OWNERSHIP AND USAGE OF SMALL PASSENGER VEHICLES. FINDINGS FROM THE 1977 NATIONAL PERSONAL TRANSPORTATION STUDY

This report examines current patterns in the ownership and usage of small vehicles by private households. The analysis was conducted to shed additional light on the market potential for smaller, energy efficient vehicles, in particular, electric cars. The 1977 Nationwide Personal Transportation Survey (NPTS) was used to obtain information on the socio-demographic characteristics and the travel and vehicle ownership behavior of US households based on a national probability sample. The issues posed to direct the investigation of small vehicle ownership and use behavior include: the ownership of small vehicles; the proportion of the private vehicle population accounted for by small vehicles; how small and large vehicles compare in terms of physical characteristics and performance and terms of usage; and how small/large vehicle ownership and usage differences are explained by household differences or physical differences in the vehicles themselves. The study's approach to these issues has focused on descriptive data analysis, employing such tools as cross-classification tables, distributions, and graphic displays.

• Corporate Authors:

  Comsis Corporation

  8737 Colesville Road
  Silver Spring, MD  United States  20910
• Publication Date: 1981-12

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Highways; Mathematical models; Socioeconomic factors; Transportation; Urban transit
• Old TRIS Terms: Social-economic studies; Transportation models and systems; Urban/mass
• Subject Areas: Economics; Society; Transportation (General);

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00321390
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: Transportation Statistical Reference File, TSC
• Report/Paper Numbers: One-Time
• Files: TSR
• Created Date: Jan 31 1983 12:00AM