TravelVu - a travel app in constant motion

TravelVu was used in The SOM Project in 2018 to see how to collect data on cyclists' itineraries in Lund and how this data can be used as a basis for urban planning. Nearly 500 cyclists took part and donated their travel data to the research. At the same time, the “Press To” campaign was carried out in which a bluetooth-connected button on the cyclists' handlebars was used to highlight situations that were perceived as unsafe. The TravelVu app turned out to work very well and since then several municipalities have used it in various surveys. (Gavle , Trollhättan, Lidingö, Linkoping, Gotland and Innherred)

During the work with the app, I got Trivecteur Trafic several new spreads.

- Through TravelVu, we collect data that we previously did not have access to. This applies, for example, to where one travels (itineraries), speeds at all points along the journey, and the ability to understand how one varies one's travel behaviour over different days. The more we use TravelVu and the data generated, the more we understand what might also be possible. There are lots of opportunities both in terms of collecting data and in analyzing data in new ways. We often find new opportunities through the questions we work with in other assignments, but just as often we get questions from others about what is possible, which spurs new development,” says Emeli Adell, traffic consultant at Trivector Traffic.

Trivector Traffic had already started investigating accident risks for unprotected road users through the “Press To” campaign — but it was also seen that there was information in the material created in the travel habits survey that could be used to map accident risks. TravelVu not only provides information about which routes are chosen, but also about, for example, speeds on different routes. Trivector Traffic is now testing how TravelVu can be used to extract data on unprotected road users. Electric scooters are used as an example and the data produced will be put in relation to data on injuries and accidents obtained from other projects.

- The project will provide the basis for a tool that can better show in which traffic environments unprotected road users are in and how they behave there. This is important information in order to be able to relate the number of accidents to the volume of traffic and to obtain a better and more nuanced picture of road safety for unprotected road users. Relying solely on the number of accidents gives a very blunt understanding — but that is what is normally done today,” says Emeli Adell.

Another travel pattern that interests Trivector Traffic is how we travel to make our purchases. In recent years, for example, e-commerce has become increasingly common.

- Knowledge about how our purchasing behaviors affect when and how we travel is currently lacking in several areas, especially it is interesting to understand how the increase in e-commerce affects travel, continues Emeli Adell. Understanding more about how in everyday life we solve our purchases and how we combine these with doing more errands when we are on the road to pick up children, recycle rubbish or exercise is of great importance for traffic planners to create a well-functioning transport system that really works in people's everyday lives.

In this project, Trivector Traffic has collected data in the spring of 2022 and the analyses have begun. The goal is to see if different types of e-commerce behaviors affect the way we travel overall. From there, the project wants to study, for example, how delivery systems should be designed to lead to the most sustainable travel possible.

Another extension of TravelVu's work is to see how travel habits look over time and how knowledge about this can be used to influence the way groups travel. Trivector Traffic and LTH are investigating this in the project Individual variations in travel patterns. Here, data is collected from a larger group for a month, and for a smaller one for a whole year. Data collection will end in September 2022.

- For example, from the monthly study, we already see that there are different ways of using the car, which perhaps overall lead to the same amount of driving, but some make few long trips while others make many short ones. Finding changes that allow travel more sustainably looks very different for these groups, of course. If we are to create realistic alternatives to the car, it is important that we really understand how the car is used today.

In a further development of the TravelVu app, Trivector Traffic and Karolinska Institutet will test the coaching app ActiveTravel in autumn 2022, which encourages the user to cycle and walk more in everyday life. The goal is both to promote health and to reduce the carbon footprint. The app provides feedback and shows users' progress and reduced carbon emissions. Employers who choose to use the app have the opportunity to see the results of the campaign and to get tips on how their workplace can be better at promoting more active travel to their own workplace — based on how employees travel today.

The trial period of data collection runs during September, October and November 2022 and is conducted with the help of employees of some participating companies. The goal is to develop a tool that both measures travel habits and changes them. The focus is on places of work and travel there. Five employers' organisations are participating in the research project, including Tetra Pak in Lund.

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Links to the project texts:
Trivector Traffic: Encouraging more active travel with the Active Travel app

Trivector Traffic: What do our travel habits look like over time?

Trivector Traffic: New ways of shopping affect the transport system of the future ‍
Trivector Traffic: Analysis of the safety of unprotected road users