2010 OHS OMB package-Section A

Explain the circumstances that make the collection of information necessary. Identify any legal or administrative requirements that necessitate the collection. Attach a copy of the appropriate section of each statute and regulation mandating or authorizing the collection of information.

In 2005, Congress passed, and the President signed, the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU; P.L. 109-59). SAFETEA-LU contained a number of legislative mandates including providing data, statistics and analyses to transportation decision-makers. The Research and Innovative Technology Administration, Bureau of Transportation Statistics (RITA/BTS) was tasked to accomplish this legislative mandate under 49 U.S.C. 111 (c) (5) (see Attachment I). RITA/BTS plans to use the Omnibus Household Survey (OHS) to:

assess the public’s evaluation of the nation’s transportation system in light of the DOT’s strategic goals (safety, state of good repair, economic competitiveness, livable communities, and environmental sustainability),
provide a vehicle for the operating administrations within the DOT as well as other governmental agencies, to survey the public about current transportation issues, and
provide national estimates of transportation mode usage.

Indicate how, by whom, and for what purpose the information is to be used. Indicate the actual use the agency has made of the information received from the current collection.

The primary purposes of the OHS are to assess the public’s evaluation of the nation’s transportation system, provide a vehicle for the operating administrations within the DOT as well as other governmental agencies, to survey the public about current transportation issues, and to provide national estimates of transportation mode usage.

In addition, RITA/BTS will use the mode usage data, community livability, commuting, telecommuting, and satisfaction with various aspects of the transportation system for benchmarking and monitoring trends. These data will be available to other operating administrations within the DOT as well as other government agencies upon request. The data will also be posted to the BTS public internet website at www.bts.gov/programs/omnibus surveys.

Past OHS also collected customer ratings of airport and public transit security and operations for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). These OHS data were used in producing TSA’s Transportation Security Index (TSI). The TSI was created by the following calculation where “N#” was the number of respondents for each answer and “W#” was the weighted score associated with each answer choice as shown below:

For selected BTS Omnibus Household Survey Questions:

Answer #1 N1 * W1

Answer #2 N2 * W2

Answer #3 N3 * W3

Answer #4 N4 * W4

TSI = Σ(W1N1 + W2N2 + W3N3 + W4N4)

This TSI was then used to support TSA performance measures reported to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and OMB. TSA used the data received by the BTS Omnibus Household Survey as a third party data collection which measured the traveling public’s perception of safety provided by TSA. The data were converted to an index using the above calculation.

3. Describe whether, or to what extent, the collection of information involves the use of automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques of other forms of information technology.

The OHS obtains information from respondents over the telephone using professionally trained interviewers and a computer-assisted telephone interviewing (CATI) system. This approach allows us to employ the newest computer technology and programming to reduce respondent burden and maximize data quality. CATI systems allows for sophisticated branching and skip patterns, in which the interviewer asks only those questions that are necessary and appropriate to the particular respondent. Data range, consistency, and edit checks are automatically programmed to reduce reporting error, reduce survey length, and maintain the flow of the interview. RITA/BTS is committed to providing the public with the easiest and most efficient data collection method and or methods possible in order to reduce respondent burden.

Describe efforts to identify duplication. Show specifically why any similar information already available cannot be used or modified for use for the purposes described in Item 2 above.

The survey covered by this request does not duplicate information currently being collected by any other agency or component within the US DOT as well as other government agencies. The information to be collected by this survey is not currently available in any other format or from any other source or combination of sources.

5. If the collection of information impacts small businesses or other small entities, describe any methods used to minimize the burden.

The OHS will not collect information from small businesses or other small entities.

6. Describe the consequence to Federal program or policy activities if the collection is not conducted or is conducted less frequently, as well as any technical or legal obstacles to reducing burden.

