This paper shows how public transport smart card data can be used to investigate and understand travel behaviour. Smart card data constitute a new transport data source that can be analysed to investigate and understand travel behaviour. These data are generated from the use of smart cards, as replacement for traditional fare media such as magnetic stripe cards and paper tickets, for travel on public transport. Of central significance is that smart card journey data can be linked to the use of a particular card, as each card has a unique serial number. These journey data can then be linked to the cardholder if name/address details are known or the card is personalised with a photo. This is a clear advantage over certain existing transport data sources, such as electronic ticket machine data from buses. In order to examine and illustrate the potential of smart card data, analyses of two sample smart card datasets from bus-based schemes in the United Kingdom (UK) were undertaken. With smart card data, boardings can be tied to the individual or individual card, and this information can be used to 'construct' passenger journeys made over the course of a day or longer. Subject to quality constraints, a transport service provider will also have a continuous record of journeys made using a particular smart card. Therefore, it is possible to examine level of card usage over particular time periods (trip rates) and to examine patterns of interchange, where boardings can be grouped and 'rules' applied in processing. Other travel behaviours can also be examined. For this research, two analyses of inferring trip rates and bus-to-bus interchange were chosen, and results of those analyses are presented. The examination of the nature of smart card data, the findings of the analysis and the examination of the wider components of smart card development and implementation enable a set of factors affecting quality and utility of smart card data to be identified. These factors can be used as a useful checklist that smart card industry practitioners can incorporate into the design, implementation and evaluation stages of their public transport smart card schemes. For the covering abstract see ITRD E126595.
Samenvatting