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Establishing Baseline Travel Patterns from Smart-Phone and Spatial Data

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Establishing Baseline Travel Patterns from Smart-Phone and Spatial Data Establishing baseline travel patterns from smart-phone and spatial data by Andrea Mikkila A thesis presented to the University of Waterloo in fulfillment of the thesis requirement for the degree of Master of Environmental Studies in Planning Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, 2018 © Andrea Mikkila 2018 AUTHOR’S DECLARATION I hereby declare that I am the sole author of this thesis. This is a true copy of the thesis, including any required final revisions, as accepted by my examiners. I understand that my thesis may be made electronically available to the public. ii Abstract Investment in public transit infrastructure and services is essential to providing effective transportation alternatives. It is important to monitor the progress of key performance indicators (KPIs) to ensure goals of major transit projects are being achieved. These key performance indicators provide replicable measurements related to different aspects of transportation and mobility. Through this thesis, data were collected and analyzed in relation to a set of key performance indicators in the context of Downtown Kitchener in the Region of Waterloo with the implementation of the ION Light Rail system to assess the current state of Downtown Kitchener, and its progression toward goals outlined in the Region of Waterloo’s Community Building Strategy and the Kitchener Planning Around Rapid Transit Stations plan. Data related to transit ridership, modal splits, and active transportation networks were summarized from a collection of datasets to establish a baseline of data prior to the introduction of light rail. This thesis investigated the process to collect and analyze these types of data through smart-phone GPS data collection during February and March of 2017 and Python scripts, alongside demographic surveys and other datasets for Downtown Kitchener. Overall, a sample of baseline indicators has been gathered and assessed for Downtown Kitchener that demonstrated a high propensity for transit and active transportation usage, supported by public policy, with some exceptions or areas of improvement. The process taken in this thesis may be applied to additional areas throughout the Region of Waterloo prior to and following commencement of ION Light Rail operation. iii Acknowledgements I would like to thank both of my supervisors Dr. Jeffrey Casello and Dr. Robert Feick for their expertise and feedback throughout this project. I owe a great deal of gratitude to my boyfriend Jeffrey Charles for his continued help and patience as I learned Python programming and his time spent proofreading both my code and my thesis. I would not have been able to complete this project without his insight. I would also like to thank Mr. Brennen Walsh for his time as I refined my logic in my coding and Mrs. Chantelle Thompson for also proofreading my thesis. I would like to thank Mr. Kevan Marshall, Ms. Julie Bélanger, Ms. Katie Wall, and all the members of TravelWise that helped me engage those interested in participating in this project. I would also like to thank all the local businesses that allowed me to place my recruitment materials at their establishments, TriTAG for posting on their website about the study and CBC Radio Kitchener for allowing me on their program. Lastly, I would like to thank my mom and dad for all of their continued support throughout my education. iv Table of Contents AUTHOR’S DECLARATION .............................................................................................................................................. ii Abstract ........................................................................................................................................................................ iii Acknowledgements ...................................................................................................................................................... iv List of Tables ................................................................................................................................................................. ix List of Appendices ......................................................................................................................................................... ix List of Equations ........................................................................................................................................................... xi List of Abbreviations .................................................................................................................................................... xii Chapter 1 Introduction .................................................................................................................................................. 1 1.1 Investment in and Monitoring Sustainable Transportation in Canada ............................................................... 1 1.2 Overview of Related Research ............................................................................................................................ 4 1.3 Introduction to the Research Case Study ............................................................................................................ 6 1.4 Research Questions ............................................................................................................................................. 8 1.5 Study Design ...................................................................................................................................................... 10 1.6 Thesis Structure ................................................................................................................................................. 12 Chapter 2 Literature Review ........................................................................................................................................ 14 2.1 Chapter overview .............................................................................................................................................. 14 2.2 Introduction to Smart-phones and Travel Data Collection ............................................................................... 14 2.2.1 Electronic and Smart-phone Travel Surveys .............................................................................................. 15 2.2.2 Smart-phone Ownership and Data Availability .......................................................................................... 18 2.2.3 Trajectories of Activity Locations and Other Stop Detection Methods ..................................................... 20 2.3 Key Performance Indicators .............................................................................................................................. 23 2.3.1 Standard Transportation KPI Measurements ............................................................................................ 26 2.4 Transportation Policies and Impacts ................................................................................................................. 30 2.5 Chapter Summary .............................................................................................................................................. 32 Chapter 3 Methodology and Case Study ..................................................................................................................... 34 3.1 Chapter Overview .............................................................................................................................................. 34 3.2 Location, Population, and Additional Background Information ........................................................................ 36 3.3 Study Design ...................................................................................................................................................... 39 3.3.1 Participant Recruitment and WatTrack App .............................................................................................. 40 3.3.2 Demographic survey .................................................................................................................................. 43 3.3.3 Data Collection, Download and Cleaning ................................................................................................... 44 3.3.4 Data Consolidation and Assessment .......................................................................................................... 46 v 3.3.5 Policy analysis ............................................................................................................................................ 47 3.4 Trajectories and Cluster Analysis Algorithm...................................................................................................... 47 3.5 Monitoring Indicators ........................................................................................................................................ 53 3.5.1 Transit Indicators ....................................................................................................................................... 53 3.5.1.1 Transit Ridership ..................................................................................................................................... 54 3.5.1.2 Daily Transit Activity ............................................................................................................................... 55 3.5.1.3 Transit Mode Share ................................................................................................................................
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