An Approach in Travel Demand Management Employing Crowd Sourced Data on a Social Networking Interface

Abstract

According to research unveiled by the Accident Research Institute (ARI) of the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) in 2018, traffic congestion in Dhaka costs the Bangladeshi economy approximately five million work hours and Tk. 37, 000 crore, annually. Amidst various other causes, the unpredictable nature of traffic in Dhaka creates prolonged traffic congestions. A significant part of these statistics can be attributed to a lack of information about traffic and no reliable central source of information to consult regarding the advisability of conducting a journey at any particular time. The only moderately reliable approach to gathering information regarding traffic is consulting Google Maps. However, the estimated time of arrival provided therein often fails to be satisfactorily accurate. In this paper we propose an online web application that combines the nature of a social media interface with crowd sourced data- a tool of our times the potential of which we are only beginning to grasp now- in order to provide the users with a central source of reliable information with the purpose of increasing traffic awareness, and thereby, discouraging congestion using concepts of travel demand management (TDM), particularly intelligent transportation technologies.