Bureau of Transportation Statistics

About the Bureau of Transportation Statistics The Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), part of the Department of Transportation (DOT) is the preeminent source of statistics on commercial aviation, multimodal freight activity, and transportation economics, and provides context to decision makers and the public for understanding statistics on transportation. BTS assures the credibility of its products and services through rigorous analysis, transparent data quality, and independence from political influence. BTS promotes innovative methods of data collection, analysis, visualization, and dissemination to improve operational efficiency, to examine emerging topics, and to create relevant and timely information products that foster understanding of transportation and its transformational role in society. The Bureau’s National Transportation Library (NTL) is the permanent, publicly accessible home for research publications from throughout the transportation community; the gateway to all DOT data; and the help line for the Congress, researchers, and the public for information about transportation. The BTS Director is by law the senior advisor to the Secretary of Transportation on data and statistics. BTS is one of 13 principal federal statistical agencies, and is governed primarily by [statistical policy directives of the Office of Management and Budget](https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/information-regulatory-affairs/statistical-programs-standards/) and [Title 49 of the United States Code](https://www.bts.gov/learn-about-bts-and-our-work/about-bts/legislative-mandates). THE MISSION The Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) of the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) provides timely, accurate, credible information on the U.S. transportation system, the movement of people and goods, and the consequences of transportation for the economy, society and the environment. VISION BTS is the preeminent source of statistics on multimodal freight and passenger movement, transportation economics, and commercial aviation, and is a portal to understanding the transportation system and the system’s consequences. BTS assures the credibility of its products and services through rigorous analysis, transparent data quality, and independence from political influence. BTS promotes innovative methods of data collection, analysis, visualization, and dissemination to improve operational efficiency, to examine emerging topics, and to create relevant and timely information products that foster understanding of transportation and its transformational role in society. The Bureau’s National Transportation Library (NTL) is the permanent, publicly accessible home for research publications from throughout the transportation community; the gateway to all DOT data; and the help line for the Congress, researchers, and the public for information about transportation. WHY BTS MATTERS Transportation is important for how it serves and affects individuals, businesses, the economy, the environment, and the nation. Statistics, maps, and their interpretation inform public and private decisions about transportation. BTS supports these decisions as a credible source of information that is free of perceived political bias. SCOPE AND EMPHASES BTS is guided by the Secretary’s strategic objectives, the Bureau’s authorizing legislation in Chapter 63 of Title 49, United States Code, and the Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act (Public Law No: 115-435, Jan. 14, 2019), also known as the Evidence Act. The ability of BTS to serve these objectives is supported by the Statistical Policy Directives of the Office of Management and Budget. As modified by Section 25004 of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (Public Law No: 117-58, Nov 15, 2021), BTS is required by 49 USC 6302(b)(3)(B)(Vi) to collect, compile, analyze, and publish a comprehensive set of transportation statistics on the performance and impacts of the national transportation system, including statistics on: - transportation safety across all modes and intermodally; - the state of good repair of United States transportation infrastructure; - the extent, connectivity, and condition of the transportation system, building on the national transportation atlas database developed under section 6309; - economic efficiency across the entire transportation sector; - employment in the transportation sector; - the effects of the transportation system, including advanced technologies and automation, on global and domestic economic competitiveness; - demographic, economic, and other variables influencing travel behavior, including choice of transportation mode and goods movement; - transportation-related variables that influence the domestic economy and global competitiveness; - economic costs and impacts for passenger travel and freight movement; - intermodal and multimodal passenger movement; - intermodal and multimodal freight movement; and - consequences of transportation for the human and natural environment. In response to the Secretary’s strategic objectives, BTS develops statistics on these topics with emphases on equity, climate change, and resilience of the transportation system. In response to time-sensitive questions from DOT leadership, BTS publishes weekly and monthly statistics in addition to its traditional portfolio that emphasized annual statistical products. Beyond meeting the needs of DOT, the Bureau’s authorizing legislation requires BTS to serve the entire transportation community. The community explicitly includes state and local governments, private industry, and the public, creating a diverse range of customers with differing needs. Some are power users who want access to source data to build their own statistics and create their own maps. Some are experts in aspects of transportation who need guides to information on other facets of the subject that they are now confronting. Some have only personal experience in transportation and are looking for a story to increase their understanding of the topic. Many are looking for pre-made tables and maps to use in reports and analyses. All are looking for credible data that have adequate quality for their planned use of the data. Section 25003 of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act directs BTS to put special emphasis in the years ahead on meeting the data needs of state and local governments. BTS requirements are not limited to the mandates of transportation authorizations. The Evidence Act requires BTS to work with DOT’s Chief Evaluation Officer and Chief Data Officer to support evaluation research for accountability and organizational learning. BTS advises on statistical aspects of evaluation research and on open data access. The Evidence Act also provides BTS with special powers for protecting confidential data from public release and for sharing confidential data with other principal federal statistical agencies for statistical purposes. With the smallest budget of the principal federal statistical agencies, BTS must carefully manage resources to serve the Secretary’s strategic objectives, fulfill the Bureau’s legislated mandates, and meet a growing demand for transportation statistics with useful, timely, and credible products for a diverse range of customers. To achieve this balance, BTS will concentrate development of new or enhanced products in its core areas of expertise (freight, commercial aviation, and transportation economics); maintain the broad range of existing products and services that are either specifically required by law or meet customer expectations; and continue to investigate new methods of data collection, processing, analysis, quality assurance, dissemination, and preservation to enhance future products and services.