Noncoverage Errors in Travel Surveys Due to Mobile Phone-Only Households

作者：Son Sanghoon; Khattak Asad^*; Kim Nak Kyeong

来源：Transportation Research Record, 2013, 2354(2354): 29-39.

DOI：10.3141/2354-04

National and regional household travel surveys have conventionally sampled landline telephone households through list-assisted random digit dialing. However, recent increases in %26quot;mobile phone-only%26quot; households result in either noncoverage or undercoverage of a growing segment of the population. This result could cause a substantial bias in the representativeness of travel behavior toward the target population. To cover mobile phone-only households, an address-based sampling method is of interest. This study explores whether the characteristics and travel behavior of mobile phone-only households differ from those of households with landline telephones. In addition, this study quantifies the extent of noncoverage errors in the surveys in respondents%26apos; travel behavior. Along with census data, the mobile phone-only sample (N = 2,988) was compared with the landline telephone sample (N = 7,774) drawn from the 2008 National Capital Region Household Travel Survey. Results show that the mobile phone-only sample consisted of relatively more single-person households; younger individuals; and Blacks, Asians, and Hispanics, who were generally identified as hard-to-reach groups. Statistical models were estimated to examine differences in travel behavior and suggested that the mobile phone-only households made more transit (41%) and walking (29%) trips. This study shows that the inclusion of the mobile phone-only households can reduce the noncoverage errors, especially for alternative modes. The implications for travel survey methods are discussed.

• 出版日期2013