Topographic map and route map for E-trike

of Poblacion, San Vicente using QGIS and

Google Maps

by

Alwin Ibrahim
Ian Oliver Nangit
Imee Wenday Patrimonio
Bernard Sam Selmo

College of Engineering, Architecture & Technology

Palawan State University
 Chapter I

INTRODUCTION

San Vicente, a municipality of Palawan, ha a vast collection of flora and fauna because of its

lush environment that the country proudly advertise and invest, as seen through its booming tourism

industry. But as time goes by, several problems appear as protection of this wilderness is getting harder to

execute. For example, climate change, drastically affects the condition of the whole world. As a remedy, the

local government proposes its contingency plans in regards to this serious threat, such as converting energy

usage into renewables.

According to the Philippine Energy Plan for 2012-2030 of the Department of Energy, under the

Business As Usual (BAU) scenario, aggregate renewable energy (RE) supply will account for 28 percent

share of Total Primary Energy Supply (TPES) in 2030 as it increases at an average rate of 1.5 percent per year

to reach 24.3 MTOE from 19.6 MTOE in 2015. On the other hand, RE supply is projected to grow at a faster

rate of 3.8 percent per annum in the CES, as its level will increase to 34.1 MTOE by 2030, along with an

improved contribution to TPES at 36.4 percent for the same year.

One of the adjustments made in this municipality is the use of electric tricycle, or e-trike. This vehicle is

powered by electrical energy through charging. Unlike conventional tricycles, which uses diesel fuel, e-

trikes are more environment-friendly due to its less carbon emissions with low noise during operations.

The result of this study will reflect to the advantage of the San Vicente considering that GIS is software that

takes an important role in giving the San Vicente more accurate mapping. This approach will be more effective

than traditional mapping and knowing the elevation and it is also useful for Municipal Transportation planning.

This research will benefit not only the local resident but also tourist for this will provide E-trike routes where

they want to go.

The researchers come up with a study focusing the route and topographic maps of the electric tricycle by

using Geographical Information System (GIS) and Google Maps. By implementing the proper

geographical location scheme in San Vicente, this will be beneficial to the whole municipality in a way that

they can easily pinpoint common areas where locals and tourists often go. Collecting this information, the local

government can improve the way of living in San Vicente, especially in its traffic management sector.
 Chapter II

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES

This chapter will review a few most relevant papers on this topic; different literatures and studies

were presented from the articles and website that were searched to be helpful and believed to

be related to the present study in making topographic map and route map of Poblacion, San

Vicente using QGIS.

2.1 Related Literature

2.1.1 Topographic Map

designed to show the physical features and terrain of an area, which is what makes them

ideal for backpackers. They’re different from other maps because they show the three-

dimensional landscape: its contours, elevations, topographic features, bodies of water, and

vegetation. Two aspects of the correspondence between topographic maps and the world are

notable. First, the correspondence between elevation values and elevation in the world is hard to

grasp. Elevation relative to sea level is a challenging concept in the absence of a visible sea.

Second, the correspondence between patterns of contour lines on the map and surfaces in the

world is difficult to grasp because there are no visible feature boundaries in the world that align

to single contours on a topographic map (e.g., a line that shows where a hill starts or stops).

Rather, the shape of three-dimensional structures can be inferred from the relative shape and

location of the contour lines (e.g., closely spaced contours represent steep slopes, and widely

spaced contours represent shallow slopes).

2.1.2 Contour Lines

Put simply, contour lines show elevation. They’re the bread and butter of understanding a

topo map, showing the layout of the terrain and its major features. By showing you the lay of the

land and changes in elevation, they’ll give you an idea of what you’ll be walking through and how

challenging it will be. A contour line connects continuous points on the map that share the same

elevation. When contour lines are close together, it means that elevation is changing a lot in a

short distance. You’re looking at a steep slope or cliff. When they’re far apart, the slope is more

gradual. You’ll notice that every fifth line is thicker than the others. Those thick contour lines are

called index lines. At some point along an index line, you can find its elevation written.

The difference in elevation between each contour line is always the same, and that distance is

called the contour interval. This number can be found in the map’s legend. Using index lines

(with their elevations written on them) and the contour interval (the distance between each line),

you can identify the elevation of any contour line on the map. Contour lines help you visualize the

shape of the terrain and its features. Once you understand contour lines, you can point out

mountains, valleys, plateaus and depressions. Concentric circles, for example, indicate a mountain

peak or a depression. Tightly grouped contour lines might indicate a cliff. Look at the numbers on

index lines to see if elevation is increasing or decreasing.( web 2020 )

