Using crowd-sourced traffic data and open-source tools for urban congestion analysis

Traffic congestion in urban areas poses significant challenges to city dwellers and consultants advising government. This study explores innovative methods to monitor and control traffic congestion, focusing on Al Ain city in the United Arab Emirates. Using the R Programming language and harnessing...

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Main Authors: Khaula Alkaabi, Mohsin Raza, Esra Qasemi, Hafsah Alderei, Mazoun Alderei, Sharina Almheiri
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2024-11-01
Series:Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590198224002471
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author Khaula Alkaabi
Mohsin Raza
Esra Qasemi
Hafsah Alderei
Mazoun Alderei
Sharina Almheiri
author_facet Khaula Alkaabi
Mohsin Raza
Esra Qasemi
Hafsah Alderei
Mazoun Alderei
Sharina Almheiri
author_sort Khaula Alkaabi
collection DOAJ
description Traffic congestion in urban areas poses significant challenges to city dwellers and consultants advising government. This study explores innovative methods to monitor and control traffic congestion, focusing on Al Ain city in the United Arab Emirates. Using the R Programming language and harnessing crowdsourced traffic information from HERE and Google Maps, the research delves into spatial data analysis. The methodology employed in this study builds on the previously applied congestion modeling methods for cities like Windsor, Toronto, and New York. The study focuses on Al Ain, addressing the scarcity of crowdsourced information-based congestion modeling research in the Middle East. The study details how to obtain and deploy crowdsourced traffic data, speed and jam factors, for a comprehensive visualization of the urban traffic congestion. For example, in the case of Al Ain, analysis showed an average traffic speed of 43 km per hour in Al Ain, where infrastructure could otherwise allow an average traffic speed of up to 51 km per hour under free flow conditions. The study findings highlight how traffic conditions, rather than speed limits, cause traffic flow disruptions in the city, which can inform traffic regulations. The study’s high-confidence real-time data emphasizes the reliability of crowdsourced traffic flow data. This research demonstrates the applicability of open-source traffic information for congestion modeling in the UAE, and establishes a replicable methodology for other urban areas worldwide, contributing significantly to the modeling methods.
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spelling doaj-art-0c4f6ea5aa9945f0979a8b61689e1e952024-12-18T08:51:54ZengElsevierTransportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives2590-19822024-11-0128101261Using crowd-sourced traffic data and open-source tools for urban congestion analysisKhaula Alkaabi0Mohsin Raza1Esra Qasemi2Hafsah Alderei3Mazoun Alderei4Sharina Almheiri5Department of Geography and Urban Sustainability, Emirates Center for Mobility Research, United Arab Emirates University, Al Ain City, P.O. Box 15551, United Arab Emirates; Corresponding author.Transport Planning and Management, The Urban Unit Private Limited, Lahore, PakistanDepartment of Geography and Urban Sustainability, United Arab Emirates University, Al Ain City, P.O. Box 15551, United Arab EmiratesDepartment of Geography and Urban Sustainability, United Arab Emirates University, Al Ain City, P.O. Box 15551, United Arab EmiratesDepartment of Geography and Urban Sustainability, United Arab Emirates University, Al Ain City, P.O. Box 15551, United Arab EmiratesDepartment of Geography and Urban Sustainability, United Arab Emirates University, Al Ain City, P.O. Box 15551, United Arab EmiratesTraffic congestion in urban areas poses significant challenges to city dwellers and consultants advising government. This study explores innovative methods to monitor and control traffic congestion, focusing on Al Ain city in the United Arab Emirates. Using the R Programming language and harnessing crowdsourced traffic information from HERE and Google Maps, the research delves into spatial data analysis. The methodology employed in this study builds on the previously applied congestion modeling methods for cities like Windsor, Toronto, and New York. The study focuses on Al Ain, addressing the scarcity of crowdsourced information-based congestion modeling research in the Middle East. The study details how to obtain and deploy crowdsourced traffic data, speed and jam factors, for a comprehensive visualization of the urban traffic congestion. For example, in the case of Al Ain, analysis showed an average traffic speed of 43 km per hour in Al Ain, where infrastructure could otherwise allow an average traffic speed of up to 51 km per hour under free flow conditions. The study findings highlight how traffic conditions, rather than speed limits, cause traffic flow disruptions in the city, which can inform traffic regulations. The study’s high-confidence real-time data emphasizes the reliability of crowdsourced traffic flow data. This research demonstrates the applicability of open-source traffic information for congestion modeling in the UAE, and establishes a replicable methodology for other urban areas worldwide, contributing significantly to the modeling methods.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590198224002471Traffic congestionCrowdsourced dataOpen-source toolsMiddle eastHEREGoogle Maps
spellingShingle Khaula Alkaabi
Mohsin Raza
Esra Qasemi
Hafsah Alderei
Mazoun Alderei
Sharina Almheiri
Using crowd-sourced traffic data and open-source tools for urban congestion analysis
Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives
Traffic congestion
Crowdsourced data
Open-source tools
Middle east
HERE
Google Maps
title Using crowd-sourced traffic data and open-source tools for urban congestion analysis
title_full Using crowd-sourced traffic data and open-source tools for urban congestion analysis
title_fullStr Using crowd-sourced traffic data and open-source tools for urban congestion analysis
title_full_unstemmed Using crowd-sourced traffic data and open-source tools for urban congestion analysis
title_short Using crowd-sourced traffic data and open-source tools for urban congestion analysis
title_sort using crowd sourced traffic data and open source tools for urban congestion analysis
topic Traffic congestion
Crowdsourced data
Open-source tools
Middle east
HERE
Google Maps
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590198224002471
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