Data Needs, Data Collection and Data Quality Requirements of Activity-Based Transport Demand Models

The data required to estimate activity-based models is identified, possible approaches to collect the data are discussed and quality requirements for these data are formulates.

Abstract

Recent policy changes and methodological advances have led to new modeling approaches of increasing complexity in transportation research. Some of these approaches require new kinds of data. Moreover, the increasing complexity of these models often also implies that more detailed data are required, leading to increased demands on respondents. This paper focuses on activity-based models. It identifies the data required to estimate these models, discusses possible approaches to collect the data and formulates quality requirements for these data. Observations in this paper are largely based on two projects conducted for the Dutch Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water Management. One project involved an examination of the validity, reliability and data quality of alternate ways of collecting diary data. The other, still ongoing, involves an activity-based model, called ALBATROSS.