National Transport Library Research Database

Alternativa metoder för kostnadseffektiv insamling av trafikantdata (Alternative methods for the cost-effective collection of travel data)

  • Archer, Jeffery
  • Sweco Infrastructure AB, Svenskt företag eller organisation, 556507-0868
Sponsors, duration, budget: Trafikverket ; 2009-01-01 -- 2010-12-31 ; 800000 kronorRegistration number:
  • Trafikverket 2010/22656
Subject(s): Abstract: I och med ökningen av antalet GPS-utrustade mobiltelefoner, uppkopplade navigeringssystem i fordon samt införandet av nya ITS-tjänster genereras en stor mängd resdata i realtid. Den allmänt ökande kommunikationen till och från fordon genererar också värdefull trafikdata i mobiloperatörens nät i form av fordonspositioner med olika noggrannhet och uppdateringsintervall. Data som finns i dessa system kan efter bearbetning användas till både trafikantinformation samt underlag till trafikstyrning och strategisk trafikplanering. I vilken omfattning detta är möjligt och vilka användningsområden som är bäst lämpade för de olika typerna av trafikdata är i dagsläget en öppen fråga som behöver utredas. Eftersom utvecklingen inom detta område går mycket snabbt är det även viktigt att bedöma utvecklingsmöjligheterna för de alternativa teknikerna på några års sikt. Ett forskningsförsök på Berkeley, USA har testat en alternativ metod för insamling av trafikdata med lovande resultat. Den data som samlades in bearbetades centralt och användes därefter till att beräkna och visualisera trafikförhållanden i realtid på ett Internet-baserat trafikantinformationssystem. Detta projekt syftar till att utreda möjligheterna att använda alternativa informationskällor för en kostnadseffektiv insamling av trafikantdata. De alternativa informationskällorna kan vara mobiltelefoner med GPS, uppkopplade navigationssystem, vägtullsystem, fleet management-system för taxibolag och åkerier eller data från mobiloperatörernas nät. Dessutom utreds vilka användningsområden som är bäst lämpade för data av denna typ i dagsläget samt hur den kan kombineras med data från andra källor. Projektet avser särskilt att lyfta fram nya modeller för samarbete med kommersiella företag och slutanvändare. Nya tjänster kan exempelvis innebära att användaren får värdefull trafikantinformation i realtid om han/hon bidrar med egen resdata (t ex GPS-koordinater, tid, GPS-hastighet). Kvaliteten och kvantiteten av data som samlas in via GPS-utrustade mobiltelefoner och navigationssystem anses utgöra en ny och viktig källa för att kartlägga personers resvanor och skapar nya möjligheter och underlag för trafikantinformationstjänster i framtiden. En utmaning inom detta teknikområde är också att identifiera hur mycket och hur ofta data behöver samlas in för att skapa ett effektivt system. . Det är viktigt att påpeka att projektet inte enbart ska studera möjligheterna att samla in data från personbilar i trafiknät utan även många andra transportmedelsformer, exempelvis buss, pendeltåg, tunnelbana och cykel. Därmed skapas ett värdefullt dataunderlag för många olika ändamål inom transportplanering. För fordonstrafiken utgör realtidsinformation om t.ex. medelhastigheter och flöden på olika länkar i trafiknätverket en viktig komponent för effektiv trafikledning och trafikantinformation. Med hjälp av denna information kan man snabbt och effektivt upptäcka köbildningar, beräkna restider, göra prognoser över kommande trafiksituation och på så sätt få ett underlag för att vidta korrekta trafikledningsåtgärder. Denna typ av data kommer även att vara värdefull för strategisk trafik- och transportplanering och sannolikt leda till att minska datainsamlingskostnaderna.Abstract: As a result of the increase in the number of GPS-equipped mobile telephones and network connected navigation systems in vehicles and new ITS services, a large amount of real-time travel data is generated. The general increase in communication to and from vehicles also generates valuable traffic data in the mobile telephone operator’s network. This data is in the form of vehicle position coordinates with different levels of accuracy and update frequency. After processing, the data that exists in these systems can be used for travel information services as well as a platform for traffic management and strategic traffic planning. The extent to which this data can be used and the possible areas of application best suited to the different types of travel and traffic data remain are undetermined at the present time and need investigating. As a result of the fact that development in this field is very rapid, it is important to determine the development potential and possibilities for alternative techniques within a time-frame of several years. An alternative method for collecting traffic data has been tested with some promising results at Berkeley in the US. The data that was collected as part of this experiment was stored centrally and was used to generate and visualise traffic conditions in real-time in a web-based travel information application. This project aims to investigate the possibilities for using