Waybill Compliance Survey - Supporting Statement

Supporting Statement for
Paperwork Reduction Act Submission
Waybill Compliance Survey
A. Justification
1. Need for Information
The Surface Transportation Board is, by statute, responsible for the economic regulation
of railroads operating in the United States. The Waybill Sample is the Board’s primary means of
gathering information about freight rail shipments terminated in the United States. A waybill,
which is a document describing the characteristics of an individual rail shipment, identifies
originating and terminating freight stations, the names of all railroads participating in the
movement, the point of all railroad interchanges, the number of cars, the car types, movement
weight in hundredweight, the commodity, and the freight revenue. The Board requires a railroad
to submit a statistical sample of the waybills for the traffic it handles if, in any of the three
preceding years, the railroad terminated at least 4,500 carloads on its line.
Data from the Waybill Sample is used by the Board as input in analyses and studies
necessary to carry out the regulatory responsibilities of the Board. Other Federal agencies (the
Department of Transportation and the Department of Agriculture, for example) use the Waybill
Sample as part of their information base. The Waybill Sample is also used by States as a major
source of information for developing state transportation plans. In addition, non-government
groups seek access to Waybill Sample data for such uses as market surveys, development of
verified statements in Board and State formal proceedings, forecast of rail equipment
requirements, economic analyses and forecasts, and academic research.
The Waybill Compliance Survey, for which approval is sought here, is required to be
filed by all railroads that terminate traffic in the United States but do not currently submit
waybill samples. The survey requirement, codified at 49 CFR 1244.2(f), enables the Board to
identify those railroads that should be submitting an annual Waybill Sample. In addition,
information about a rail carrier’s total annual operating revenues helps the Board determine
whether other regulatory requirements may apply. The authority to collect the above information
is found in Sections 49 U.S.C. 11144, 11145, and 11901(e)(1).
2. Use of Data Collected
The Waybill Compliance Survey is used to determine whether a railroad meets the
criteria established at 49 CFR 1244 for inclusion in the Waybill Sample and ensures that the
Board is collecting a Waybill Sample from all railroads that are required to participate. The
information in the survey also provides a measure of the total traffic covered by the Waybill
Sample. The revenue information is collected on a voluntary basis and helps the Board
anticipate what other regulatory provisions may apply to a particular carrier.

3. Reduction Through Improved Technology
For many years, the Board has allowed respondents to file the survey by FAX.
Beginning with the next Waybill Survey, the Board will accept filing by email. The Board will
email the form to any railroad that supplies its email address.
4. Identification of Duplication
This information is not duplicated by any other agency. The Board is the only source of
waybill information.
5. Minimizing Burden for Small Businesses
The survey does not require special record keeping and takes less than 0.5 hours to
complete.
6. Frequency Reduction Consequences
The Waybill Survey is conducted on an annual basis. Less frequent submission of the
survey might result in failure to identify a railroad that should be required to submit a Waybill
Sample for a particular year.
7. Special Circumstances
Not applicable.
8. Consultation Outside Agency
The Board provided a 60-day comment period regarding this extension of approval in 71
FR 75811. A Federal Register notice seeking comments from respondents is being published
simultaneously with this submission.
9. Payment or Gift
No payment or gift is made in connection with this survey form.
10. Assurance of Confidentiality
All data pertaining to this form are open to public inspection.
11. Sensitive Information
This form does not collect sensitive information.

12. Estimated Burden Hours and Cost
The Board estimates that 120 railroads will respond to this survey and that it will take
each respondent approximately one half hour to complete and process the survey form. The
Board believes that this is a conservative estimate, based on a past survey of responders who
indicated that the annual Waybill Survey took approximately 0.5 hours to complete.
Improvements in technology may have reduced the burden associated with this collection, and
the actual burden hours (estimated at approximately 60 hours annually for all respondents) may
be less. Based on current labor rates the total annual industry cost of completing the survey form
is estimated at $500.00.
13. Record Keeping Burden
No additional record keeping is required to complete this form.
14. Annualized Cost To the Federal Government
The Board estimates the annual cost of this collection to be $350, including the cost of
publishing notice of the collection in the Federal Register and staff time to review the responses.
15. Program Changes to Items 13 and 14 of OMB Form 83-1
None.
16. Publication of Data and/or Results
No data from this survey form will be published.

17. Display of Expiration date for OMB approval
Expiration date is displayed.
18. Exceptions to the Certification for Paperwork Reduction Act Submissions
Not applicable.

B. Collection of Information Employing Statistical Methods
Not Applicable.