Innovative Data Travel Collection

This study had the following objectives: (1) To identify and clarify these two emerging effects – real time data and changing culture; (2) To identify the shifts in data collection and transportation modeling that must take place to assist in identifying and forecasting travel behavior; and (3) To discuss the impacts of such operational shifts, both in cost and outcomes to provide New York Metropolitan Transportation Council (NYMTC) with the cost and efficacy impacts of incorporating these emerging tools. To address these objectives, the research team at Albany Visualization and Informatics Lab (AVAIL), led by Dr. Catherine Lawson, PhD., from the University at Albany, conducted a literature review; a cost benefit analysis of current and emerging transportation data surveying and modeling methodologies; and produced a set of recommendations for the near-term and the longer-term. The literature review and cost benefit analysis revealed certain facts about the state of travel data collection in the United States. The paper travel diary remains the predominant instrument for collecting travel data despite its well-documented shortcomings and high cost. Global positioning system (GPS) devices have grown in popularity but are used primarily as a supplement for paper travel diaries. The value of travel surveying via smartphones is no longer a strictly academic question as numerous agencies have used the smartphone in a travel survey, either as the primary survey instrument or in a subsample (Indiana, Oregon, Singapore, Boulder, etc.). Origin-destination tables used in travel demand models can be constructed from social media posts and call-detail records though these datasets often lack valuable information (such as reliable trip purpose or mode), present incomplete pictures of travel (especially in the case of social media), are prohibitively aggregated, or are not representative. Finally, the research team found it is possible to develop and deploy a travel demand model that does not use travel survey data for inputs, opening the possibility of eliminating or reducing the size of travel surveys. This study introduces two categories to classify data collection efforts: (1) Active Data Collection – the use of self-report and surveying to generate data and (2) Passive Data Collection – the acquisition of existing data. The research suggests three orientations toward travel data collection, each with their own risks and advantages that could satisfy NYMTC’s modeling needs, while enabling future cost savings and/or increases in data quality. Two of these three orientations (or pathways) emphasize Active Data Collection strategies while the third emphasizes Passive Data Collection. These pathways are fluid and dynamic. They are not intended as a step-by-step guide to the future. Instead, they are intended to illuminate the data collection trajectory, highlighting opportunities and delineating the consequences, both positive and negative, of various data collection decisions. Briefly, these pathways are: (1) Paper and Online Diary Travel Survey (with GPS or Smartphone Supplement); (2) Smartphone Diary Travel Survey (with Online Supplement); and (3) Passive Data Collection (with Smartphone Supplement).

• Record URL:
  http://www.utrc2.org/sites/default/files/Final-Report-Innovative-Travel-Data-Collection.pdf
• 
• Record URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/32332
• Supplemental Notes:
  • This document was sponsored by the U.S. Department of Transportation, University Transportation Centers Program. Cover title: Innovative Travel Data Collection Recommendations.
• Corporate Authors:

  State University of New York, Albany

  Department of Geography and Planning
  Albany, NY  United States  12222

  University Transportation Research Center

  City College of New York
  Marshak Hall, Suite 910, 160 Convent Avenue
  New York, NY  United States  10031

  New York Metropolitan Transportation Council

  New York, NY  United States 

  Federal Highway Administration

  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590

  Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology

  University Transportation Centers Program
  Department of Transportation
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Authors:
  • Lawson, Catherine
• Publication Date: 2016-12-6

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Edition: Final Report
• Features: Appendices; Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 87p

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Alternatives analysis; Benefit cost analysis; Data collection; Forecasting; Global Positioning System; Literature reviews; Methodology; Recommendations; Smartphones; Travel behavior; Travel demand; Travel surveys
• Identifier Terms: New York Metropolitan Transportation Council
• Geographic Terms: New York (New York)
• Subject Areas: Data and Information Technology; Highways; Planning and Forecasting; Public Transportation;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01637835
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: Z-14-04
• Contract Numbers: 49198-42-27; 55606-02-27
• Files: UTC, TRIS, ATRI, USDOT
• Created Date: Jun 8 2017 12:04PM