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

  • Gulf Traffic 2013 – the international meeting place for buyers and sellers
    July 23, 2013
    The Gulf region is forging ahead with plans to improve its transportation infrastructure with US$121.3 billion worth of road and bridge projects already underway or in the planning phase.
  • European Transport Conference 2017 - call for papers
    December 22, 2016
    The European Transport Conference (ETC), which takes place 4-6 October 2017 in Barcelona, is inviting abstracts for papers on: Resilience of cities - security, safety and the effects of weather; Equity in transport; Disruptive technologies; Mobility as a Service; How to get from innovative ideas to implementation in the real world - lessons to be learnt from innovation Contributors are particularly encouraged to offer abstracts under heading including: Modelling the above; Skills and resourc
  • INRIX shares data with Iteris
    May 21, 2012
    Iteris and INRIX have teamed up to help transportation agencies better understand the performance of their network and how the different modes are working together. The partnership integrates INRIX’s real-time and historical traffic information with IterisPeMS, the company’s data collection, diagnostic, fusion and warehousing platform.
  • ITS World Congress preliminary programme now online
    June 16, 2015
    The preliminary programme of the 22nd ITS World Congress is now available online, with details of all sessions, speakers, social and associated events, as well as the 30-plus demonstr4ations which have been planned for the congress in Bordeaux.