In terms of national transportation statistics, one area that suffers from a critical lack of information is transportation use by people with physical, mental, or emotional disabilities. Little is known about the ability of the nation's transportation system to meet the unique transportation needs of people with disabilities. The Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) initiated the 2002 National Transportation Availability and Use Survey to fill this information gap and to allow government and other researchers to analyze the data, report the results, and provide an informed basis for the development of transportation policies and programs. The goal of this survey is to create an information resource for transportation planners and policy makers to use when developing national, state, and local policies and programs for people with disabilities.