Using Twitter data to conduct an Origin and Destination study of Quebec City

Abstract

Origin and Destination (O&D) studies provide invaluable information for planning transportation infrastructure; however, they require very large sample sizes, and thus are becoming increasingly expensive as response rates to traditional surveys fall. At the same time, adoption of social media is on the rise. This study examines using social media data to replace traditional survey data to construct an O&D study. Specifically, with the cooperation of Quebec City's public transit provider, an online based O&D study was conducted of Quebec City. The results are compared with a Quebec City O&D survey conducted in 2011 which used traditional methods.