More than 200,000 households countywide to participate in transportation survey

SAN DIEGO – Starting the week of Aug. 29, SANDAG will invite approximately 200,000 households in San Diego County to participate in a study to help transportation planners better understand how, when, and why residents travel in the region. The results of the study will be used to help develop infrastructure projects and programs to better meet regional transportation needs.

One in five households in the region will be randomly selected to participate in the San Diego Regional Transportation Study. Most participants will be asked to use a smartphone application to answer questions about their daily travel choices, with some respondents completing the study online or by phone.

“Good participation by San Diego County residents in this study is vital to our region’s ability to address traffic congestion,” SANDAG Board of Directors Chair and County Board of Supervisors Chair Ron Roberts said. “Without accurate and up-to-date data on how residents use the transportation network, we would not be able to develop effective solutions.”

Participants will be prompted to answer questions about when and where they travel; whether they drive alone, carpool, vanpool, walk, bike, or use public transit; and how much their travel activity costs (e.g., parking and transit fares).

Participation in the confidential survey is by invitation only. The random selection process will ensure a representative sample of residents with varied demographics and travel behaviors from around the region. Participants whose households complete the study will receive either a $10 or $20 gift card per adult, depending on the method they use to complete the survey.

Residents will be invited to participate on a rolling basis, through late October. All of the data is anticipated to be collected by November 2016.

A similar travel study for the San Diego region was completed in SANDAG typically conducts a study of this magnitude every 10 years.

SANDAG has engaged Resource Systems Group, Inc. (RSG) to help conduct this study. For more information, visit www.sandag.org/study.