Use of Public Transport Smart Card Fare Payment Data for Travel Behaviour Analysis in Singapore

Abstract

Electronic payment systems for public transport, introduced in many cities all over the world during the last decade, are able to capture system transactions and provide comprehensive data records on usage of public transport. Processing and analysis of this data opens new opportunities in transportation and travel behaviour research and is becoming an emerging research topic. This paper presents an analysis of one full day of public transport smart card activity for the entire city-state of Singapore and investigates its potential for characterization of public transport system and urban travel behaviour. In particular, an assessment of spatial and temporal travel behaviour including mode choice, travel- and waiting times is performed using statistical tools and data mining techniques. Thereby data reveals country specific preferences and behaviours as the influence of high passenger volumes and seat availability on route choice decisions and travel times. Furthermore data’s ability to detect travel patterns and infer peoples travel purposes and locations of regular activities is investigated and strategies for modelling of home and work locations are presented. Additionally, household survey data from 2008 is used for comparison of multi modal travel patterns involving public and private transport.