UEMX 3813

Highway and
Transportation
Lecture 5
Transportation Survey Studies

Ir. Dr. Khoo Hooi Ling

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The need for survey
 To gather and obtain necessary information
as input to the planning and design of the
transportation system.
 Allow the evaluation of the effectiveness of
the system
 Allow the calibration of models
 Allow the prediction of the changes in the
system

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Defining data requirements
 Define:
o Variables to be studied
o Hypotheses to be tested
 Communication with the clients/agency is
necessary to ensure the objective of the
study
 Specification of experimental hypothesis
removes ambiguity
 Null hypothesis vs alternative hypothesis
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Secondary sources
 Check whether there is any existing data
that can be referred
 Sources:
1. Published database
 Collected by government
 Made available in public form
 Ex: car ownership, accident data
 Approval may be required for the access

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Secondary sources (cont’d)
2. Local area surveys
 Part of local monitoring program or ad hoc study
 Format must be accessible
 Ex: GIS
3. By-product of a control or management system
 Obtained/derived from the traffic control centre
 Must ensure data is statistically robust and
representative of the system
 Data may be confidential due to commercial reason
 Ex: flow of vehicles pass through toll booths, number
of passengers pass through ticket barrier at LRT

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Choice of survey instrument
 Choose the best or reasonable techniques to
do survey:
 Home visit
 Traveler diary
 Telephone
 Internet
 Mail
 Interview

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Sampling strategy
 Sampling unit:
o Basic unit whose characteristic are to be logged
o “actor” in transportation system (travelers,
vehicles, companies)
o Individual locations (junctions, links, car parks)
o Individual test samples (sound level, air content)
 Target population:
o Define which sampling unit is in the survey
o Ex: cars using A road from 7am-10am
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Sampling strategy (cont’d)
 Sampling frame:
o ‘register’ of the target population which defines all the
sampling units within the target population
o Provides the framework for the sampling process
o Ex: a list of residents of a particular zone; a list of
registration plates
 Sampling method:
1. True random sampling
o Give equal chance for each individual being selected
o Not favor in practical survey although mathematics form
appear to be simple
o Usually use for household interview 9/54
Sampling strategy (cont’d)
2. Systematic ordered sampling
 Selection of every nth unit from the sampling frame
 Ex: every 10th vehicle passing through the traffic light
 Is not truly random and may produce biased results
3. Stratified sampling
 Division of the population into groups on the basis of
some characteristics and applying a different
sampling rate in each group
 To ensure adequate representation of the minority
group
 Could increase the accuracy of the survey

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Sampling strategy (cont’d)
4. Cluster sampling
 Grouping is done on the population
 Elements within a cluster should be as
heterogeneous as possible
 Each cluster is treated as the small scale
representation of the total population
 Aim to reduce costs by increasing sampling efficiency
 Cluster is treated as a sampling unit, analysis is done
on the cluster itself
 Vs Stratified sampling is done on the elements in the
strata, a random sample is drawn from the strata

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Sample Size
 Determine the amount of representative sample
required to generate confidence result
 Required 2 pieces of information:
1. The confidence level
2. Maximum error allowed for true mean
 Use of t-distribution:
1. Initial sample is small, <30
2. Standard deviation of the true population is unknown
 Use of normal distribution:
1. Initial sample is large, >30, according to Central Limit
Theorem
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Sample Size
 The sample size, B:
2
  
  t / 2  
 X  
where: X mean of initial sample
 standard deviation of initial sample
 maximum error allowed
t 2 t-value associated to the confidence
level 
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Survey Plan
 Comprise a detail schedule of all the procedures
and stages’ outcome
 Careful checking of all equipment and by using only
reliable staff and suppliers
 Provide slack period for adjustment of delay
 Pilot survey:
 a preliminary research carried out to check the feasibility of
the methodology
 Check all procedures, documentation, instruments are
adequate, fine tuning.

