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

  • China’s Owleye shows bright idea
    March 20, 2018
    China’s Guangzhou Owleye Optoelectronic Technology is showing its new solar-powered traffic cone light, which aims to improve safety when warnings must be given to drivers of roadworks or other potential dangers. To ensure maximum flexibility with an operator’s existing equipment, the new light has a stainless steel ring that can be installed directly on to any size of traffic cone.
  • Redflex launches high definition ANPR at Intertraffic
    March 24, 2014
    Redflex is showcasing its latest technologies for enforcement and road safety here at Intertraffic. The company is launching its robust and unobtrusive RedflexAnpr high definition automatic number plate recognition system. Saying it is ideal for a wide range of applications from car park monitoring and restricted lane monitoring to tolling, travel time monitoring and surveillance.
  • Most pedestrian detection systems ‘hit pedestrians at 30mph’
    October 14, 2019
    In-car automatic emergency braking systems with pedestrian detection mostly fail to avoid hitting pedestrians - and are “completely ineffective at night”, according to new research. In shocking findings, the American Automobile Association (AAA) revealed that most systems hit a simulated pedestrian target at 30mph. A collision also occurred 89% of the time when a vehicle operating at 20mph encountered a child darting between two cars. In tests, all vehicles collided with an adult pedestrian immediately fo
  • Cost Benefit: the economic case for cycling
    August 20, 2019
    Cycling is good for us for any number of reasons. David Crawford finds that it is now possible to access basic, low-cost data which will help make the economic case for improving infrastructure Cycling is enjoying a favourable press the world over as a ‘good thing’ in the economic, environmental and social spheres. A recent study on the Value of Cycling from the UK’s University of Birmingham, for example, shows that cycle-friendly urban settings can deliver annualised transport infrastructural support co