Estimation of an urban OD matrix using different information sources

Abstract

An Origin Destination matrix for urban trips is more difficult to develop than for interurban long and medium distance trips. The socio-economic characteristics are valuable parameters to estimate trip attractions and destinations, but often the distance does not have a significant effect on the distribution of urban trips. Since the 1980s methods are developed to estimate the trip matrix from traffic volumes. The problem is underdetermined: the information in the OD matrix is more than the information contained in the traffic volumes. Nowadays there are more information sources like probe vehicles, Automated Number Plate Recognition cameras, mobile phone data etc. This article discusses the possibilities and limitations of these additional information sources. Use is made of traffic data collected in Changsha, a town in middle-south China.