Log Analysis of Trip Calculation on a Transit Website

The Montreal Transit Commission (MTC) and the Laval Transit Commission (LTC) put in place a transit user information system a few years ago which is accessible through their website. The functions of the system (calculation of transit paths, calculation of service accessibility, schedules) are used daily by thousands of Internet surfers. Of course, these systems have a dual function: in addition to providing information to transit users, they inform the organization about the mobility behaviors and trip patterns of these users. Moreover, examination of the logs of the localization search features of these websites makes it possible to enrich the subjacent geographical information system (GIS). This article emphasizes the potential of the analysis and use of trip calculators as tools in transit planning. First, it describes the fundamentals that should form the basis of transit websites in order to support planning: the Totally Disaggregate Approach (TDA) and Transportation Object-Oriented Modeling (TOOM). Then, it describes the system architecture and major functionalities of the trip calculator. Following presentation of some useful statistics, the focus shifts to an examination of the space-time characteristics of the website declarations and possible resections with origin-destination survey data. Finally, the paper lists the informational problems arising related to the search for georeferences in such an information system for the transit user. This paper introduces a new planning tool: the Transit User Information Website. In the coming years, it will be possible to use this site to conduct on-line transportation class surveys, with instant validation. The embedded GIS in this kind of tool will also put it in a better position to integrate the new technologies that are developed for Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS).