The German Vehicle Mileage Survey 2014: Striking the balance between methodological innovation and continuity

Abstract

Vehicle kilometers travelled (VKT) directly reflect the extent of spatial interaction within society and economy. VKT is also a key figure to quantify the use of road infrastructure. Consequently, VKT is one of the most important statistical indicators in traffic and transport. For a country with substantial cross-border transport relations such as Germany, VKT must be differentiated in national and domestic VKT: national VKT is the mileage of vehicles registered in Germany while domestic VKT is the mileage on German territory by German and foreign vehicles. This paper presents the most current German VKT survey, Fahrleistungserhebung (FLE) 2014, which comprised two elements: a motor vehicle owner survey to measure national VKT and traffic counts to measure domestic VKT. Vehicle mileage figures with deep stratification of both national and domestic VKT can only be generated through such special empirical studies. The focus of this paper is on the vehicle owner survey and national VKT.