The move to the American Community Survey (ACS) will significantly affecthow transportation planners access, use, and interpret Census data. Amongthe various issues that affect transportation planners, one of the main concerns is that the ACS samples 1 in 40 households as compared to the Decennial Census Long Form that sampled 1 in 6 households and the corresponding limitations on data available for public release. Therefore, synthetic data sources such as the Longitudinal Employer Household Dynamics (LEHD) need to be considered as a source of journey to work flow information. Data comparisons at the state, county and block level do not show discernible trends in terms of whether the ACS or the LEHD estimates employment and workplace location better. When considering trip length distribution for hometo work, the LEHD consistently has longer trips than the ACS at the county level. However, when considering MPO areas with multiple counties, the trip length distributions are much closer with the LEHD trip length just slightly longer than the ACS in most instances. While the LEHD can be a potential source of data for calculating journey to work flow and enhancing the ACS, further work using microdata at the Census Bureau is needed to conclusively determine whether this potential can be realized.
Abstract