Traffic Data: Bluetooth Sensors vs. Crowdsourcing—A Comparative Study to Calculate Travel Time Reliability in Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Abstract

Abstract:The City of Calgary did a comparative study between two techniques of traffic data collection: Bluetooth sensors and crowdsourcing, for measuring travel time reliability on two goods movement corridors in Calgary, Alberta. To estimate travel time and speed, we used the output of BluFAX sensors, which were operated by monitoring Bluetooth signals at several points along a roadway. On the other hand, TomTom historical traffic data were extracted from the TomTom Traffic Stats portal. To calculate travel time reliability, we applied the buffer index, and the planning time index recommended by FHWA (Federal Highway Administration). The Bluetooth traffic data were presumed as the benchmark in this study. Unlike the TomTom traffic data, the data provided by the Bluetooth technology met the minimum recommended sample size requirement, although data processing was time consuming and impractical for long study periods. Our study results showed that crowdsourcing technique can be a viable alternative and provide travel time reliability estimates with a reasonable accuracy, when there are adequate numbers of records registered. However, the TomTom sample sizes in Calgary were not large enough to provide a statistically reliable method of providing travel time indices. Further researches may verify the accuracy of crowdsourcing technologies for travel time studies.

A Comparative Study between Private-Sector and Automated Vehicle Identification System Data through Various Travel Time Reliability Measures

“…This study compared HERE data with AVI data using toll tags for electronic toll collection and also providing sufficient sample size with high accuracy in terms of travel time reliability. Traffic data from INRIX and TomTom, as private-sector data, have been compared in previous studies in terms of travel time reliability, but HERE data has not been evaluated ( 10 , 11 ). In addition, these studies evaluated the private data using data at 15-minute intervals because they use Bluetooth sensors that do not provide enough samples.…”

“…In 2011, the United States Department of Transportation started to consider using private-sector data for national transportation performance management and several public agencies jointly developed and TomTom's historical traffic data were evaluated in terms of travel time reliability through a comparative study in Calgary, Canada (11). Travel time reliability was measured by the 95th percentile travel time, BI, travel time index, and PTI.…”

“…TomTom’s historical traffic data were evaluated in terms of travel time reliability through a comparative study in Calgary, Canada ( 11 ). Travel time reliability was measured by the 95th percentile travel time, BI, travel time index, and PTI.…”

Evaluating Advancements in Bluetooth Technology for Travel Time and Segment Speed Studies

“…After recognition and connection between devices, digital data may be shared between the devices over a personal area network, an invaluable ability in the field of information technology ( 10 ). By international agreement, the aforementioned data transfer operates on a dedicated frequency of 2.4 GHz for industrial, scientific, and medical use ( 5 , 6 , 10 ). As the popularity of the technology increased, it was administered to more integral applications in society, such as within the medical field and transportation research; in the decade leading up to 2008, nearly 2 billion BT-enabled products were shipped ( 9 ).…”

“…In recent years, methods using Bluetooth (BT) technology have surfaced, providing very effective means of collection that provide instant, accurate data at a low cost ( 5 ). Advancements in BT technology have taken place since it was first implemented.…”