Follow us on
(913) 829-1215
Follow us
Start the Conversation

Memphis MPO and ETC Institute launch household travel survey across the Mid-South

Memphis MPO and ETC Institute launch household travel survey across the Mid-South
revvnue_admin revvnue_admin
As Featured InHousehold Travel Surveys
September 4, 2026

The Memphis Urban Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (Memphis MPO) is asking residents across Mid-South to help shape the future of roads, transit, sidewalks, and bike lanes in the region. Memphis MPO has commissioned ETC Institute to conduct a household travel survey covering 11,000 households across Shelby and Fayette counties in Tennessee and DeSoto and Marshall counties in Mississippi.

All of the information we collect is for research purposes only, and it goes back to Memphis MPO so they can better understand how people are traveling in the region.

Vice President and Director of Household Survey Research, ETC Institute
Nick Jones
Vice President and Director of Household Survey Research, ETC Institute

Participating households will be recruited through a combination of mailed postcards and social media outreach. They will be asked to log a day of travel using whichever response method works best for them, as outlined in the steps below. Most participants can expect to spend about 20 minutes answering questions about their household and its members’ daily travel.

How To Get Involved

  1. Download the app. Search “Memphis Area Travel Survey” in the App Store or Google Play, or sign up at MemphisAreaTravelSurvey.com. ETC can also walk interested participants through the process by phone at 1-844-755-8511. 
  2. Complete the survey. Answer a few questions about household members and their daily travel during the survey period.
  3. Get rewarded. Every qualifying household receives a guaranteed gift card after successful completion. The amount your household receives depends on how you participate:

    • $20 if no household members use the smartphone app
    • $40 if one household member uses the smartphone app
    • $80 if two or more household members use the smartphone app

To qualify for any reward, all household members must provide complete travel information.

​Important: Participation is limited to one completed survey per household. Incentives are limited to one payment per household; duplicate or multiple submissions will not be compensated.

Gift cards tend to raise a fair question about legitimacy, and Jones addresses it directly in his interview with Now That’s Memphis reporter Brandi Hunter. He pointed to ETC’s work with Memphis Rise Academy, where the company is installing a mural during the survey period, as an example of the firm’s broader investment in the community beyond data collection.

Explore the original news flash from Local Memphis posted August 20th, 2026. 

Households in Shelby, Fayette, DeSoto, or Marshall counties can sign up now at MemphisAreaTravelSurvey.com. To learn more about how ETC Institute designs household travel surveys for regional planning agencies, contact a member of the ETC Household Travel Survey Team today.