The BostonWalks study: a longitudinal travel survey using smartphone tracking

Adrian Meister, Nail F. Bashan, Rounaq Basu, Xianglu Shen, Ryan Q. Wang () and Andres Sevtsuk ()
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Adrian Meister: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Urban Studies and Planning
Nail F. Bashan: Northeastern University, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Rounaq Basu: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Urban Studies and Planning
Xianglu Shen: Northeastern University, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Ryan Q. Wang: Northeastern University, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Andres Sevtsuk: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Urban Studies and Planning

Transportation, 2025, vol. 52, issue 6, No 4, 2249-2279

Abstract: Abstract This paper introduces the BostonWalks (BWS) study, detailing its methodology, the resulting dataset, and an initial analysis. The BWS study is a smartphone-based GNSS-tracking study in the Boston metropolitan area, designed to generate an up-to-date dataset on travel behavior, with a particular focus on non-auto travel behavior and its representativeness across all population segments. The dataset encompasses approximately 155,000 trips from 990 participants, making it one of the most extensive datasets of its kind in North America. It includes both raw trajectory data and comprehensive socio-demographic information about participants. The paper outlines the survey methodology, including the technical infrastructure, recruitment strategy, and data processing techniques. A comparison of the socio-demographic and travel behavior characteristics of BWS participants with those from the National Household Travel Survey is provided. Lastly, the paper highlights the richness of the data through correlation and cluster analysis.

Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1007/s11116-025-10637-2

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