HOW TO GENERATE MORE CYCLING DATA

Cycling data does not get generated all by itself. There is no built-in interest to track your ride for instance when you go grocery shopping by bike. Why going digital with something – the bicycle – that works just fine as it is? Because digital can enhance the cycling experience, add value, bring joy and fun into cycling.

REPRESENTATIVE

Of course… The larger the user sample the better the data foundation for analysis. But also a smaller user base provides enough material for certain conclusions. Analysts can start working long before thousands of users contribute tracks on a daily basis. The city road network creates limitations on most street segments and most humans travel within a typical comfort zone. This is especially true for everyday cycling trips for everyday purposes. Sometimes more users simply produce more of the same. After all the visualisations only provide the foundation. Interpretation still requires human intelligence. GPS tracks render a quality of data, that no other counting method. Any data is better than no data at all.

DATA EXTRAPOLATION

Bike Citizens GPS cycling data can be calibrated to work in combination with data from permanent counting loops. The research of Florian Pühringer (Technical University of Vienna) speaks of a 0,82 significance between Bike Citizens Data and counting stations data in Vienna. According to this report Bike Citizens data can be extrapolated to the total numbers of cyclists in Vienna with 82% certainty.