A comparative analysis of mobile phone data and travel surveys in understanding travel behaviour
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 19337673 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Suxia Gong (0000-0002-8468-8652, University of Liège), Ismaïl Saadi (0000-0002-3569-1003, University of Cambridge, corresponding author), Jacques Teller (0000-0003-2498-1838, University of Liège), Mario Cools (0000-0003-3098-2693, University of Liège) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Publication date | 2025-12-12 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Transportation (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0049-4488 • E-ISSN: 1572-9435 |
| Publisher | Springer Science and Business Media LLC (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1007/s11116-025-10708-4 |
| OpenAlex | W4417270971 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 34 |
This study evaluates the comparability of aggregated mobile phone data (MPD) derived from passive network signalling events and traditional travel survey data for urban transport planning, using the province of Liège as a case study. Our analysis demonstrates that while MPD captures a higher density of origin–destination (OD) connections, it cannot fully replicate all flows observed in surveys, underscoring the need for a complementary approach between the two data sources. Key mobility indicators, including average trip rates, hourly trip volumes, and structural patterns in daily OD matrices, show strong alignment. This structural similarity is rigorously quantified using a Mean Structural Similarity Index with a distance decay effect. Furthermore, Kolmogorov-Smirnov tests confirm comparable trip length distributions between the sources. While MPD-based population estimates closely match official 3:00 AM census counts, discrepancies in specific zones highlight potential pitfalls for real-time population mapping. Our findings confirm that MPD provides a robust and valuable complement to traditional surveys, particularly in contexts with limited or infrequent survey data. The study offers critical insights for integrating MPD into urban policy planning, emphasizing its utility for validation and its caveats for population estimation
Census · Comparability · Mobile phone · Phone · Population · Replicate · Similarity (geometry) · Travel survey · Human Mobility and Location-Based Analysis · Transportation Planning and Optimization · Urban Transport and Accessibility
Applying mobile phone data to travel behaviour research
Dynamic population mapping using mobile phone data
Understanding individual mobility patterns from urban sensing data
Origin–destination trips by purpose and time of day inferred from mobile phone data
Mobile phone data in transportation research
Are we there yet? Assessing smartphone apps as full-fledged tools for activity-travel surveys
The Mobis dataset
Getting the best of both worlds
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |