Understanding Saskatoon’s Travel Patterns
The 2023 Saskatoon Household Travel Survey is a significant data collection effort aimed at understanding the daily travel choices of Saskatoon residents. This survey, conducted by Malatest on behalf of the City of Saskatoon, plays a crucial role in shaping the future of transportation in the City of Saskatoon. The previous Saskatoon Household Travel Survey was conducted ten years ago in 2013. The 2023 survey will provide an essential update to transportation planners on how residents’ travel choices have changed and help forecast future travel demand.
Survey Questions and Outreach
The 2023 Saskatoon Household Travel Survey will collect revealed preference travel data, which means we will gather information about the trips residents made on the previous weekday. We do this by surveying a five per cent random sample of households in the City of Saskatoon. Invitations will be mailed to randomly selected households throughout September to November 2023. Additionally, the University of Saskatchewan will be emailing a random selection of current students to participate in the survey since the student population makes up a significant proportion of the City’s residents.
Users of Saskatoon Transit will also be randomly selected to participate in the survey. We will be handing out post cards on board buses and at major transit hubs across the City of Saskatoon. The data we collect includes household and demographic information, trip details such as trip start times, trip modes, purposes and any transit routes used during the trips. Our goal is to create a detailed picture of the travel choices made by the residents of the City. As a token of our appreciation, we have arranged for a slew of great prizes and incentives to encourage residents to participate. For more information, please visit saskatoontravelsurvey.ca.
Malatest’s Role in the Project
Malatest has extensive experience conducting travel surveys. We implement an online survey option utilizing our Triptelligence™ survey platform. This allows participants the flexibility to complete the survey online or by phone, making it more accessible to a broader audience. Our methodology includes sampling from the universe of the City’s households for which a listed telephone number exists, as well as those household that do not have landlines. This expansion ensures that collected data is representative of Saskatoon’s diverse population, including young households, newcomers to Canada and households without a landline phone.
In efforts to oversample certain sub-groups, our methodology also includes a random sample of transit users and University of Saskatchewan students living in residence and off-campus. By oversampling these sub-groups, it allows us to gather data from a greater number of individuals to ensure that results adequately represent the travel patterns of these sub-groups that may otherwise be too underrepresented to report on.
Achieving Milestones in Data Collection
During the survey design process, we fine-tuned the original questionnaire from 2013 to include travel choices that may not have been available ten years ago, such as e-scooters and other e-mobility devices. We developed comprehensive sampling plans and created a communications strategy to publicize the survey. We also carried out geocoding to ensure that survey data was relevant to Saskatoon, thus improving the overall quality and efficiency of data collection.
Empowering Decision-Makers
The data collected through the Saskatoon Household Travel Survey plays a crucial role in helping the City make informed transportation planning and investment decisions for the City’s residents.
