Bureau of Transportation Statistics

Patricia S. Hu, Director
Rolf R. Schmitt, Ph.D., Deputy Director

Parent agencyUnited States Department of TransportationWebsiteBureau of Transportation Statistics

The Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), part of the United States Department of Transportation, is a government office that compiles, analyzes, and publishes information on the nation's transportation systems across various modes; and strives to improve the DOT's statistical programs through research and the development of guidelines for data collection and analysis. BTS is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System.

History

BTS was created in 1992 under the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act.^[2]

On February 20, 2005, BTS became part of the Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA).^[2] Through the Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST) Act passed on December 4, 2015, BTS and RITA moved to the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Transportation for Research and Technology.^[3]

Since 2009, BTS has also maintained a Twitter feed, with regular tweets related to the release of BTS data products and news bulletins concerning transportation trends in the United States. Since 2020, BTS has also maintained a LinkedIn account.

Offices

BTS is divided into seven offices:

Office of Statistical and Economic Analysis
Office of Data Development and Standards
Office of Transportation Analysis
Office of Spatial Analysis and Visualization
Office of Airline Information
Office of Information and Library Sciences
Office of Safety Data and Analysis

Services

Airline Information

BTS' Office of Airline Information is responsible for publishing regular reports—often monthly or quarterly—on airline performance in the United States. Topics include airline financials, origins and destinations, passenger traffic, on-time performance, and mishandled baggage.^[4]

Data Catalogs

TranStats is an intermodal transportation collection of downloadable databases. One popular database included in the TranStats collection is the airline on-time performance database, which includes on-time performance of every flight, airline, and airport in the United States. Data.bts.gov is an online dataset collection allowing users to create their own visualizations from selected BTS data.

National Transportation Atlas Database

BTS maintains the National Transportation Atlas Database (NTAD), an open online repository of national-level geographic information systems data and applications related to transportation in the United States.^[5]

National Transportation Library

Another BTS product is the National Transportation Library (NTL), an online repository of transportation-centric research, reports, and datasets. Documents, which include products internal and external to the US Department of Transportation, can be accessed through a platform called RosaP.^[6]

Other products

COVID-19 and Transportation
Border Crossing Data
Commodity Flow Survey
Freight Analysis Framework
National Census of Ferry Operators

Pocket Guide App
Port Performance Freight Statistics Program
TransBorder Freight Data
Transportation Economic Trends
Transportation Statistics Annual Reports

National Transportation Statistics
State Transportation Statistics
County Transportation Profiles
Monthly Transportation Statistics
The Week In Transportation

State and country codes

The BTS maintains its own list of codes, so-called World Area Codes (WAC), for state and country codes.

References

^ "Meet Bureau of Transportation Statistics Director Patricia Hu". AmstatNews. 1 July 2011. Retrieved 13 March 2021.
^ ^a ^b "About BTS". Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Department of Transportation. Retrieved January 10, 2019.
^ "History of BTS". Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Retrieved January 10, 2019.
^ "Airline Information for Download". Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Retrieved 14 March 2019.
^ "NTAD". Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Retrieved 14 March 2019.
^ "NTL". National Transportation Library. Retrieved 14 March 2019.

External links

Official site
National Transportation Library
data.bts.gov
transtats.bts.gov

United States Department of Transportation

Headquarters: 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE (Transportation Department Building)

Pete Buttigieg, Secretary of Transportation
Polly Trottenberg, Deputy Secretary of Transportation

Deputy Secretary of Transportation

Federal Aviation Administration

Federal Highway Administration

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

Federal Railroad Administration

Federal Transit Administration

Maritime Administration

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

Office of Inspector General

Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration

Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation

Under Secretary of Transportation for Policy

Office of the Assistant Secretary for Transportation Policy
- Office of the Chief Economist
- Office of Policy Development, Strategic Planning and Performance
- Office of Infrastructure Finance and Innovation
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Aviation and International Affairs
- Office of International Transportation and Trade
- Office of International Aviation
- Office of Aviation Analysis
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology
- Bureau of Transportation Statistics
- John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center
- Transportation Safety Institute
National Surface Transportation and Innovative Finance Bureau
- Build America Bureau
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Budget and Programs and Chief Financial Officer

v t e Federal Statistical System of the United States
Principal agencies	Census Bureau Bureau of Labor Statistics National Center for Education Statistics National Agricultural Statistics Service National Center for Health Statistics Energy Information Administration Bureau of Economic Analysis Economic Research Service Bureau of Justice Statistics National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (National Science Foundation) Statistics of Income Division (Internal Revenue Service) Bureau of Transportation Statistics Office of Research, Evaluation, and Statistics (Social Security Administration)
Other agencies	Economics and Statistics Administration Office of Immigration Statistics HUD USER
As defined by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, the principal agencies of the Federal Statistical System have statistical activities as their core mission and conduct much of the government’s statistical work.