Attachment D: SRTS 2022-25 Quantitative Data and Methodology Analysis
Section 1: Travel Tally Data Table Metrics
Travel Tally General Information
• Yearly travel tallies are conducted at all PAUSD schools during the month of September to align with peak walk/bike volumes
• The SRTS Team requests each school achieve a mean response rate of seventy percent. 2024 travel tally response rates for each grade level ranged between 75-77 percent to support statistical validity • Decimals are rounded to whole numbers and may not correspond with exact enrollment totals • Rows ‘K-5’, ‘6-8’, ‘9-12’ and ‘K-12’ correspond to the terms ‘elementary’, ‘middle school’, ‘high school’ and ‘all schools’ respectively
• Data gathering instructions sent to educators provide specific requests to minimize data errors caused by weather, date of collection, student absences, field trips and incorrect calculations • No identifiable student information is shared
• Travel tally data excludes Middle College, Palo Alto Children’s Hospital and other outlying campuses. TK and Greendell educators are not excluded, but have insignificant response rates that do not measurably impact data
• The 2022-24 Travel Tally for the 2022-2025 school years focuses on trends rather than changes from the previous year or changes from an arbitrary data point, such as the year data collection began.
Comparing four years of pre-and post-pandemic means helps to accurately assess mode share increases while controlling for the potential of the 2024 year as an outlier. • 2024 Travel Tally Data is shared in the Annual Report. Tables for 2022 and 2023 are shared below but do not include mean summary comparisons or analyze trend data.
2024 Travel Tally Column General Information
• Mode share columns calculate mean percentages for each travel mode in 2024. Percentages for rows K-5, 6-8 and 9-12 = total number of student respondents for each travel mode divided by elementary, middle and high school-specific travel tally survey responses • Numbers below percentages are extrapolated from the percentage listed for each grade level multiplied by grade level-specific 2024 PAUSD K-5, 6-8, 9-12 and K-12 enrollment data • Numbers beneath percentages provide context about the estimated number of daily users per travel mode, but percentages provide a more accurate estimation of yearly changes to account for enrollment fluctuations
2024 Travel Tally Column Categories
• 2024 Travel Modes
o Driver - Assumes only commuting with immediate family members. Includes the Palo Alto Link ride-hailing service. Although travel tally data suggests rides were taken by less than 1 percent of drivers, or 15 riders. Contractor provided reports suggest student use of up to 30 users per day and more than 1,277 student trips per month, prior to the implementation of arrival/dismissal restrictions. Ride-hailing share rates are excluded from the carpool column based on shared ride rates of 50-60 percent, although future data might divide ride-hailing
numbers between car and carpool modes. Palo Alto Link metrics were added to travel tally surveys in 2023.
o Carpool: Assumes driving with at least one person outside the immediate family bound for the same destination.
o Transit: Includes the yellow school bus, VTA bus which comprises two percent, or 72 transit users and the Stanford West Bus at two percent or 55 transit users. Yellow school bus metrics are shared by PAUSD administrators. To avoid stigmatization, students arriving by bus are not asked to raise their hand while classroom are tallies are conducted. o Pedestrian: Includes scooters at six percent for middle and high school and three percent for the elementary or 211 pedestrians, and e-scooters at two percent, or 53 pedestrians. E-scooter metrics were added to travel tally surveys in 2023.
o Cyclist: Includes e-bikes at four percent or 127 cyclists. E-bike metrics were added to travel tally surveys in 2023.
