Chapter 11 Appendix B: Advance letter
The advance letter is sent to the address after it is added to the sample, inviting them to take part in the survey.
At the end of this appendix is a PDF of the advance letter template that is sent to households.
11.1 Accessible text version
The Resident
Address
Your interviewer will be:
[space for interviewer to write their name]
Ref:
[reference numbers]
National Travel Survey
Tell us about how you travel
Dear Sir or Madam,
We are running the National Travel Survey and we would like you to be a part of this. Since 1988, the National Travel Survey has continuously collected information on the travel habits of the public. The Department for Transport uses the study to help improve travel policy in England, so it is important that as many people participate as possible.
By taking part in the study, you can help us understand your current travel situation and help to make positive changes to transport. It is your chance to have your say about your experience of transport. Everyone living in your home has been chosen to take part.
What’s next?
An interviewer from the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen) will call at your house in the next week or so to explain more. They will arrange a convenient time for you to take part.
So you know who they are, interviewers all carry a photo ID.
Thank you
As a gesture of goodwill, please find enclosed a book of First Class stamps. When everyone
in your household completes the survey, you will also receive a £5 shopping voucher for every
person in the household.
Any questions?
You can find out more about the survey on the reverse of this letter. If you have any further
questions, please visit www.natcen.ac.uk/travel, email nts@natcen.ac.uk or call free on
0800 652 4568.
[J Wilkins’ signature]
John Wilkins
Travel and Environment Data and Statistics (TRENDS) Division
Department for Transport
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is carrying out the survey?
The Department for Transport have commissioned the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen), an independent social research institute, to carry out the National Travel Survey. Your interview will be completed with an experienced and trained research interviewer from the National Centre for Social Research.
How was I chosen?
We have chosen a random sample of addresses from a public list of all addresses in England, kept by the Post Office. This is to make sure that the survey represents the whole country. The findings will not identify you or your family because your name and address will not be passed to anyone outside the National Centre for Social Research without your permission.
I do not travel very often – why do you want to interview me?
We are interested in your daily experience of travel – however much or little you do, no matter what form of transportation is used. The results are used to look at how travel changes over time, and to make decisions about the future.
We need information from a wide range of people including those both in or out of work, children, young people and the elderly. This means that everybody’s travel habits are captured and represented in the data used for improving transport in England. Everybody is welcome to take part in the survey.
What does the interview involve?
The interview will be conducted by the interviewer in your home. If you are unable to be interviewed in person, or would not like to, your interview can be completed over the phone.
The interview covers a range of transport related topics including your views and experiences. No special knowledge or training is needed.
What is the survey used for?
Data collected from the National Travel Survey is used to build up a picture of how and why different kinds of people travel for reasons of wider public interest. The information is anonymised and used by local and national government, as well as by consultants, academics, pressure groups and charities.
For example, information collected from previous surveys was used to study school children’s travel, monitoring road accidents, predicting future traffic levels and finding out the transport needs of minority groups. Last year around 5,000 helpful households took part.
What will happen to any information I give?
We will treat your information in the strictest confidence under current data protection legislation. The results are used for statistical purposes only. Your personal details will only be known to the teams processing the survey results at the National Centre for Social Research and the Department for Transport. Personal data will be securely stored and deleted after two years. We will never pass on your personal details to anyone else.
Further information on how we store and use the data and details on how to contact the Data Protection Officer, exercise your rights in relation to your personal data, and on how to complain, can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-transport/about/personal-information-charter. If we’re not able to resolve your complaint, you can contact the Information Commissioner’s Office (www.ico.org.uk).
Participation in this research is not compulsory and you have the right to withdraw at any stage.
If you wish to lodge a complaint about the way the survey has been conducted you can do so by contacting the National Centre for Social Research on info@natcen.ac.uk or 0800 652 4568, quoting your reference number printed on the other side of this letter.
NatCen Social Research
35 Northampton Square
London
EC1V 0AX
Tel. 020 7250 1866
Company limited by guarantee in England and Wales Reg No. 4392418.
A Charity registered in England and Wales (1091768) and in Scotland (SC038454)