Analysis of the Activity and Travel Patterns of the Elderly Using Mobile Phone-Based Hourly Locational Trajectory Data: Case Study of Gangnam, Korea

Abstract

Rapid demographic ageing is a global challenge and has tremendous implications for transportation planning, because the mobility of elderly people is an essential element for active ageing. Although many studies have been conducted on this issue, most of them have been focused on aggregated travel patterns of the elderly, limited in spatiotemporal analysis, and most importantly primarily relied on sampled (2–3%) household travel surveys, omitting some trips and having concerns of quality and credibility. The objectives of this study are to present more in-depth analysis of the elderly’s spatiotemporal activity and travel behaviors, to compare them with other age and gender groups, and to draw implications for sustainable transportation for the elderly. For our analysis, we used locational trajectory-based mobile phone data in Gangnam, Korea. The data differs from sampled household travel survey data, as mobile phone data represents the entire population and can capture comprehensive travelers’ movements, including peculiarities. Consistent with previous researches, the results of this study showed that there were differences in activity and travel patterns between age and gender groups. However, some different results were obtained as well: for instance, the average nonhome activity time per person for the elderly was shorter than that of the nonelderly, but the average numbers of nonhome activities and trips were rather higher than those of nonelderly people. The results of this study and advantage of using mobile phone data will help policymakers understand the activities and movements of the elderly and prepare future sustainable transportation.