Behavioural Data Collection Using Mobile Phones

Abstract

This chapter reviews the development of mobile phone-based travel survey instruments and systems over the last 15 years and discusses the issues and challenges that they will likely face in the future. The essential ideas were proposed in earlier mobile phone surveys in the 1990s but have since become more sophisticated. Probe Person (PP) survey systems were developed in the 2000s using GPS-assisted mobile phones connected to Internet Web diaries, and were implemented in several cities in Japan. This chapter presents the characteristics of PP systems and survey examples. Smartphone-based travel survey systems have recently been developed and implemented all over the world. This chapter includes a case study of a smartphone-based PP survey system in Kumamoto, Japan. Advantages and remaining issues are discussed with the goal of improving information use and enhancing communication technologies in the field of travel data collection and analysis.