§111. Bureau of Transportation Statistics

(a) Establishment.-There is established in the Department of Transportation a Bureau of Transportation Statistics.

(b) Director.-

(1) Appointment.-The Bureau shall be headed by a Director who shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate.

(2) Qualifications.-The Director shall be appointed from among individuals who are qualified to serve as the Director by virtue of their training and experience in the compilation and analysis of transportation statistics.

(3) Reporting.-The Director shall report directly to the Secretary.

(4) Term.-The term of the Director shall be 4 years. The term of the first Director to be appointed shall begin on the 180th day after the date of the enactment of this section.

(c) Responsibilities.-The Director of the Bureau shall be responsible for carrying out the following duties:

(1) Compiling transportation statistics.-Compiling, analyzing, and publishing a comprehensive set of transportation statistics to provide timely summaries and totals (including industrywide aggregates and multiyear averages) of transportation-related information. Such statistics shall be suitable for conducting cost-benefit studies (including comparisons among individual transportation modes and intermodal transport systems) and shall include information on-

(A) productivity in various parts of the transportation sector;

(B) traffic flows;

(C) travel times;

(D) vehicle weights;

(E) variables influencing traveling behavior, including choice of transportation mode;

(F) travel costs of intracity commuting and intercity trips;

(G) availability of mass transit and the number of passengers served by each mass transit authority;

(H) frequency of vehicle and transportation facility repairs and other interruptions of transportation service;

(I) accidents;

(J) collateral damage to the human and natural environment; and

(K) the condition of the transportation system.

(2) Implementing long-term data collection program.-Establishing and implementing, in cooperation with the modal administrators, the States, and other Federal officials a comprehensive, long-term program for the collection and analysis of data relating to the performance of the national transportation system. Such program shall-

(A) be coordinated with efforts to develop performance indicators for the national transportation system undertaken pursuant to section 307(b)(3) of title 23, United States Code;

(B) ensure that data is collected under this subsection in a manner which will maximize the ability to compare data from different regions and for different time periods; and

(C) ensure that data collected under this subsection is controlled for accuracy and disseminated to the States and other interested parties.

(3) Issuing guidelines.-Issuing guidelines for the collection of information by the Department of Transportation required for statistics to be compiled under paragraph (1) in order to ensure that such information is accurate, reliable, relevant, and in a form that permits systematic analysis.

(4) Coordinating collection of information.-Coordinating the collection of information by the Department of Transportation required for statistics to be compiled under paragraph (1) with related information-gathering activities conducted by other Federal departments and agencies and collecting appropriate data not elsewhere gathered.

(5) Making statistics accessible.-Making the statistics published under this subsection readily accessible.

(6) Identifying information needs.-Identifying information that is needed under paragraph (1) but which is not being collected, reviewing such needs at least annually with the Advisory Council on Transportation Statistics, and making recommendations to appropriate Department of Transportation research officials concerning extramural and intramural research programs to provide such information.

(d) Limitations on Statutory Construction.-Nothing in this section shall be construed-

(1) to authorize the Bureau to require any other department or agency to collect data; or

(2) to reduce the authority of any other officer of the Department of Transportation to collect and disseminate data independently.

(e) Prohibition on Certain Disclosures.-Information compiled by the Bureau shall not be disclosed publicly in a manner that would reveal the personal identity of any individual, consistent with the Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. 552a), or to reveal trade secrets or allow commercial or financial information provided by any person to be identified with such person.

(f) Transportation Statistics Annual Report.-On or before January 1, 1994, and annually thereafter, the Director shall transmit to the President and Congress a Transportation Statistics Annual Report which shall include information on items referred to in subsection (c)(1), documentation of methods used to obtain and ensure the quality of the statistics presented in the report, and recommendations for improving transportation statistical information.

(g) Performance of Functions of Director Pending Confirmation.-An individual who, on the date of the enactment of this section, is performing any function required by this section to be performed by the Director may continue to perform such function until such function is undertaken by the Director.

(Added Pub. L. 102–240, title VI, §6006[(a)], Dec. 18, 1991, 105 Stat. 2172 .)

References in Text

The date of the enactment of this section, referred to in subsecs. (b)(4) and (g), is the date of enactment of Pub. L. 102–240, which was approved Dec. 18, 1991.

The Privacy Act of 1974, referred to in subsec. (e), is Pub. L. 93–579, Dec. 31, 1974, 88 Stat. 1896 , as amended, which enacted section 552a of Title 5, Government Organization and Employees, and enacted notes set out under section 552a of Title 5. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 552a of Title 5 and Tables.

Advisory Council on Transportation Statistics

Section 6007 of Pub. L. 102–240 provided that:

"(a) Establishment.-The Director of the Bureau of Transportation Statistics shall establish an Advisory Council on Transportation Statistics.

"(b) Function.-It shall be the function of the advisory council established under this section to advise the Director of the Bureau of Transportation Statistics on transportation statistics and analyses, including whether or not the statistics and analysis disseminated by the Bureau of Transportation Statistics are of high quality and are based upon the best available objective information.

"(c) Membership.-The advisory council established under this section shall be composed of not more than 6 members appointed by the Director who are not officers or employees of the United States and who (except for 1 member who shall have expertise in economics and 1 member who shall have expertise in statistics) have expertise in transportation statistics and analysis.

"(d) Applicability of Federal Advisory Committee Act.-The Federal Advisory Committee Act [5 App. U.S.C.] shall apply to the advisory council established under this section, except that section 14 of the Federal Advisory Committee Act shall not apply to the Advisory Committee established under this section."

Study of Data Collection Procedures and Capabilities of Department of Transportation

Section 6008 of Pub. L. 102–240 provided that:

"(a) Study.-Not later than 1 year after the date of the establishment of the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, the Secretary shall enter into an agreement with the National Academy of Sciences to conduct a study on the adequacy of data collection procedures and capabilities of the Department of Transportation.

"(b) Consultation.-The Secretary shall enter into the agreement under subsection (a) in consultation with the Director of the Bureau of Transportation Statistics.

"(c) Contents.-The study under subsection (a) shall include an evaluation of the Department of Transportation's data collection resources, needs, and requirements and an assessment and evaluation of the systems, capabilities, and procedures established by the Department to meet such needs and requirements, including the following:

"(1) Data collection procedures and capabilities.

"(2) Data analysis procedures and capabilities.

"(3) Ability of data bases to integrate with one another.

"(4) Computer hardware and software capabilities.

"(5) Information management systems, including the ability of information management systems to integrate with one another.

"(6) Availability and training of the personnel of the Department.

"(7) Budgetary needs and resources of the Department for data collection.

"(d) Report.-Not later than 18 months after the date of the agreement under subsection (a), the National Academy of Sciences shall transmit to Congress a report on the results of the study under this section, including recommendations for improving the Department of Transportation's data collection systems, capabilities, procedures, and analytical hardware and software and recommendations for improving the Department's management information systems."