Person Miles Traveled
Updated Using 2022 Data

Person miles traveled is the total number of all the miles traveled by all occupants in a vehicle on a roadway within a region.

Methodology

Methodology: Person Miles Traveled

Person miles traveled is computed by multiplying vehicle miles traveled by the average vehicle occupancy. Average vehicle occupancies were developed for each individual county using the newly developed FTO methodology with data from the Crash Analysis Reporting System.

Calculation

`"Person Miles Traveled ="` `∑" Segment Length" × "Vehicular Traffic Volume" × "Average Vehicle Occupancy"`

Reporting Periods

  • Peak Hour
  • Peak Period
  • Daily
  • Yearly
Definitions

Definitions: Person Miles Traveled

  • Annual Average Daily Traffic (AADT): The total volume of traffic on a highway segment for one year, divided by the number of days in the year.
  • Area Type
    • Urbanized Area: An area with a population of at least 50,000 people.
    • Non-Urbanized Area: An area with a population less than 50,000 people.
  • Average Vehicle Occupancy: The average number of persons in a vehicle. Average vehicle occupancies were developed by Systems Forecasting & Trends Office (SFT) for each individual county using data from the Crash Analysis Reporting System. Details can be found in the full methodology report.
  • Context Classification: A classification assigned to a roadway that broadly identifies the various built environments in Florida, based on existing or future land use characteristics, development patterns, and the roadway connectivity of an area. For more information about context class, please reference methodology document.
  • Facility Type
    • Arterials: Signalized roadways that primarily serve through traffic with average signalized intersection spacing of two miles or less.
    • Highways: High speed roadways with signal spacing greater than two miles per signal.
    • Freeway: A multilane, divided highway with at least two lanes for exclusive use of traffic in each direction and full control of ingress and egress.
  • Highway System: An integrated network of roads and highways for motor and non-motor transport. Each highway system has roadways that are exclusive to their respective system.
    • National Highway System (NHS): Roads designated by Congress as nationally important for inter-regional travel, including roads designated as connectors to NHS intermodal facilities.
    • State Highway System (SHS): Roads under the jurisdiction of the State of Florida, and maintained by the Florida Department of Transportation or a regional transportation commission; includes roads with Interstate, US, and SR numbers.
    • Strategic Intermodal System (SIS): Transportation system created by the Florida Legislature in 2003 to include statewide and regionally significant facilities and services, containing all forms of transportation for moving both people and goods, including linkages that provide for smooth and efficient transfers between modes and major facilities.
  • Reporting Periods
    • Peak Hour: 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. on a weekday. This hour is chosen to allow consistent comparisons among transportation modes. It may not be the hour of greatest travel for any given roadway, mode or area. The majority of travel typically occurs during the PM peak hour resulting in more congestion in the PM peak than observed in the AM peak.
    • Daily: For the average 24-hour day.
  • Person Miles Traveled (PMT): Estimated miles each person travels in a vehicle. It is computed by multiplying vehicle miles traveled (VMT) by the average vehicle occupancy.
  • Segment: A portion of roadway defined by two boundary points.
  • Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT): Estimated amount of travel for all vehicles in a geographic region over a given period of time. It is calculated as the sum of the number of miles traveled by each vehicle.
  • Vehicular Traffic Volume: The number of vehicles crossing a section of road during a specified time period.

Download Data

Date of last refresh: 10/19/2023

SOURCES

FDOT - Traffic Characteristics Inventory
FDOT - Roadway Characteristics Inventory Feature 147 (Strategic Intermodal System)