How People Use Their Vehicles: Statistics from the 2009 National Household Travel Survey

The 2009 U.S. National Household Travel Survey (NHTS) contains detailed data on individual vehicle trips. This paper demonstrates several useful statistics from the NHTS concerning how people use their vehicles, such as how far they drive, where they go, how long they stay, and their sequence of destinations. These statistics, in turn, are potentially useful for vehicle design, vehicle use simulation, navigation algorithms, interpreting GPS data, and the placement of electric vehicle charging stations.