Understanding Pedestrian Travel Behavior by Using Smartphone Data

What we are doing? 

Gathering information on how people travel in Waterloo Region. The ultimate goal is encouraging more pedestrian movements through improving their utility and making their walking trips more valuable.

What data we are gathering? 

From your phone, when running the app, we will gather your locations and times of day. When you turn the app off, there is no data being gathered. You are always in control of what you are sharing and uploading. 

From the survey, we will learn about the attributes of your household. We will never ask for your name on specific respond information. 

What you will be able to see on the app?

From the app, you can see the places you’ve traveled and when you traveled. You can also share these trips with your family and friends. Alternatively, you can delete any trips you like. 

Who has access to the data? 

Your data are uploaded automatically to a secure server. The only people who have access are members of the research team at the University of Waterloo and with the app developer IUMS – a research team at Karlsruhe University of Applied Science. 

How are the data shared? 

Your travel data will be downloaded to and maintained in a password secured computer database in a restricted access area of the University of Waterloo. 

What will we do with the data? 

We will analyze the number of trips, and the number stops you’ve made by walking. We will further evaluate what kinds of travelers are more likely to conduct activities by walking and which paths of the Region are most likely to be accessed as part of a walking tour. 

How long will we keep the data? 

All of your data will be deleted not later than September 2022, or earlier if you request it. After this time, we will delete all electronic data including backups.