Evaluation of Travel Time Data Collection Techniques: A Statistical Analysis

Abstract

Measuring traffic congestion is a key element of Congestion Management Systems (CMS) and is utilized to document traffic information and make decisions regarding existing traffic congestion problems. With the improvement of Global Positioning Systems (GPS) technologies, amongst other Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) components, various data collection procedures can be performed more efficiently. This paper examines travel time data collection methods. Data collection approach is introduced and a non-parametric statistical analysis of three different data collection methods, namely GPS, DMI (Distance Measuring Instrument), and MAN (manual), is conducted. The statistical analysis shows that the GPS approach is more consistent in terms of accuracy than the other two methods. The results also indicate that for short travel distances and trips without any delay, the three methods are accepted as being equal with a 95% confidence level. However, segment with different characteristics need to be investigated further through more data collection and analysis.