This data collection is required by the SAFETEA-LU. SAFETEA-LU contains a number of legislative mandates including providing data, statistics and analyses to transportation decision-makers. RITA/BTS was tasked to accomplish this legislative mandate under 49 U.S.C. 111 (c) (5). The planned collection of data will allow RITA/BTS to continue to provide the statistics covered by this survey which are required to benchmark customer usage and satisfaction and determine if trends are changing and, if so, attempt to identify some of the factors that may be causing those changes. Less frequent data collection would not allow RITA/BTS to offer support services to other operating administrations within the US DOT as well as other governmental agencies in a timely manner, nor could RITA/BTS provide enough information to assess use of and satisfaction with the transportation system. Because this collection is expected to be an on-going effort, it has the potential to have immediate impact on the ability of the US DOT and other governmental agencies to hear the voice of the American people on important transportation issues. The OHS provides data that informs DOT and other governmental agencies on general public’s expectation of and satisfaction with the transportation system that impacts decisions and programs related to agencies’ strategic goals.

7. Explain any special circumstances that require the collection to be conducted in a manner inconsistent with the guidelines set forth in CFR 1320.6.

There are no special circumstances.

8. If applicable, provide a copy and identify the date and page number of publication in the Federal Register of the agency's notice, required by 5 CFR 1320.8(d), soliciting comments on the information collection prior to submission to OMB. Describe efforts to consult with persons outside the agency to obtain their views on the availability of data, frequency of collection, the clarity of instructions and Record keeping, disclosure, or reporting format (if any), and on the data elements to be recorded, disclosed, or reported.

The 60-Day Federal Register Notice is provided as Attachment II. This Notice was published in the Federal Register February 2, 2010. There were no public comments received in response to the Notice, therefore, no action was taken by the agency. The 30-Day Federal Register Notice is provided as Attachment III and Attachment IV and was published on April 12, 2010 and republished on October 21, 2010.

BTS consulted with the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), the National Academy of Sciences Transportation Research Board (TRB), and the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) in revising the original questionnaire.

9. Explain any decision to provide any payment or gift to respondents, other than remuneration of contractors or grantees.

The OHS is voluntary. Respondents completing the survey will not receive any payment or gift.

10. Describe any assurance of confidentiality provided to respondents and the basis for the assurance in statute, regulation, or agency policy.

The confidentiality of Omnibus Household Survey data is protected under the BTS confidentiality statute (49 U.S.C. 111 (k)). In accordance with this confidentiality statute, only statistical and non-identifying data will be made publicly available through reports, microdata products, and any other public documents. Further, BTS will not release to any public or private entity any information that might reveal the identity of individuals that participated in the survey. RITA/BTS will use established procedures for survey storage and disposal to ensure that individual identifiers are protected from disclosure. RITA/BTS will also use statistical disclosure limitation methods to ensure that individual identifying information does not appear in any public data product.

11. Provide additional justification for any questions of a sensitive nature, such as sexual behavior and attitudes, religious beliefs, and other matters that are commonly considered private. This justification should include the reasons why the agency considers the questions necessary, the specific uses to be made of the information, the explanation to be given to persons from whom the information is requested, and any steps to be taken to obtain their consent.

Every effort has been made to reduce the number of sensitive questions in the 2010 OHS questionnaire. There is, however, one question that could be considered sensitive by some respondents. A copy of the OHS survey questionnaire is included in Attachment V.

An income question is included along with other questions designed to identify socioeconomic characteristics that are vital to the travel analyses. It is necessary to collect income data because there is a direct correlation between travel behavior and the financial resources available to the household. The link between household income and the amount of travel as well as the modes of transportation used is critical in analyzing current travel or projecting travel in the future. Income information will be collected in the form of income categories in order to desensitize information collected by this question. Total combined family income will be asked of one household respondent for each household; individual family members will not be asked for their personal income.

12. Provide estimates of the burden hours for the collection of information. The statement should: indicate the number of respondents, frequency of response, annual hour burden, and an explanation of how the burden was estimated. Provide estimates of annualized cost to respondents for the hour burdens for collections of information, identifying and using appropriate wage rate categories.

The average time to collect OHS data in the 2009 OHS was about 17 minutes per interviewed household. The average time to screen households to determine whether the correct number was reached, whether the household was eligible for interview (e.g. not a business), and to elicit participation in the survey was 2 minutes per case.

12A.

