Research Projects

Stop the Video

Research Projects

SEARCH RESEARCH:

Phrase or PI Name

Date

Status

In Progress

Completed

STATUS: In Progress YEAR: 2026 TOPIC AREA: Public transit, land use, and urban mobility Transportation planning, policy, and finance CENTER: NCST

New Travel Insights from Cell Phone GPS Data

Project Summary

Project Number: USC-DOT-1218

Funding Source: USDOT

Total Cost: $150,000

Performance Period: April 2026 - March 2027

Project Description:

Building and operating an effective and efficient transportation system requires deep insights into how people move from place to place. These insights include long term behaviors to understand trips that happen infrequently, determining which routes people choose, and understanding how different demographics use their transit options. This project proposes to build an open-source software application programming interface (API) that will produce new travel insights from cell phone GPS data. Currently available transportation data analytics packages omit important travel insights that are important for transportation research, such as long-term patterns of life, route selection, and demographically stratified travel behavior. These deeper analyses are important for planning more efficient transit. Abundant cell phone GPS data serves to replace costly travel surveys with better coverage and currency. However, GPS data is challenging due to noise, sporadic sampling, and privacy. Building on the research team lab’s extensive experience with GPS data, the researchers will create an open-source API to robustly deliver the new insights. Unlike commercially available packages, the API will be transparent and extensible. The API can serve as a platform for new algorithms and expanded insights. The project team will demonstrate the API on three NCST-relevant mobility insights that are not possible with commercial packages: (1) Determining long term patterns of individual travel behavior, (2) detailed route selection for individuals, and (3) variations in travel behavior among different demographic groups.