• Column Summary Data
o 2024 Walk/Bike Mean Summary: This column provides a grade-level specific summary of Walk/Bike Travel Tally responses for 2024. For Walk/Bike Mean Summary percentages, this column calculates the combined mean of elementary, middle and high school-specific 2024 walk and bike travel tally responses divided by elementary, middle and high school-specific 2024 PAUSD travel tally survey responses. For 2024 Walk/Bike Mean Summary numbers, this column multiplies the combined mean of elementary, middle and high school-specific walk and bike percentages elementary, middle and high school-specific 2024 PAUSD enrollment numbers o 2016-19 Pre-pandemic Walk/Bike Mean Summary: This column calculates four-year pre- pandemic combined travel tally walk/bike data means beginning with 2016, the year secondary data collection began, through 2019, prior to the onset of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. The mean percentage is calculated as the mean of combined 2016-19 combined walk/bike percentages for elementary, middle and high schools divided by the combined mean of 2016-19 elementary, middle and high school-specific responses. For 2016-19 Walk/Bike Mean Summary numbers, this column calculates the combined mean of elementary, middle and high school- specific walk and bike percentages multiplies by a mean of 2016-19 elementary, middle and high school-specific PAUSD enrollment data
o 2021-24 Post-pandemic Walk/Bike Mean Summary: This column shows four-year post- pandemic combined travel tally walk/bike data means. The mean percentage is calculated from the mean of combined 2021-24 elementary, middle and high school-specific walk/bike percentages; divided by the combined mean of 2021-24 elementary, middle and high school- specific total responses. For 2021-24 Walk/Bike Mean Summary numbers, this column calculates the combined mean of elementary, middle and high school-specific walk and bike percentages multiplied by a mean of 2021-24 elementary, middle and high school-specific PAUSD enrollment data
o Difference btw. 2016-19 and 2021-24 Walk/Bike Mean: This column subtracts the 2021-24 Walk/Bike Mean Summary column from the 2016-19 Walk/Bike Mean Summary column for elementary, middle and high schools. K-12 data is calculated as the sum of each elementary, middle and high school percentage in this column Data indicates a loss of -1 percent for K-5, -4 percent for 6-8, and -3 percent for 9-12 generating an overall K-12 loss of -8 percent.
Section 2: 2003-2024 Parked Bike Count Graph Data Table Metrics
2003-2024 Parked Bike Count Graph General Information
• To improve readability and support trend analysis comparisons, Parked Bike Count Graphs have been consolidated from four separate bar graphs (Middle School Percentage Counts, Middle School Raw Number Counts, High School Percentage Counts and High School Raw Numeric Counts) into two stacked bar graphs (Middle School Percentage and Numeric Counts and High School Percentage and Numeric Counts). Each table includes a line graph with total percentages above the bar graphs to schoolwide increases/decreases for each year
• Parked bike counts are conducted at all PAUSD schools by each school’s Palo Alto PTA Transportation Safety Representatives (TSR) during the month of September to align with peak walk/bike volumes and with PAUSD Travel Tally classroom educator data gathering efforts • TSRs are asked to conduct two counts to minimize the potential for statistical variations • The SRTS Team analyzes submitted data to check for errors and requests a recount if totals suggest a significant variation from previous years
• Percentage totals are rounded to whole numbers and may not correspond with exact totals • Data gathering instructions sent to TSRs provide specific requests to minimize data errors caused by weather, date of collection, student absences, field trips and incorrect calculations. Data collection is requested during morning arrival time to ensure potential drop-offs made by bike are included. • Adult bikes parked around the school campus are included in totals • No identifiable student information is shared
• Scooters users are identified as pedestrians and are not included in bike counts • Data excludes Middle College, Palo Alto Children’s Hospital and other outlying campuses. TK and Greendell educators are not excluded, but have insignificant response rates that do not measurably impact data
• Middle and high school 2004-2013 parked bike counts are condensed to improve graph readability.
Data reads below:
Table 1: Middle School Parked Bike Count Graph Supplement: 2004-2013 Year Percentage Percentage Change
2003 29% -
2004 33% 4%
2005 34% 1%
2006 34% 0%
2007 49% 15%
2008 41% -7%
2009 43% 2%
2010 44% 0%
2011 49% 5%
2012 53% 5%
2013 50% -4%
Yearly 2003-2014 Mean Percentage Change 2%
Table 2: High School Parked Bike Count Graph Supplement: 2004-2013 Year Percentage Percentage Change
2003 14% -
2004 16% 2%
2005 17% 1%
2006 23% 6%
2007 25% 2%
2008 30% 5%
2009 33% 2%
2010 38% 5%
2011 39% 1%
2012 40% 1%
2013 43% 3%