Skip to main content

New report: technology is a game changer

For decades, planners and engineers have gathered traffic data using expensive, time-consuming surveys and processes. A new AirSage white paper, "The Future of Transportation Studies: A Comparative Review" looks at the emerging trends that are transforming the transportation planning industry and examines traditional traffic data collection methods and new complementary technologies at the forefront of the transportation industry.
September 18, 2013 Read time: 2 mins
For decades, planners and engineers have gathered traffic data using expensive, time-consuming surveys and processes.

A new 6178 AirSage white paper, "The Future of Transportation Studies: A Comparative Review" looks at the emerging trends that are transforming the transportation planning industry and examines traditional traffic data collection methods and new complementary technologies at the forefront of the transportation industry.

The traditional methods of compiling origin-destination data, household travel surveys, vehicle intercept surveys and licence plate surveys, are being supplanted by new technologies such as Bluetooth or data from from cell phones, tablet computers and laptops.

Interest in the new technologies is being driven by constrained research/study budgets, says the report, as well as the fact that new technology can deliver larger, more accurate data samples much faster, making the data more current than most other methods.

Increasingly, public agencies and commercial clients are studying and using new strategies, especially cellular data, to supplement or replace traditional traffic study methods.

Bluetooth and license plate surveys eliminate some of the drawbacks of traditional survey methods. Both can cost less and be completed more quickly than household and vehicle intercept surveys. However, because both require expensive equipment, they share the same restriction of covering only a limited geographic area.

Cellular technology eliminates many of the drawbacks of traditional surveys, Bluetooth tech¬nology and license plate surveys. The technology is relatively low cost, data can be collected and analysed in just weeks, and the size and scope of a cellular traffic study are virtually unlim¬ited.

Based on preliminary findings, a household travel survey augmented by a cellular survey provides the richest pool of data, but the length of time to complete the study is long and costs (due to the household survey) are high. Cellular surveys, which provide unprec¬edented amounts of current and historical data at a relatively low cost, offer an effective and affordable alternative for regions of any size.

The full report is available here. (link %$Linker: 2 External <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-16"?><dictionary /> 0 0 0 oLinkExternal http://airsage.com/Contact-Us/White-Paper/ Airsage false http://airsage.com/Contact-Us/White-Paper/#sthash.YgugSkMz.dpuf false false%>)

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • TRL announces new student award initiative
    September 22, 2016
    The UK Transport Research Laboratory (TRL) has launched the TRL Student Award, which aims to tap into the creative skills of today’s younger generation in the UAE in order to help solve practical, real life problems while also helping the region in its move towards more growth and development. The initiative will award some of the region’s top student minds for their proposals of innovative and sustainable transport solutions in a special awards ceremony on the sidelines of Gulf Traffic 2016, which will
  • Cream of the crop in contention for Innovation Award
    March 21, 2014
    Smart and innovative thinking is again about to be awarded here at Intertraffic Amsterdam, the world’s largest and best attended trade fair for the infrastructure, ITS traffic management, safety, parking, and smart mobility sectors. A total of 15 products have won through to the shortlist for the most innovative exhibits at the event. The official opening of Intertraffic Amsterdam 2014 takes place this morning from 08.30 to 09.30 at the Innovation Lab in the Elicium room where the winners of the Intertraffi
  • Congestion to cost US drivers billions of dollars over the next decade
    October 2, 2017
    Traffic hotspots in 25 of the most congested cities in the US cost drivers billions of dollars over the next ten years, according to a new report by Inrix’s cloud-based analysis tool. Inrix’s Roadway analytics (IRA) tool ranked over 100, 000 traffic hotspots with economic cost calculated on wasted time, lost fuel and carbon emissions over the next ten years.
  • Ertico prepares for World Congress 2015
    December 15, 2014
    Hot on the heels of the 21st ITS World Congress in Detroit, Ertico - ITS Europe is already writing session proposals, contacting speakers and putting together the demonstration programme for the 2015 ITS World Congress. This will take place from 5-9 October in the French city of Bordeaux, one of the most advanced cities in Europe in terms of ITS adoption, and will have the theme of ‘Towards intelligent mobility – Better use of space’.