Motor Vehicle Use (Survey of)

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    NAME OF ORGANISATION
    Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS)

    OVERVIEW
    The Survey of Motor Vehicle Use (SMVU) was first conducted in 1963, and was conducted about once every three years up until 1998. Providers were asked to provide information on the use of selected motor vehicles based on recall of the previous 12 months usage. The last SMVU conducted under the traditional 12 month recall methodology was conducted in 1995. Following an extensive review, the SMVU was redesigned to a quarterly survey using pre-advice methodology. The first survey conducted under this new methodology was SMVU 1998.

    The populations from which the samples are taken include all motorised vehicles (except tractors, plant and equipment, vehicles belonging to the defence services and vehicles with diplomatic or consular plates) registered for road use with a motor vehicle registration authority at a specified date.

    PURPOSE
    The main purpose of the SMVU is to satisfy the information needs of Commonwealth and State government agencies responsible for the allocation of funds for road development, the design and construction of highways, the regulation of road transport operators, accident exposure and energy use analysis. It collects vehicle usage data by all major vehicle types (cars, trucks, buses, etc.) and States, thus providing direct comparisons of usage between vehicle types and State and Territory. It is the only source of such information and a time series has now been established. The data are often used as proxies for road use and provide the broad context for project evaluation and measurement of growth rates in road use, mobility and traffic congestion.

    SCOPE
    The population for the survey contains all registered vehicles on the State Motor Vehicle Registry files, except caravans, trailers, tractors, plant and equipment, vehicles belonging to the defence services and vehicles with diplomatic or consular plates.

    DATA DETAIL

    Conceptual framework
    Not applicable

    Main outputs
    Population or Subpopulation - Units: Vehicles (private and commercial) registered for normal road use.

    Characteristics of Interest: Estimates of motor vehicle usage for a 12 month period.

    Type of Statistics: Number of vehicles, total and average kilometres travelled, driver characteristics, vehicle usage, fuel consumption and load carried; as well as statistics on buses, including kilometres travelled by type of bus and main type of service.

    Data Breakdowns: Vehicle usage by State and broad area of operation. Driver characteristics by age and sex.

    Classifications
    Vehicle classifications:-

    • Passenger vehicles
    • Motor cycles
    • Light commercial vehicles
    • Rigid trucks
    • Articulated trucks
    • Non-freight carrying trucks
    • Buses

    Area classifications:-
    • Capital city
    • Other urban areas (of the State or Territory)
    • Other areas (of the State or Territory)
    • Interstate

    Commodity carried:-
    • Based on the 10 sectional groupings of the Australian Transport Freight Commodity Classification (ATFCC), with the addition of the category - "Tools of trade".

    Other concepts (summary)
    Not applicable

    GEOGRAPHIC DETAIL
    1. National & State/Territory\1.01 Australia
    1. National & State/Territory\1.02 All States & Territories

    Comments and/or Other Regions
    Not applicable

    COLLECTION FREQUENCY
    Annually

    Frequency comments
    Data is collected quarterly and published annually.

    COLLECTION HISTORY
    Up until SMVU 1998, the SMVU was conducted about once every three years under a recall methodology, the first undertaken in 1963. The last survey conducted under this methodology was in 1995. Following an extensive review, the SMVU was redesigned as a quarterly survey using pre-advice methodology. The first survey conducted under this new methodology was SMVU 1998.

    DATA AVAILABILITY
    Yes

    Data availability comments



    DATE OF LAST UPDATE FOR THIS DOCUMENT
    14/02/2003 11:42 AM