Transportation planning is central to the mission of OKI. One of the tools OKI uses is a travel demand model. As the owner and operator of the regional travel demand model, OKI continually updates and refines its functionality and performance. OKI’s next generation travel demand model is an Activity-Based Model (ABM) that uses the Coordinated Travel – Regional Activity Based Modeling Platform (CT-RAMP) to simulate the travel pattern of all individual travelers in the region. The ABM estimates a schedule and itinerary of daily activities for members of every household in the region based on detailed information for individuals, households, trips, and highway and transit systems. This model estimates and forecasts traffic flow based on current and forecasted data. This data includes where people live, work, shop, visit, etc. In order to do this estimating and forecasting, OKI uses several datasets to analyze and model where people will travel and how they will travel. This is accomplished through a variety of surveys and data collection techniques.

OKI is now updating an important component of the model through what is known as a Household Travel Survey. This survey will enable OKI to update the trip rate for households of various demographic type. OKI is working with ODOT, KYTC and INDOT and RSG Consultants to collect travel data for nearly 4,000 households in the OKI Region. Participants will record all travel for several consecutive days. This data will include the purpose of the trip (e.g. shopping, work, dining), how they got there (e.g. car, bicycle, walk, transit), what type of location they came from (home, work, a store, a restaurant), and basic demographic questions, such as the number of people in their household.

This data will improve the traffic and transit forecasting capability of the model and provide the best information to stakeholders and decision-makers on transportation investments in the Tri-State region. The survey data collection will be in two waves, the first wave is in the Fall of 2021 and the sccond in the Spring of 2022. All survey information will be kept confidential.