2.1.3 Routes Map

A road map or route map is a map that primarily displays roads and transport

links rather than natural geographical information. It is a type of navigational map that commonly

includes political boundaries and labels, making it also a type of political map. In addition to roads

and boundaries, road maps often include points of interest, such as prominent businesses or

buildings, tourism sites, parks and recreational facilities, hotels and restaurants, as well as airports

and train stations. A road map may also document non-automotive transit routes, although often

these are found only on transit maps.( wiki 2020)

2.1.4 Equipment

1. Laptop

a computer designed for portability. Laptops are usually less than 3 inches thick, weigh less than 5

pounds and can be powered by a battery. As such laptops are designed for low power consumption

and are most often used when space is limited, such as on an airplane.( Techopedia 2020)

2. Operating system (64-bit operating system, x64-based processor)

The software that supports a laptop’s basic functions, such as scheduling tasks, executing

applications, and controlling peripherals (Google)

2.1.5 QGIS

QGIS (previously known as Quantum GIS) is a free and open-source cross-

platform desktop geographic information system (GIS) application that supports viewing,

editing, and analysis of geospatial data. QGIS functions as geographic information system .
(wikipedia 2020)
QGIS is a user friendly Open Source Geographic Information System (GIS) licensed under the

GNU General Public License. QGIS is an official project of the Open Source Geospatial

Foundation (OSGeo). It runs on Linux, Unix, Mac OSX, Windows and Android and supports

numerous vector, raster, and database formats and functionalities. ( qgis.org 2020 )
2.2 Related Studies

2.2.1 Topographic Maps: Methodological Approaches for Analyzing Cartographic Style

A group research from University of Southampton, Highfield, Southampton, UK

Topographic maps present a particular view of the land—a socially con-structed landscape—as

the result of choices surrounding the way their sub-ject is classified and symbolized. Although

previous attempts to identify and explore cartographic style have tended to focus on thematic

cartography, it is possible to devise a methodology for the stylistic analysis of topographic maps

that draws from the analysis of transport maps, country maps, and national atlases to investigate

the selection and representation of features. While some studies have examined the differences in

topographic map sym-bology, none has considered maps as socially constructed texts, in which

different cultural values, power relations, and interests influence (and to some extent, control)

map design, rather than simple records of spatial vari-ations in geophysical characteristics such

as terrain, climate, and vegetation.( kent, 2015 )

2.2.2 Mapping spatial quality of slow routes with a GIS-Bases method a comparative
assessment of alternative routes

The research shows the effectiveness of the GIS-based method as tool for spatial analysis

of slow route alternatives at macro scale level; however other indicators, both at macro scale and

at street level, can be added to improve the SQISR method. The GIS tools are able to manage the

complexity of the cultural routes issue, as multi-dimensional heritage, but also to generate

effective outputs both in visual and numerical form. The outputs (numerical index, graded GPS

track, diagrams) allow to analyze the results from different points of view. The numerical index,

the graded tracks, the diagrams are complementary outputs of the same issue. Each of them

shows something different; visually: segment by segment on the georeferenced map (graded GPS

track); numerically: on the whole route (index) and on the base of single/aggregate indicators

(histogram and graph).

 Future development of the research could be addressed to improve the method.

Questionnaires for expert users would allow to receive a feedback about user preferences for

indicators, and consequently data could be used to optimize the indicators weights in the scoring

procedure. Slow routes, with other spatial configuration (mountain, hill, waterfront etc.), can be taken

into consideration in order to test the effectiveness of the method in different spatial

environments. (Scandiffio,2019)

2.2.3 The Influence of Map Design on Route Choice from Public Transportation Maps in Urban Areas

A research group from University of Florida,, the first contribution of this paper was the

estimation of a path-size logit model for fastest route choice on four types of public transportation maps

that vary in map information and network geometry. Map distance was estimated significantly in all four

extended models, whereas other coefficients varied between map types. The headway-related time

measure (maximum waiting time), was found sig-nificant in connection with headway maps, which

indicates that this additional information is received and utilized by the map user within the map

communication process. The second contribution of this paper was to assess the effect of time related

map annotations on planning the fastest route in an intra-urban transit network. It was found that

headway information increases map effectiveness for unfamiliar users when compared to traditional

schematic maps, whereas no increase in effectiveness was found for annotated vehicle positions and

departure times. Annotated maps could be installed at transit stations and upgrade stationary maps. Map

annotations, e.g. current headways retrieved from the time table, could be displayed dynami-cally on top

of the visualized network geometry.( Hochmair,2013)

2.2.4 A Study of Metro Manila's Public Transportation Sector: Implementing a Multimodal
Public Transportation Route Planner

This research proved the effectiveness of implementing a multimodal public transportation

route planner for Metro Manila with the help of OTP because it is always able to compute for at

least one multimodal public transportation route from the given origin to the destination,

accompanied by additional useful travel information. The implementation of this system was

smooth and easy as long as the user follows the instructions found in the official GitHub website

of OTP. In cases of errors, the developer and user Google group of OTP is always willing to help

and answer queries and inquiries. It is important to note that the system should always be

updated every time a latest GTFS data set is published.Given these information, the researchers

hope that commuters’ negative perception of using public transportation would be challenged.

