Alternative Methodologies for Travel Time Studies

Travel time information is used by many jurisdictions to assess the future directions and strategic improvement requirements of specific segments of provincial highways and justify, prioritize, and program new operational and capital work projects and monitor the results after completion. The Ministry of Transportation Ontario (MTO) conducts Travel Time Studies for a series of provincial highways and arterials every two years. MTO currently uses probe vehicles equipped with GPS data loggers to collect travel time information. Recent developments within wireless technologies have provided the opportunity to obtain travel time information for a large geographic area with minimal costs. However, the accuracy, reliability, and robustness of these technologies have not been fully investigated. The main goal of this study is to evaluate various technologies that are commercially available for the Province of Ontario and recommend the preferred technologies for the future Travel Time Studies. The results of this research will assist different jurisdictions including the Province of Ontario to potentially have better information for larger geographic areas of their network at lower costs.

Faculty Supervisor:

Dr. Lina Kattan

Student:

Reza Omrani

Partner:

CIMA Canada

Discipline:

Engineering - civil

Sector:

Automotive and transportation

University:

University of Calgary