[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 183 (Thursday, September 20, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58439-58440]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-23232]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Railroad Administration
[Docket No. FRA 2012-0006-N-12]
Environmental Impact Statement for the Northeast Corridor Between
Washington, DC, New York, NY and Boston, MA
AGENCY: Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), Department of
Transportation (DOT).
ACTION: Request for public comment on proposed collection of
information.
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SUMMARY: Before a Federal agency can collect certain information from
the public, it must receive approval from the Office of Management and
Budget (OMB). Under procedures established by the Paperwork Reduction
Act of 1995, before seeking OMB approval, Federal agencies must solicit
public comment on proposed collections of information, including
extensions and reinstatement of previously approved collections. This
document describes the collection of information for which FRA intends
to seek OMB approval.
DATES: Comments must be received no later than November 19, 2012.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by DOT Docket ID Number
[Docket No. FRA 2012-0006-N-12] on-line at http://www.regulations.gov
(follow the online instructions for submitting comments), by mail to
Docket Management Facility, U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 New
Jersey Ave. SE., Room W12-140, Washington, DC 20590-0001, by hand
delivery to West Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140, 1200 New Jersey
Ave. SE., Washington, DC (between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET, Monday through
Friday, except Federal holidays), or by facsimile to (202) 493-2251.
Each submission must include the Agency name and the Docket number
for this Notice. Note that all comments received will be posted without
change to http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal
information provided.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rebecca Reyes-Alicea, U.S. Department
of Transportation, Federal Railroad Administration, Office of Railroad
Policy & Development, Mail Stop 20, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE.,
Washington, DC 20590.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA),
Public Law 104-13, 2, 109 Stat. 163 (1995) (codified as revised at 44
U.S.C. 3501-3520), and its implementing regulations, 5 CFR Part 1320,
require Federal agencies to provide 60-days' notice to the public for
comment on information collection activities before seeking approval
for reinstatement or renewal by OMB. 44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A); 5 CFR
1320.8(d)(1), 1320.10(e)(1), 1320.12(a). Specifically, FRA invites
interested respondents to comment on the following summary of proposed
information collection activities regarding (i) whether the information
collection activities are necessary for FRA to properly execute its
functions, including whether the activities will have practical
utility; (ii) the accuracy of FRA's estimates of the burden of the
information collection activities, including the validity of the
methodology and assumptions used to determine the estimates; (iii) ways
for FRA to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information
being collected; and (iv) ways for FRA to minimize the burden of
information collection activities on the public by automated,
electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or
other forms of information technology (e.g., permitting electronic
submission of responses). See 44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)(I)-(iv); 5 CFR
1320.8(d)(1)(I)-(iv).
FRA believes that soliciting public comment will promote its
efforts to reduce the administrative and paperwork burdens associated
with this collection of information. Comments that you submit in
response to this notice are a matter of public record. Before including
your address, phone number, email address, or other personal
identifying information in your comment, please be aware that your
entire comment, including your
[[Page 58440]]
personal identifying information may be made publicly available at any
time. While you can ask us in your comment to withhold personal
identifying information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we
will be able to do so. In summary, FRA reasons that comments received
will advance three objectives: (i) Reduce reporting burdens; (ii)
ensure that it organizes information collection requirements in a
``user friendly'' format to improve the use of such information; and
(iii) accurately assess the resources expended to retrieve and produce
information requested. See 44 U.S.C. 3501.
Below is a brief summary of the information collection activities
that FRA will submit for clearance by OMB as required under the PRA:
Title: Survey of Northeast Regional and Intercity Household Travel
Attitudes and Behavior.
Type of Request: New information collection requirement.
Status: Regular review.
OMB Clearance Number: None.
Form Number: F222.
Respondent Obligation: Voluntary.
Frequency of Response: On occasion.
Affected Public: Members of the general public between the ages of
18 and 74 who have Northeast intercity or regional travel experience
during the 12 months prior to interview.
Estimated Number of Respondents: up to 22,500 for phase 1; up to
15,000 for phase 2.
Abstract: FRA proposes to collect information from the public to
determine current intercity and regional travel behavior of Northeast
residents. The information collected will include frequency of trips,
origin and destination, modes of travel (and class of service if
applicable), trip purpose, party size, trip costs, and other trip
characteristics. It will also ask for travel preferences under
alternative choice scenarios that include different and new modes,
classes of service, costs, and amenities.
The proposed information collection will be conducted in two
phases. The first phase (Phase 1 Survey) will be conducted by
telephone, using computer-assisted telephone interviewing (CATI). A
dual frame sample design will be used including both landlines and cell
phones. The Phase 1 Survey will obtain basic travel information and
invite just those who experienced a qualifying intercity or regional
travel trip to provide more detailed travel information and choice
preferences in a second phase. The Phase 1 Survey interview is
estimated to take five (5) minutes to complete. The second phase (Phase
2 Survey), which will immediately follow the first, will be
administered by web (except in cases when easy web access is not
possible and the participant needs a mailed paper survey). The Phase 2
Survey will ask more detailed questions about one randomly selected
trip that the respondent reported in the first phase of the survey. In
addition, it will ask the travel preference questions. The Phase 2
Survey is estimated to take 15 minutes to complete.
The Northeast faces major congestion and capacity constraints that,
if not addressed, will have the potential to curtail future mobility
and economic growth in the region. Thus, FRA established the Northeast
Corridor (NEC) Future Program to develop a Passenger Rail Corridor
Investment Plan (PRCIP) for the Northeast region. The PRCIP will
address the larger goals of improving mobility, effectively serving
travel demand, supporting economic development, reducing growth in
carbon emissions and dependence of foreign oil, and contributing to
improved land utilization. The PRCIP requires the development and
evaluation of improved transportation alternatives for the Northeast.
In support of preparing the PRCIP, this data collection is needed to
build a model for estimating market demand for transportation in the
Northeast and to evaluate how travelers would respond to alternative
transportation service options.
While there are certain publicly available data that can assist in
analyzing the Northeast travel market during the early phases of the
project when alternatives are evaluated using coarse screening tools,
more detailed data will be needed to support development of the
detailed PRCIP. Currently available data include airline ticket data,
Amtrak ticket data, and commuter rail ticket data. But these data
sources do not contain information on the characteristics of the
traveler (such as age, income, or vehicle ownership), trip purpose,
detail on party size, or actual origins and destinations. Importantly,
there is no current information on the number of intercity trips taken
by automobile in the Northeast. Further, there is not currently a
sufficient information source for traveler preferences regarding new
transportation services that might be developed as part of the PRCIP.
Reporting Burden: The target sample size for the Phase 2 Survey is
up to 15,000 responses. To achieve this target sample size, we estimate
needing to contact up to 22,500 households in the Phase 1 Survey. This
larger number for Phase 1 respondents accounts for the fact that (i)
not all households will have taken a qualifying trip during the
previous 12 months and (ii) not all respondents will want to
participate. All interviewing will occur during a two to three month
phase in winter/spring 2012-2013.
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Phase Minutes Respondents Burden hours
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Phase 1......................................................... 5 22,500 1,875
Phase 2......................................................... 15 15,000 3,750
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Total....................................................... .............. .............. 5,625
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Total Annual Estimated Responses: 37,500.
Total Estimated Annual Burden: 5,625 hours.
Status: Regular Review.
Requested Expiration: 3 years from date of approval.
Authority: 44 U.S.C. 3501-3520.
Issued in Washington, DC, on September 14, 2012.
Rebecca Pennington,
Chief Financial Officer, Federal Railroad Administration.
[FR Doc. 2012-23232 Filed 9-19-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-06-P