Blog
Census Bureau Mailing Out Vehicle Survey
- By: Shannon Davison
- On: 01/26/2022 16:08:36
- In: Legislative Bulletins
Beginning next month, the United States Department of Transportation's Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) will be mailing out their Vehicle Inventory and Use Survey (VIUS).
The VIUS is being conducted in partnership with the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), Department of Energy (DOE), and the US Census Bureau to better understand the characteristics and use of vehicles on the nation's roads. The BTS will be sending out this survey to 150,000 businesses and drivers beginning on February 9, 2022.
Last fall, TRALA had discussions with the organizers of the VIUS regarding how the goals of the survey could be achieved from the renting and leasing segment of the trucking industry. During these discussions, TRALA highlighted specific concerns it had with the VIUS with the organizers regarding how the renting and leasing industry would be able to answer some of the questions in the survey. Specifically, TRALA explained that while the renting and leasing industry owns the vehicles, they do not operate them nor does the industry typically have any role with respect to purchasing decisions of their customers, which will make responding to many of the questions in the survey difficult. That said, TRALA understands the value of the survey to the federal government and is encouraging its members to work with their customers to answer the questions in the survey should their vehicles be selected.
In its discussions with the BTS, TRALA requested documentation from the agency to help its members identify the survey and fill it out. The agency sent several documents to TRALA which I am attaching to this email.
For a one page summary of the goals of the VIUS, please click here.
For an image of the envelope the VIUS will be using for its mailing, please click here.
For a sample letter from the Census Bureau about the VIUS please click here.
For an FAQ on the VIUS please click here.
The BTS will be sending out a follow up letter on the VIUS at the end of February which can be found here.
If you have any questions or concerns regarding the VIUS, please do not hesitate to contact me at jjacoby@trala.org or Andrew Stasiowski at astasiowski@trala.org.