Surveys and mobility data
Counts tell how much people move; surveys tell why.
A count measures how many people pass a point and by which mode; it does not say why, from where to where, or within which chain of activities they travel. Household travel surveys are therefore the foundation of an activity-based model: the activities of each household member over a day and the purpose, origin, destination, time and mode of every trip are recorded.
We design survey samples by neighbourhood, household size, car ownership and employment status, and weight results to represent the population. Boarding-alighting and transfer surveys, smart card records and GPS-based mobility data are combined with the survey so behaviour and volume meet in one dataset.
- Multimodal counts: pedestrians, cycles, e-scooters, buses, cars and heavy vehicles
- Household travel survey: daily activity and trip diaries
- Public transport data: boarding-alighting counts, transfer surveys, smart card records
- Passive data: GPS and mobile-based mobility data, journey time measurements
Focus
A count is only as good as what it represents.
A count on the wrong day misleads even the most advanced model. We design surveys around the question: weekday morning and evening peaks for housing, weekend afternoons for retail, start and finish times for schools. Public and school holidays, market days, roadworks and bad weather are avoided or recorded with the data.
At junctions we record every turning movement by vehicle class in 15-minute intervals, so the peak hour, peak hour factor and heavy vehicle share can be derived directly. For pedestrians we also observe where people cross, red-light crossings and waiting behaviour, because pedestrian safety is not understood from totals alone.
Key questions
Which questions does this study answer?
- Which locations, days and hours represent movement in the study area?
- At what detail should vehicle classes, turning movements and pedestrian-cycle movements be recorded?
- Is existing count data sufficient, or are supplementary surveys needed?
- How do gaps, obstructed views and unusual conditions affect usability?
Workflow
How we work
- 01
Survey design
We set count locations, durations, vehicle classes and delivery format, considering weekday/weekend, school term and seasonal conditions.
- 02
Field recording
We record junctions, links and pedestrian movements with video and/or field observers, documenting time, weather and unusual events.
- 03
Quality control
We check missing intervals, classification consistency and balance between approaches, and manually verify sample intervals of video counts.
- 04
Analysis-ready delivery
We deliver data by location, approach, movement, vehicle class and 15-minute interval with a method note, quality report and data dictionary.
Deliverables
What you receive
- Count locations, schedule and classification plan
- Pedestrian, cycle, micromobility, public transport and vehicle counts in 15-minute intervals
- Household travel survey dataset, weights and survey report
- Public transport boarding-alighting and transfer data
- Peak hour, peak hour factor and heavy vehicle summaries
- Quality control findings and gap notes
- Junction flow diagrams
- Model-ready tables and data dictionary
Counts measure movements passing a point; they do not on their own reveal where trips start and end. When origin-destination data is needed, number plate matching, surveys or another suitable source is planned separately.
Getting started
What to share with a count request
- Study area and junctions or links to be counted (marked on a map is enough)
- Purpose of the data: impact assessment, signal plan, model calibration, etc.
- Required days and hours and any conditions set by the authority
- Required detail: vehicle classes, pedestrians, cycles, micromobility
We can start the first call even if not all documents are ready.
FAQ
Questions about this service
How do you carry out counts?
Using video recording and/or field observers depending on the purpose. We process records by approach, movement, vehicle class and 15-minute interval, and manually verify sample intervals of video counts.
We have older count data. Can it be used?
Yes, if its date, method and coverage are suitable. We first assess quality and whether it represents current conditions, and recommend supplementary surveys if not.