The Ministry conducts an ongoing survey of people throughout New Zealand. This survey collects information about day-to-day travel in New Zealand – such as, how, where and when we travel. The results give us a picture of the travel patterns and choices of all types of people – information which is vital for developing transport policy including road safety, public transport, walking and cycling.
There have been a number of national travel surveys over the years.
- The Ministry has begun a new continuous travel survey using new technologies (GPS and online forms) from October 2015.
- The Ministry carried out a continuous survey of personal travel from 2003-2014 . Details of survey methods, questionnaires and results are shown below .
- There were 2 earlier one year surveys in 1989/1990 and 1997/1998 .
Current Survey
From October 2015, the Ministry is continuously surveying people using GPS units and online forms.
- Information for people in the survey and frequently asked questions
- Information for regional councils and local authorities
25 Years of New Zealand Travel
This is a one-off publication that looks at the travel patterns of New Zealanders and how these have changed over the past 25 years up to 2014. Released in November 2015, it is based on the results of the three separate Household Travel Surveys carried out since 1989.
Old Survey (2003-2014)
The previous survey ran from 2003 to June 2014. This surveyed 2 days of travel with the information collected in a face to face interview.
Results 2003-2014
Information about the 2003-2014 Household Travel Survey
- 2003-2014 Information for people in the survey (text of a pamphlet given to each household in the survey)
- 2014 Information for people in the online trial travel survey (From mid-January 2014, the Ministry did a three month trial to see whether using online methods and GPS is more accurate, user-friendly and cost-effective when surveying New Zealanders’ day-to-day travel.)
- 2013-2014 How is the survey carried out? (Choosing households, travel diaries, privacy considerations)
- 2003-2014 Information for researchers (sampling method, sample size, survey materials and questionnaires)
- 2003-2014 Detailed survey information (data gathered, piloting and testing, detailed sample design, estimation of distance, estimation methods)