[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 225 (Wednesday, November 21, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 69918-69919]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-28421]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Railroad Administration

[Docket No. FRA-2012-0006-N-16]


Notice and Request for Comments

AGENCY: Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), Department of 
Transportation (DOT).

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this 
notice announces that the Information Collection Requirements (ICRs) 
abstracted below have been forwarded to the Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB) for review and comment. The ICRs describe the nature of 
the information collections and their expected burdens. The Federal 
Register notice with a 60-day comment period soliciting comments on the 
following collections of information was published on September 20, 
2012.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before December 21, 2012.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Janet Wylie, Office of Planning 
and Administration, RPD-3, Federal Railroad Administration, 1200 New 
Jersey Avenue SE., Mail Stop 20, Washington, DC 20590 (telephone: (202) 
493-6353), or Ms. Kimberly Toone, Office of Information Technology, 
RAD-20, Federal Railroad Administration, 1200 New Jersey Ave. SE., Mail 
Stop 35, Washington, DC 20590 (telephone: (202) 493-6132). (These 
telephone numbers are not toll-free.).

[[Page 69919]]


SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), 
Public Law 104-13, Section 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 issue two notices seeking public 
comment on information collection activities before OMB may approve 
paperwork packages. 44 U.S.C. 3506, 3507; 5 CFR 1320.5, 1320.8(d)(1), 
1320.12. On September 20, 2012, FRA published a 60-day notice in the 
Federal Register soliciting comments on ICR that the agency was seeking 
OMB approval. 75 FR 58439. FRA received no comments after issuing this 
60-day notice. Accordingly, DOT announces that these information 
collection activities have been re-evaluated and certified under 5 CFR 
1320.5(a) and forwarded to OMB for review and approval pursuant to 5 
CFR 1320.12(c).
    Before OMB decides whether to approve these proposed collections of 
information, it must provide 30 days for public comment. 44 U.S.C. 
3507(b); 5 CFR 1320.12(d). Federal law requires OMB to approve or 
disapprove paperwork packages between 30 and 60 days after the 30 day 
notice is published. 44 U.S.C. 3507 (b)-(c); 5 CFR 1320.12(d); see also 
60 FR 44978, 44983, Aug. 29, 1995. OMB believes that the 30 day notice 
informs the regulated community to file relevant comments and affords 
the agency adequate time to digest public comments before it renders a 
decision. 60 FR 44983, Aug. 29, 1995. Therefore, respondents should 
submit their respective comments to OMB within 30 days of publication 
to best ensure having their full effect. 5 CFR 1320.12(c); see also 60 
FR 44983, Aug. 29, 1995.
    The summaries below describe the nature of the information 
collection requirements (ICRs) and the expected burden. The revised 
requirements are being submitted for clearance by OMB as required by 
the PRA.
    Title: Survey of Northeast Regional and Intercity household Travel 
Attitudes and Behavior.
    OMB Control Number: None.
    Type of Request: New Information Collection Requirement.
    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 with 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.
    Form Number(s): FRA F222.
    Annual Estimated Burden Hours: 5,625 hours.
    ADDRESSES: Send comments regarding these information collections to 
the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management 
and Budget, 725 Seventeenth Street NW., Washington, DC, 20503, 
Attention: FRA Desk Officer. Alternatively, comments may be sent via 
email to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), 
Office of Management and Budget, at the following address: [email protected].
    Comments are invited on the following: Whether the proposed 
collections of information are necessary for the proper performance of 
the functions of the Department, including whether the information will 
have practical utility; the accuracy of the Department's estimates of 
the burden of the proposed information collections; ways to enhance the 
quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and 
ways to minimize the burden of the collections of information on 
respondents, including the use of automated collection techniques or 
other forms of information technology.
    A comment to OMB is best assured of having its full effect if OMB 
receives it within 30 days of publication of this notice in the Federal 
Register.

    Authority: 44 U.S.C. 3501-3520.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on November 15, 2012.
Michael Logue,
Associate Administrator for Administration, Federal Railroad 
Administration.
[FR Doc. 2012-28421 Filed 11-20-12; 8:45 am]
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