Now that they have a way to know details about using public transportation, they would

hopefully become less fearful of using it and would entice more people to use public vehicles.

(Narboneta,2016)
 Chapter III

MATERIALS AND METHODS

3.1 Materials

For Mapping/ Plotting

1. Google Maps

2. QGIS

3. Computer/Laptop

4. Mobile Phone

3.2 Methodology

IDENTIFY EXPORT TOPO

AREA AND ROUTE MAP RESULTS AND
FROM QGIS CONCLUSION
COORDINATE

PLOT PLOT ROUTE ON

COORDINATE DOWNLOADED
IN QGIS IMAGE

EXPORT EXTRACT
IMAGE FROM CONTOUR FROM
GOOGLE DOWNLADED
SATELLITE DATA
Create contours from points:

1. Add the points into QGIS map canvas as in figure 1.

figure 1.Points dataset

2. Open the Contour plugin by clicking the icon. The contour plugin window will appear

as in figure 2.

figure 2. Contour plugin window

 3. Select the point's layer name and the elevation data field. In the contouring menu, we

can choose to create contour line, filled contour or both. Next, we have to define the number of

contour lines. We can set any number, but I suggest the number of contour line follows the rule of

thumb as mentioned above. For example if we want to make a contour map in 100.000 scale, then

the contour interval will be 1/2000 x 100.000 = 50 m. Then the number of contour line will be:

maximum elevation/contour interval. 3554/50=71 lines. When we set the calculated number, the

contour interval can be seen in the right list. We can tweak the number if the interval is not

correct. That's why I change the number to 72. Moreover the interval can be edited manually by

double click the interval number.

4. Next we can specify the output name. The output will be written to memory, so we need

to export to it to a GIS file to keep it permanently.

5. In the next setting we can specify the precision and unit for the contour label.

Furthermore the color graduation for the contour lines can be changed by selecting a color ramp

for the output contour lines

6. When finish click the Add button. The result can be seen in the QGIS map canvas

without closing the contour plugin window, therefore we can switch back to change a parameter if

the result not looks as we want. Figure 3 shows the result of contour lines

figure 3.Contour lines result from points

Create Contour from DEM

1. Add DEM data into QGIS map canvas, as in figure 4. If you don't have one. You can

download DEM data directly from QGIS.

figure 4.DEM data in QGIS map canvas

2. Open the Contour tool. The contour tool window will appear as in figure 5.

figure 5.Raster contour too

 4. If all the settings already set. Click the Run in Background button. The result will

shown in QGIS map canvas as in figure 6.

figure 6.Contour lines from DEM

An Example of route and topographic map

LEGEND:
E-trike Terminal
San Vicente
Contours (Elev.) m
 119.235°E 119.240°E 119.245°E 119.250°E 119.255°E
10.540°N

10.540°N
10.535°N

10.535°N
LEGEND:
10.530°N

10.530°N
E-trike Terminal
San Vicente
END POINT
E-trike Route
Contours (Elev. m)

119.235°E 119.240°E 119.245°E 119.250°E 119.255°E

10.530°N 119.255°E 119.260°E 119.265°E 119.270°E 119.275°E 119.280°E

10.530°N
10.525°N

10.525°N
10.520°N

10.520°N
LEGEND:
E-trike Terminal
San Vicente
E-trike Route
E-trike route
Contours (Elev.m)
10.515°N

10.515°N
119.255°E 119.260°E 119.265°E 119.270°E 119.275°E 119.280°E
 119.253°E 119.256°E 119.259°E 119.262°E 119.265°E 119.268°E 119.271°E 119.274°E 119.277°E
10.542°N

10.542°N
10.539°N

10.539°N
10.536°N

10.536°N
10.533°N

10.533°N
10.530°N

10.530°N
10.527°N

10.527°N
LEGEND:
E-trike Terminal
END POINT
New Agutaya E-trike Route
Contours
10.524°N

10.524°N
San Vicente

119.253°E 119.256°E 119.259°E 119.262°E 119.265°E 119.268°E 119.271°E 119.274°E 119.277°E

10.531°N 119.252°E 119.253°E 119.254°E 119.255°E 119.256°E 119.258°E

10.531°N
10.530°N

10.530°N
10.529°N

10.529°N
LEGEND:
E-trike Terminal
10.528°N

10.528°N
Macatumbalen E-trike Route
Panindigan E-trike Route
PSU-SV Campus E-trike Route
New Agutaya E-trike Route
Contours (Elev.m)
119.252°E 119.253°E 119.254°E 119.255°E 119.256°E 119.258°E