Archived content. See ABS Website for latest information and statistics
ABS Home

Census home > Data quality > Statements > Person

Method of Travel to Work

Method of Travel to Work (MTWP)

This variable records the method(s) a person used to get to work on Census Day, Tuesday August 9, 2011.

The question relating to Method of Travel to Work (MTWP) was first asked in the 1971 Census. Further information on Census Topics 1911-2011, can be found in How Australia Takes a Census (cat. no. 2903.0).

The non-response rate for this variable was 1.5% (1.8% in 2006). Unlike some other Census variables the non-response rate is not affected by persons imputed into dwellings that did not return a Census Form, as MTWP is only applicable for persons with a labour force status of employed. More information is available from the 2011 Census non-response quality statement.

The responses to this question are captured automatically from mark box responses on the form so the risk of processing error is minimal. Sample checks are undertaken to ensure an acceptable level of quality. Respondents were able to select more than one response, though the majority of persons reported only a single mode of travel to work.

In some cases, where a respondent has marked a response, then crossed it out and marked another response, the automatic capture of the mark box is not able to distinguish between a valid mark and a crossed out mark. Since more than one response is allowed for this question, in any cases where more than one method was marked and a paper Census Form was used, responses were confirmed clerically to ensure that one or more of the marks wasn't crossed out by the respondent.

In a small proportion of cases (testing has indicated that this is less than 1.0%), respondents provided an incorrect number of responses (for MTWP, respondents were asked to provide up to three responses). In these cases, responses were accepted in the order they appeared on the form and the extra responses were rejected.

In cases where the combination of responses contained "Did not go to work", "Worked at home" or "Walked only" then these unique responses override any others. If more than one of these unique responses is in the same combination, then a single response is selected in the order they appear above.

When used in conjunction with Place of Work (POWP) data, users should be aware that Place of Work refers to the main job last week, while MTWP refers to Census Day. This may explain why, for a small proportion of records, MTWP may appear inconsistent with Place of Work or Place of Usual Residence information.

More information on MTWP is available in the 2011 Census Dictionary (cat. no. 2901.0).

Question 45 as it appeared on the 2011 Census Household Form

Data for this variable is derived from question 45 on the Census Household Form.



A text only version of this question is also available.


Back to Person classification

Statements

Person

Family

Household / Dwelling

2011 Census Dictionary

Archived content. See ABS Website for latest information and statistics