Commercial vehicle tour data collection using passive GPS technology: issues and potential applications

In mid-2006 a GPS survey of commercial vehicles was piloted in Melbourne, Australia to support a major update of freight data and modelling capabilities in the metropolitan region. This survey marked the first of its kind in Australia, and to the best of the authors’ knowledge, one of the first world-wide. This paper presents the issues surrounding the collection and use of GPS data as a method to provide information on commercial vehicle tours within an urban setting. The paper focuses on passive GPS methods where the truck driver’s involvement in the data collection effort is minimal. We address (a) implementation issues with the data collection, (b) the algorithms used to process the raw GPS data into meaningful trip tour information, (c) pilot survey data tour results, and (d) potential uses and limitations of passive GPS technology in urban freight modelling and planning. Despite processing challenges, GPS provides an appealing method to enrich commercial vehicle data collection and enhance our understanding of on-road behaviour. As increasing numbers of commercial vehicles become equipped with GPS receivers, we argue only privacy concerns remain as a major barrier to gathering and using such data on a wide-spread basis in the future. (a)