alternative data sources for a cost-effective collection of personal travel data. The alternative data sources can be mobile telephones equipped with GPS network connected navigation systems, road-tolling systems, fleet-management systems for taxi and haulage companies or data from mobile operator networks. Furthermore, the application areas that are best suited for data of this type at present are investigated as well as how the data can be used and combined with data from other sources. The project is specially concerned with the identification of new models for cooperation with commercial companies and end-users. New services can, for example, mean that the user gets valuable travel information in real-time if he or she contributes their own travel data (e.g. GPS co-ordinates, time, and GPS-speed). The quality and quantity of data that is collected via GPS-equipped mobile telephones and navigation systems is believed to represent a new and important source of data to chart peoples travel habits and creates new possibilities and a platform for new travel information services in the future. A challenge in this area of technology is to identify how much data is need and how often it must be collected to support an effective system. It is important to note that the project does not only investigate the possibilities to collect data from private cars in the traffic network but also many other modes of transport, including for example buses, commuter trains, metro-trains and cyclists. As a result, a valuable data-foundation is created for many other transport planning activities. For vehicle traffic, real-time information such as average speeds and flow-rates on different links in the network represent an important component for effective traffic management and for travel information. This information can help to quickly and effectively identify the build up of queues, calculate travel times, make prognoses over coming traffic situations and provide a basis for making correct decisions regarding traffic management solutions. This type of data is also valuable for making strategic traffic and transport planning decisions and is likely to reduce data-collection costs. The project is divided into four main parts. The aim of the first part is to generate a knowledge and idea summary in relation to alternative techniques for cost-effective data collection for traffic management and travel information. This summary should take Swedish conditions into consideration when it comes to both road traffic characteristics and the type of data that is possible to collect. The project will focus on the alternative techniques that make use of data that for other reasons is collected from vehicle traffic. These techniques are expected to have a larger impact when the amount of raw data increases and when data-processing has become more effective and the cost-efficiency potential is optimised. The second part of the project will focus more on the technical aspects of data collection in relation to mobile telephones with GPS and network connected navigation systems. First and foremost, it is important to work out the amount of data needed and how often it must be sampled. It is also important to protect users identities through a suitable form of encryption and depersonalisation. The processing and control of data are other important issues that need to be investigated. SWECO has past experience in relation to these types of questions as a result of the work carried out with the evaluation of intelligent speed adaptation systems (ISA). The third part of the project concerns conducting a small demonstration project. The aim of this demonstration is to evaluate the trade-offs between travel estimation accuracy, data collection costs and personal privacy, and to compare these against existing travel data collection systems. The demonstration project will focus on mobile data for many different modes of transport and attempt to distinguish among these. At the same time this creates new possibilities for travellers to find more suitable, faster, more comfortable, cheaper and more environmentally friendly transport alternatives. As part of the work in this project, a number of other travel information systems and services in other countries with be reviewed. In the final part of the project, important implementation issues will be identified. An evaluation will be carried out concerning what is needed in order to progress from the concept-level at the present time, to a fully developed and usable system for data collection in the future based on the use of mobile telephones and vehicle-based navigation systems. As part of this work, the technical and legal issues are taken into consideration. This part of the project will also attempt to identify potential areas of application and new information services for this type of mobile travel data. The work on these four parts of the project will be conducted as part of a close collaboration between Linköping Technical University (LiTH) and SWECO Infrastructure AB.
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