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Observational Traffic Surveys
 Survey that is carried out without the involvement of
the public
 Carried out automatically or by trained survey staff
 Types:
 Inventory and condition survey
 Traffic flow survey
 Speed, travel time or delay studies
 Parking survey
 Origin-destination survey
 Pedestrian and cyclist movement studies
 Environmental impact studies
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Inventory and Condition
Survey
 Inventory survey:
 Details of network
 Infrastructure and facilities associated with all
modes of transport
 Usually search through records and files from
authority
 Make easy by the use of Geographical
Information System (GIS)

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Inventory and Condition
Survey (cont’d)
 Condition Survey
 Relating to the road surface, lighting and traffic
signs
 Conducted in routine basis according to schedule
 Use of hand-held computers to guide the
surveyors and prompt for record the required data
 Use of observation and tool for investigation, ex:
deflection, deformation, crack
 Use of semi-automatic survey equipment such as
videos, lasers and light meters

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Vehicle Flow Survey
 Obtain the disaggregated flow data for different type
of vehicles
 Data can be obtained for the annual average daily,
hourly or peak hour flow
 Choose time when the traffic condition is less
distorted, ex: December is not a good month;
weekday vs weekend; peak-hour vs non-peak hour
 Use short period analysis to minimize variability and
distortion of traffic condition

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Vehicle Flow Survey (cont’d)
 Manual data collection
 Station a person and record the number of vehicles
passing through the point in the designated direction for a
range of time
 Can use 5-bar gate counting system
 Automatic data collection
 Containing sensors and recording devices
 Types of sensors:
1. Pneumatic tubes
 Fixed across the surface of the carriageway and are
momentarily ‘squashed’ as each wheel passes over them
 This causes a pulse of air to be sent to an airswitch and to
the recording device

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Vehicle Flow Survey (cont’d)
2. Noisy cable
 Fixed across the surface of the carriageway
 Contain concentric cores that by a tribo-electric or piezo-
electric effect, generate an electric current when squashed
by a vehicle wheel
3. Inductive loops/magnetic field detectors
 Buried 25-50mm below the surface of the carriageway and
energised with a low voltage
 Count vehicles by detecting the electromagnetic
disturbance caused by the proximity of large metal objects
4. Video image
 Analysis of the pixels to detect the presence of moving
vehicles
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Vehicle Flow Survey (cont’d)
5. Photo-electric beams
 Doppler effect is used to detect moving objects
causing a disturbance in the reflected signal from a
beam transmitted along the carriageway
 Inductive loop is suitable to permanent
installation due to long life with minimal
maintenance, suitable for continuous count;
disadvantage

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 Type Advantages Disadvantage

Inductive Permanent installation Expensive

loop Long
life Difficult to install
Minimal maintenance

Pneumatic Easy to install Surface mounted

tube Required
maintenance
Easily damage

Restricted to
short term
Video Provide vehicle type Affected by
image and speed environment
Use for monitoring 23/54

flow
Vehicle Flow Survey (cont’d)
 Factors affecting data collection accuracy:
 Site conditions
 Correct installation of equipments
 Tubes, loops and cables require firm and even
road surface
 Traffic condition; best if no abrupt change
 Devices in good condition and functioning well

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Spot Speed Survey
 Methods:
1. Parallel detectors
 Ensure far enough apart
2. CCTV
 From images of vehicles
3. Radar speedometers
 Avoid visible to drivers that causes drivers to slow down
 Operate by directing a continuous beam of high-frequency
microwaves onto a target vehicle that bounces back to the
receiver at a slightly different frequency
 The change in frequency directly proportional to the speed
of the vehicle irrespective of whether it is approaching or
moving away from a stationary speedometer
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Spot Speed Survey
3. Radar Speedometer (cont’d)
 Range 500m
 Most effective when vehicles are moving freely and
unlikely to overtake
 Traffic volume less than 500 (single lane),
1000veh/hr (multilane)
 Speeds obtained typically less than the true speeds,
with relative error decreasing as speeds increase due
to round off

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Parking Use Survey
 Information surveyed:
1. Amount
2. Location
3. Duration
 Pilot study required to look into:
1. The survey area:
 Be more extensive, driver may walk further to destination
 Include infringe residential area
2. Best timing for study
 Depended on the objectives of survey, characteristics of
the survey area, the variation in usage
 Holiday month, holidays, or before and after holiday 27/54
Parking Use Survey (cont’d)
 Types of survey:
1. Accumulation survey/concentrated survey:
 Simplest form
 Get the information about the total parking
accumulation within the survey area at any given time
 Make a tour around the area and note down the
number of vehicles parked in each part of the area
 Cordon count: record the number of vehicles enter and
exit the parking
 How to obtain the number of vehicles currently parked
at the parking lot given the initial amount, the entry and
exit of vehicles? 28/54
Parking Use Survey (cont’d)
2. Duration survey
 Use of input-output method to obtain the average entry
and exit time to produce an average duration of stay
 Sentry survey: surveyor positioned at certain location
to record the entry, exit and license plate of vehicles
 Parking-beat survey:
 For on-street parking/small car park
 Surveyor petrol the parking lot at fixed interval
 Record whether new vehicles arrive or “still there”
 Can record the type of space, the vehicle type, whether the
vehicle is legally parked
 May not be perfectly accurate, depended on the length of
interval defined 29/54
Parking Use Survey (cont’d)
 Can also use parking ticket
 Data obtained can be used for:
1. Space occupancy:
 The proportion of spaces occupied at any time
 Concentration divided by total number of spaces
2. Turnover:
 The average number of vehicles using each space
throughout the survey
3. Turnover rate:
 Turnover divided by number of hours over the survey
period
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Parking Use Survey (cont’d)
4. Average duration:
 Summation of all vehicle-hours of parking divided by
total number of vehicles observed
5. Proportion of overtime parkers:
 The number of vehicles with durations in excess of
the legal parking time-limit divided by the total
number of vehicles parked in illegal spaces

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Participatory Transportation
Surveys
 Survey that involves active involvement of
those being surveyed
 Interview, questionnaire, discussion, travel
dairy
 Supplement to observational surveys by
providing detail on:
 Individual traveling pattern
 Attitudes towards travel and their reasons for
making the trip
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Participatory Transportation
Surveys (cont’d)
1. Group discussion
 Used at early stage
 To gain insight into factors which feature most
strongly in the minds of travelers about
transportation facility
 Community representative vs skilled interviewer
 Provide public opinion
 Conducted at homes, offices, or on board of a
public transportation vehicle

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Participatory Transportation
Surveys (cont’d)
2. Household Interview Survey
 Can apply random sampling/stratified random
sampling/clustered random sampling
 To collect information about household:
 Household composition
 Income and car ownership
 Age
 Sex
 Employment status
 Driving license tenure
 Frequency of trip make
 Travel diary 34/54
Household Interview Survey
(cont’d)
 3 methods:
 Conventional method:
 Interview
 Energy and time consuming
 The Kontiv survey method:
 Self completion mailback form
 Carefully written instructions on their use and frequent follow
up and phone calls to encourage response
 Telephone survey:
 Computer assisted telephone interview (CATI) technology

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Household Interview Survey
(cont’d)
 CATI include:
o automatic dialing of next household
o prompt for the next questions
o automatic ‘skipping’ and ‘branching’ within the list
of questions depending on previous question
o Immediate logic checks on answers provided
o Dynamic adjustment of interview sample to
correct for any emerging biases
o Automatic alerting of a supervisor to provide
assistance to staff who seem to be logging data at
an unusual slow speed
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Participatory Transportation
Surveys (cont’d)
3. Trip End Survey
 Survey at place of work, shopping centre or
leisure facility
 Brief and shorter interview questions
 Hall survey: rent a hall or room adjacent to a
shopping centre

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Participatory Transportation
Surveys (cont’d)
4. Enroute Survey
 Roadside survey
 Motorists are stopped at a screenline or cordon and
asked a number of questions about their current
journey
 May cause disruption to traffic flow, preferably with
layby
 Classic 4 questions:
 Where have you come from
 What were you doing here
 Where are you going
 What will you do there
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Participatory Transportation
Surveys (cont’d)
5. Attitudinal survey
 Protocol analysis and keyword analysis:
 To reveal most frequently used words to know the concern
 Ranking exercise
 To discover the relative importance
 Relative level of satisfaction
 Preference list or pairwise comparison (A or B)
 Stated Preference Analysis
 Used to quantifying preferences for still unavailable options (like
new LRT)
 Ask them to indicate their preference between pairs of hypothetical
options with specified attributes
 The components of question are carefully designed, so that the
underlying rationale for preferring one option can be deduced 39/54
Attitudinal Survey
 Rating and scaling exercise
 Not only simply their order of preference, but also the
strength of their feelings about some aspect of a service
 Ex: to gauge the comfort of taking bus: scale 1-5, 1 is the
lowest and 5 is the highest
 Transfer price technique: to quantify the subjects’ strength of
preference by asking how much the price of a currently
preferred option being taken away or given
 Simulators/mock up
 Travel simulator:
o to see how drivers behave under certain condition
o Give the video, sound and environmental effect
resembling the true condition
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