Annually:	Omnibus Households
a. # Households	6,000
b. # Mins/Screener	6,000 x 2 = 12,000 minutes
c. # Respondents	1,500 households
d. # Mins/Respondent	1,500 x 17 = 25,500 minutes
Total Hours (b+d / 60)	37,500 ÷ 60 = 625 hours

12B. Annual Cost to Respondent:

The only cost to the respondent is the time spent completing the survey (see item 12A).

Total Annual Burden Hours	Rate/Hour**	Annual Cost
625	$22.46	$14,038

**Based on seasonally adjusted average hourly earnings of all employees on private nonfarm payrolls released by the Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics on March 5, 2010.

13. Provide an estimate for the total annual cost burden to respondents or record keepers resulting from the collection of information. (Do not include the cost of any hour burden shown in Items 12 and 14).

There are no costs to the participants beyond the hour burden. Participation in the OHS does not require additional record keeping on the part of the respondents.

14. Provide estimates of annualized costs to the Federal government. Also, provide a description of the method used to estimate cost, which should include quantification of hours, operational expenses (such as equipment, overhead, printing, and support staff), and any other expense that would not have been incurred without this collection of information.

The estimated annualized cost to the Federal Government for the OHS includes funding for support contracts to implement and complete the data collection, funding for RITA/BTS staff to develop the questionnaires, monitor field operations, analyze results, and develop/publish data products. Costs for support contracts are based on actual rates charged on similar projects by private contractors. Government staffing costs are based on the 2010 Federal white-collar pay schedule for workers in the Washington-Baltimore area (see: http://www.opm.gov/oca/10tables/pdf/DCB.pdf). Altogether, this submission represents an expected annual funding need of $368,800.

Annually:	Omnibus Household
Contractor	$238,800
BTS	$130,000
Total Estimated Cost:	$368,800

15. Explain the reasons for any program changes or adjustments to burden estimates.

In response to new or changing DOT and TSA’s strategic goals and respective performance measures, new questions were added onto the OHS each year. Although we tried to maintain the overall average OHS interview length by eliminating questions that became less important to its stakeholders after a new question was added, such balance could not always been achieved. As a result, the average time to collect OHS data was increased from about 15 minutes to 17 minutes per interviewed household.

The rest of the estimated total burden increase is due largely to a more accurate estimation of the number of households that will be screened for eligibility of interview (e.g. not a business) than that reported to the OMB previously.

16. For collections of information whose results will be published, outline plans for tabulation and publication. Address any complex analytical techniques that will be used. Provide the time schedule for the entire project, including beginning and ending dates of the collection of information, completion of report, publication dates, and other actions.

The RITA/BTS OHS is conducted yearly and reviewed to ensure no disclosure risks. RITA/BTS will release the microdata (with personal identifiable information removed) to the public. A summary of the findings will be published on the BTS Passenger Travel Web Page. This summary will contain simple descriptive statistics, tables and graphs. There is the potential exists that manuscripts will be submitted to appropriate professional journals or may be presented at local, national, or international conferences.

17. If seeking approval to not display the expiration date for OMB approval of the information collection, explain the reasons that display would be inappropriate.

The OHS Program is not seeking approval to avoid displaying the expiration date for OMB approval of the information collection.

18. Explain each exception to the certification statement identified in Item 19, "Certification for Paperwork Reduction Act Submissions," of OMB Form 83-I.

There are no exceptions to the certification statement identified in Item 19, “Certification for Paperwork Reduction Act Submissions,” of OMB Form 83-I. This request for OMB review complies with provisions 19(a) through 19(j) of OMB Form 83-I.

The points of contact at RITA/BTS are:

Pheny Z. Weidman

[email protected]

(202) 366-2817

Joy Sharp

[email protected]

(202) 366-0881

Both are located at:

Department of Transportation

Research and Innovative Technology Administration

Bureau of Transportation Statistics

1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE

Washington, DC 20590

File Type	application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document
File Title	2010 OHS OMB Section A 10-25-2010
Author	Pheny Weidman
File Modified	0000-00-00
File Created	2021-02-01

2010 OHS OMB package-Section A