Michał Kowalski

This article contains results of studies on the applicability of data from Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) for the purposes of geographical studies regarding the spatial mobility of inhabitants within a big city. The article focuses on the option of applying two types of sub-systems – induction loops and automatic number-plate recognition (ANPR) – and includes examples of analyses based on the resulting data, which can serve as a basis for mobility studies. The area on the example of which the capabilities of application of ITS data have been presented is Lodz – a large city in central Poland. The conducted research shows that ITS systems offer an enormous potential in providing data for spatial mobility studies. In order to fully exploit its worth, however, it is imperative to expand the research procedure by including, for instance, the results of qualitative research. Also, the interpretation of results obtained on the basis of ITS data ought to be performed with an awareness of numerous significant preliminary and simplifying assumptions.

The paper deals with the topic of transport accessibility of Łódź using data from Intelligent Transportation Systems, in this case from cameras allowing automatical identification of number plates (ANPR), locatedon the city’s 23 intersections. The paper has two aims. The first one is of methodological nature and focuses on  assessing the usefulness of the data from ITS for geographical research. Not only does the paper present some ways of using data and conducting analyses with the use of these data but it also compares their results with research concerning similar phenomena measured by different sets of data (theoretical accessibility and data obtained from the Distance Matrix Responses provided by Google Maps APIs). The latter, in turn, is cognitive and it comes down to a slightly more local dimension, namely showing the internal transport accessibility of Łódź. In the light of the ANPR data it was determined that the internal transport accessibility of Łódź is  much worse than the theoretical accessibility or the accessibility measured with the use of data obtained from the Distance Matrix service. The greatest differences in average travel times between the data from ANPR and the two remaining methods concern primarily the north-western part of the city, whereas the smallest – the central and southern areas, where a substantial part of intersections is covered by a system of cameras.

The aim of the conducted research was to assess how the elderly viewed the functioning of public transport, with Łódź, a large city in Poland, as the example. The data presented in the article originates from research of 400 inhabitants aged 60+ was conducted in the district of Bałuty in Łódź at the turn of November and December 2018. On the basis of the questionnaire survey (which contained questions concerning the use of local public transport by the over 60s for daily journeys and was accomplished by CAPI and MOBI methods) it was found that the over 60s have quite a high opinion of the offer of the municipal transport company MPK (they hardly ever use services of other carriers). As for the means of public transport, the tram is rated slightly higher compared to the bus. The results of the research enable the proposal of general recommendations for the transport policy in Łódź. This policy should be focused to a larger degree on: shortening the waiting time and, consequently, increasing the frequency of connections and punctuality, while continuing to provide high travel comfort, increasing the level of accessibility to stops and enhancing the clarity of information with regard to fare prices and exemptions.

This article focuses on presenting traffic in Łódź in the context of functional and spatial structure of the city. The reseach was based on the data from the Local Traffic Control System (OSSR) and Topographic Objects Database (BDOT). For the analysis ArcMap software and basic statistical methods were used. The article  contains an overview of the local determinants of mobility, such as road network, car ownership and local functional and spatial structure. Against this background the authors have presented the traffic near selected elements of the spatial structure in Łódź. The study, along with the presentation part of daily mobility, suggests that OSSR data can be used in geographic research, but in the context of extensive research on complex urban structures they could cause some errors.