Sweden/Michigan naturalistic field operational test – phase 1: Benefits of origin and destination information in IntelliDrive data sets

Abstract

Trip origin and destination (O‐D) data plays a crucial role in various transportation activities. This information not only includes the starting and end points of a trip, but also information that can be obtained through the ability to track vehicles across a network. Collected information may include the location and speed of a vehicle every second, a record of the links entered during a journey, the time a vehicle has entered each link, the time taken to travel a link, etc. Despite some recognized benefits, there are still concerns, primarily related to privacy, about whether or not probe vehicles should be allowed to collect O‐D trip information. Within this context, this report examines various issues associated with the potential collection of O‐D data by IntelliDrive probe vehicles. Research findings presented in the report include: ‐ An overview of current uses of O‐D data in activities related to transportation planning and system operations. ‐ A description of the methods currently used to collect or generate O‐D trip data. ‐ A description of issues associated with current O‐D data collection and generation methods, as well as how O‐D trip data are applied in transportation applications. ‐ A discussion on how O‐D information collected from IntelliDrive probe vehicles can enhance existing applications and enable the development of new applications. ‐ A discussion on the potential benefit‐cost ratio offered by the inclusion of O‐D trip information in IntelliDrive data sets. ‐ A discussion of privacy issues regarding O‐D data collection. This includes a review of current concerns, emerging policies regarding driver privacy in IntelliDrive systems, methods currently promoted to ensure driver privacy, impacts of promoted privacy methods on IntelliDrive applications, and methods available to mitigate privacy concerns. ‐ A simulation study with the Paramics microscopic traffic simulation model demonstrating the benefits to individual vehicles and network operations of using O‐D data reported by IntelliDrive vehicles to provide dynamic route guidance around an incident.