Abstract
Traveler surveys are an integral part of supporting a data-driven transportation decision-making process. To supplement household travel surveys, transportation planners deploy traveler intercept surveys on transit vehicles or at activity centers to obtain information about users of those facilities. The use of the Internet has emerged in the past decade as the preferred medium for surveys of all types; the Internet offers several advantages over other survey modes. The design and implementation of an Internet-based traveler survey are described; the survey was used in a research study examining passengers who used a circulating shuttle bus connecting the airport terminal and the Amtrak intercity rail station at the Milwaukee General Mitchell International Airport in Wisconsin. In addition to the Internet survey, an initial interview form was used to collect basic data about the traveler and to establish the legitimacy of the Internet survey in the mind of the traveler. This process is known in the survey literature as the foot-in-the-door approach. The method used in this study resulted in a response rate of nearly 20% for the Internet survey, a respectable rate for such a survey. Transportation planners and survey designers are encouraged to consider the use of this method in future traveler intercept surveys that utilize the Internet medium.