports (excluding

foreign trade flows). Actually, some of the data in the present commodity transportation survey give information which can help on exports to foreign countries as well.

One aspect of many regional studies is the development of specialized transportation coefficients such as gravity flow coefficients. These coefficients can help in deciding the extent to which commodities should move from region to region on a cost effective basis. The costs of the commodity and the transportation necessary to move it to a receiving area are evaluated in terms of the cost of a commodity produced in the receiving area. This is not completely foolproof, because there are differences in products of even 4-digit SIC industries; also, there are quality differences, temporary inventory and output shortages, and loyalties to given suppliers. To some extent all of these tend to obviate the accuracy of gravity-type models in terms of the real business. world, but the coefficients are developed to suggest targets and efficient approaches to commodity flows that could be incorporated in economic models with a regional dimension.

National Truck Commodity Flow Study (OST,
FHWA)

This survey was conducted by the Office of the Secretary of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration in 1972, and represents the only comprehensive study of commodity movements via the truck mode. Improvements need to be made in the identification of commodity classifications and land use and/or interconnecting modes, and the origin/destination of shipments. Two alternative collection methodologies need to be explored: (1) with the Bureau of the Census in conjunction with the Truck Inventory and Use Study, and (2) with the FHWA through the State highway and transportation agencies.

This survey should be conducted on a periodic frequency of at least 5 years and yield geographic data at the State level. It should be noted that if the Commodity Transportation Survey is expanded to cover all shipments (through appropriate samples) then the data on shipment by mode should be an automatic by-product obviating the need for a separate truck commodity flow study.

Survey of Non-ICC Regulated Motor Bus Carriers (Census)

This survey is supplemental to data collected by the Interstate Commerce Commission on regulated carriers. Some progress has been made, but more is needed to make the results of these two efforts more compatible.

Commodity Movement in Rural Areas.-Most agricultural transportation performed in rural areas and from rural areas is exempt from economic regulation; therefore, information on volume, rates, origins or destinations is not available on a systematic basis. There is a need to fill this data gap to insure its consideration when formulating national policy.

Rail Carload Waybill Sample (ICC)

Changes are needed in the Interstate Commerce Commission's one-percent waybill sample provided for the submission and processing of machine readable input. Also, the content of the sample should be expanded to include additional information such as date of delivery.

Air Freight Data (CAB)

Historically, the programs of the Civil Aeronautics Board have been directed toward collecting detailed market data, costs and operational information only with respect to passenger service. No such information is presently available concerning the character and geographic markets of air freight movements. Data recurrently collected with respect to freight have been limited to the most basic tonmile and revenue indicators of volumes in combination and all cargo services, respectively. This situation has posed difficulties for the Board in connection with its rate-making functions, inasmuch as the domestic and international air freight rate structures are highly differentiated, embracing a wide variety of rates for different commodities, shipment sizes, types of service, markets, and directional applications. There is a need, therefore, to expand the freight information developed by the CAB programs.

Census of Government Data on State and Local
Transportation Finance (Census)

The Governments Division of the Bureau of the Census conducts a quinquennial census of State and local government finance and employment and supplements this information with an annual sample survey. The data set already contains very rich information about State and local government revenues, expenditures and debt for transportation purposes, and especially on the intergovernmental transfers between Federal, State and local governments. However, some major gaps exist in the data set, especially with respect to general-purpose governments, which limit the usefulness of the data to the Department of Transportation and other users. The Census of Government Data on State and Local Transportation Finance should be expanded to obtain

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