Impact of New Technologies in Travel Surveys

Over the past five years, several new technologies have emerged which create new opportunities and problems for travel surveys. A more recent trend is that computers, or such EDP-based systems as laptops, mobile phones, etc., are increasingly employed for data collection. Computer-assisted data collection (CADAC) including Global Positioning Systems (GPS), mobile communication systems, Geographical Information Systems (GIS) or the Internet could improve data quality, while partly reducing costs. Computers can be used to assist observation and interviews as a means of data collection. Depending on the objectives and characteristics of a particular survey, either computer-assisted observation or interviewing may be the right tool for establishing movement data. By using computer-assisted observing methods, spatial trip data can be collected automatically. Automatic positioning can proceed either by means of GPS or the Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM). Both techniques were integrated in a survey tool and applied in several research projects. GPSand GSM-based observation techniques are described as well as some projects using these techniques. Computer-assisted interviewing methods (CAI) support conventional interviewing methods (written-postal, telephone and personal interviewing) and include the option of computer assistance. They can be broken down in • Computer-Assisted Telephone Interviewing (CATI), • Computer-Assisted Personal Interviewing (CAPI), • Computer-Assisted Self Interviewing (CASI). Each type of CAI are characterised and explained with several examples in the paper. The paper demonstrates the advantages and problems of CADAC methods as well as the experience and results of some research projects. In conclusion, the main characteristics of CADAC methods are emphasized, and an assessment is made of future developments of computer-based travel surveys.