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Acknowledgments US Department of Transportation - BTS

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Passenger Car, Truck, Bus, and Recreational VehiclesWard's Motor Vehicle Facts and Figures is the source <strong>of</strong> these data. Ward's obtains sales data directly frommanufacturers. Readers should note that automobile manufacturers have inflated sales figures in the past, but Ward'sdoes contact companies to verify numbers that appear too high or low.MotorcycleThe Motorcycle Industry Council, Inc. (MIC) publishes the Motorcycle Statistical Annual, which is the source for thesedata. MIC derived the estimate for new retail motorcycle sales for each state from the MIC Retail Sales Report, andadjusted for total retail sales. Motorcycle company reports provided sales data. Prior to 1985, all-terrain vehicles(ATVs) were included in the motorcycle total. In 1995, the Motorcycle Industry Council revised its data for the years1985 to present to exclude all terrain vehicles from its totals.BicycleThe National Bicycle Dealers Association (NBDA) reported these data, which are based on Bicycle ManufacturersAssociation (BMA) information through 1996. BMA stopped reporting members' shipments in 1996. Moreover, BMArepresents the largest bicycle manufacturers (Huffy, Roadmaster, and Murray), and thus the data do not reflectspecialty bike makers or other manufacturers. The Bike Council estimated 1997 through 2001 figures in the table.According to a Bicycle Council representative, the estimates are a combination <strong>of</strong> domestic forecasts produced by apanel <strong>of</strong> industry experts and import data from monthly U.S. census databases.TransitThe American Public Transit Association provided these figures, which are based on information in the U.S.<strong>Department</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Transportation</strong>, Federal Transit Administration (FTA), National Transit Database. These data aregenerally considered accurate because the FTA reviews and validates information submitted by individual transitagencies. Reliability may vary because some transit agencies cannot obtain accurate information or misinterpretdata. APTA conservatively adjusts FTA data to include transit operators that do not report to the database (private,very small, and rural operators).Class I RailThe data are from Railroad Facts, published annually by the Association <strong>of</strong> American Railroads (AAR). AAR data arebased on 100-percent reporting by Class I railroads to the Surface <strong>Transportation</strong> Board (STB) via Schedule 700 <strong>of</strong>the R1 Annual Report. STB defines Class I railroads as having operating revenues at or above a threshold indexed toa base <strong>of</strong> $250 million (1991) and adjusted annually in concert with changes in the Railroad Freight Rate Indexpublished by the Bureau <strong>of</strong> Labor Statistics. In 2000, the threshold for Class I railroads was $261.9 million. AlthoughClass I railroads encompasses only 2 percent <strong>of</strong> the number <strong>of</strong> railroads in the country, they account for over 71percent <strong>of</strong> the industry's mileage operated. Historical reliability may vary due to changes in the railroad industry,including bankruptcies, mergers, and declassification by the STB. Small data errors may also have occurred because<strong>of</strong> independent rounding in this series by the AAR.AmtrakAmtrak maintains a computer database with a record <strong>of</strong> every locomotive and car it operates. For each vehicle, thoserecords include the year built, its service status (operating or not on a daily basis), and location. These data should beconsidered very reliable.Water <strong>Transportation</strong>U.S. <strong>Department</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Transportation</strong>, Maritime Administration (MARAD), which classifies vessels as merchant basedon size and type, reports these data in annual issues <strong>of</strong> its Merchant Fleets <strong>of</strong> the World. MARAD compiles thesefigures from a data service provided by Lloyd's Maritime Information Service. The parent company, Lloyd's Register(LR), collects data from several sources: its 200 <strong>of</strong>fices worldwide, data transfers and agreements with otherclassification societies, questionnaires to ship owners and shipbuilders, feedback from government agencies, andinput from port agents. According to an LR <strong>of</strong>ficial, consistent data gathering methods have been maintained for more

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