Applying Vehicle Tracking And Palmtop Technology To Urban Freight Surveys

Abstract

Following the success of the Victorian Activity & Travel Survey (VATS) of household travel, the Transport Research Centre (TRC) initiated a Freight Activity & Commercial Travel Survey (FACTS) to provide a much needed database of freight-related information for the Melbourne metropolitan area. The objective is to provide detailed, accurate and current data on freight travel and commercial activities in metropolitan Melbourne. FACTS aims to be an ongoing survey collecting information on travel, loading and unloading activities, the vehicle and some basic information on the driver. The survey design requires that information on vehicle location be collected using a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver, with GPS differential correction to increase accuracy to within 5m. This (GPS) tracking data will be linked to a Geographic Information System (GIS) package to allow vehicles to be geographically viewed as they move around the road network, and to enable mapping of the vehicle location with the underlying road network database. The GPS receiver will be linked to a palmtop computer housed in a portable Data Capture Unit (DCU) located within the vehicle cabin. A touch-screen on this palmtop will be used to obtain information from the driver about the loading and unloading stops.