ST. PAUL -- If you travel within or to the Twin Cities metro area, you may soon be asked about the trips you make – to work and to school, to shop and to play. The Metropolitan Council will conduct its seventh regional Travel Behavior Inventory (TBI), starting next week and continuing early next year.

The TBI is a battery of surveys that examine where people travel, as well as when, why and how. Conducted roughly every 10 years since 1949, the TBI is the most comprehensive source of travel data in the region. The surveys will be conducted in cooperation with the Minnesota and Wisconsin Departments of Transportation.

The results will be used by agencies to plan the regional transportation system and to design transportation projects that respond to traveler demand. They will also be used to update to the region’s travel demand forecasting models, which are used to project traffic and transit ridership for all major transportation improvement projects.

Data from the surveys will be aggregated, and information from survey participants about their individual trips will be strictly confidential.
The TBI surveys will include:

Transit On-Board Survey – A random sample of transit system riders (bus, light rail and commuter rail) will be given surveys to fill out describing their trip. The surveys will be given out starting Sept. 27 and continue until Thanksgiving. They will help the region gather more detailed information about the travel patterns of transit users. 

Household Interview Survey – Approximately 13,000 households in the greater region (the seven-county area plus the 12 adjacent counties) will be asked to keep a travel diary, recording all of their trips for a selected day or days.  The first wave of these random surveys will be conducted this fall, with the bulk of them undertaken early next year. 

External Mailback Survey – Surveys will be mailed next year to residents outside the Twin Cities region asking questions about their last trip into the region.  This survey will measure travel behavior for travelers into and out of the region.
MnPASS Special Survey – A subset of home interview survey participants will be given a follow-up survey next year about their use of MnPASS lanes on I-35W and I-394. 
Special Generator Surveys – At the University of Minnesota, Mall of America and the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, special surveys next year will help the region better understand the unique travel patterns of visitors and students.

The $4 million study is being funded mostly by the Federal Highway Administration and the Federal Transit Administration. A consultant team led by Cambridge Systematics is working with the Council to complete the study. More about the Travel Behavior Inventory (TBI).

The Metropolitan Council is the regional planning organization for the seven-county Twin Cities area. It runs the regional bus and light rail system, collects and treats wastewater, manages regional water resources, plans regional parks and administers funds that provide housing opportunities for low- and moderate-income individuals and families. The Council is appointed by and serves at the pleasure of the governor.