Bureau of Transportation Statistics

The Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), as part of the United States Department of Transportation, compiles, analyzes, and makes accessible information on the nation's transportation systems; collects information on intermodal transportation and other areas as needed; and improves the quality and effectiveness of DOT's statistical programs through research, development of guidelines, and promotion of improvements in data acquisition and use. BTS is part of RITA and is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System.

History

BTS was created in 1992 under the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act. Since 1998 when the Transportation Efficiency Act for the 21st Century was enacted in 1998, an external advisory council, the Advisory Council for Transportation Statistics (ACTS), has advised the BTS director on the quality and objectivity relating to BTS data and analysis. ACTS meetings are open to the public and held 2-3 times per year.^[1] The Deputy Secretary of Transportation established the Committee on Transportation Statistics (CTSTAT) in January 2000 to assist in bringing together data and statistical experitise. BTS chairs the committee, but all operating administrations take part, as well as the DOT Inspector General, DOT Chief Information Officer, and the DOT Assistant Secretaries for Policy and Budget Programs.^[2] On February 20, 2005 BTS became part of the Research and Innovative Technology Administration.

Services

TranStats is BTS's "Intermodal Transportation Database" that includes databases and statistics for aviation, highway, maritime, rail, pipeline, pedestrians, and more. Data include financial, safety, usage, and environmental information.

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.

References

External links

Agencies of the United States Department of Transportation

Headquarters: 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE (Transportation Department Building) Anthony Foxx, Secretary of Transportation Victor Mendez, Deputy Secretary of Transportation

Deputy Secretary of Transportation	Federal Aviation Administration Federal Highway Administration Federal Railroad Administration Federal Transit Administration Inspector General U.S. Maritime Administration Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Research and Innovative Technology Administration Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation Surface Transportation Board Office of Drug and Alcohol Policy and Compliance

Under Secretary of Transportation for Policy	Office of Aviation and International Affairs Office of Transportation Policy

Principal Agencies of the Federal Statistical System of the United States

Department of Labor	Bureau of Labor Statistics

Department of Commerce	Census Bureau Bureau of Economic Analysis

Department of Energy	Energy Information Administration

Department of Agriculture	Economic Research Service National Agricultural Statistics Service

Department of Transportation	Bureau of Transportation Statistics

Department of Justice	Bureau of Justice Statistics

Department of Education	National Center for Education Statistics

Department of Health and Human Services	National Center for Health Statistics

Independent agencies	Statistics of Income Division (Internal Revenue Service) National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (National Science Foundation) Office of Research, Evaluation, and Statistics (Social Security Administration)

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.