APPLICATION OF GLOBAL POSITIONING SYSTEM (GPS) TO TRAVEL TIME AND DELAY MEASUREMENTS - 1999 PHASE

In 1997, research was performed to investigate the use of a Global Positioning System (GPS) unit as a tool for collecting travel time and delay data for Delaware roadways. It was concluded that GPS was a more efficient and more accurate means of collecting data than traditional methods. Again in 1998, travel time and delay data were collected using the GPS unit. The 1998 report included a step by step procedure for collecting travel time and delay data utilizing GPS. Data were again collected in 1999 during peak travel times between September 15 and Thanksgiving. This time span best represents normal traffic patterns throughout the State of Delaware. The GPS method requires only one person to be in the car to input data, making data collection much simpler. In addition to a GPS unit, a laptop computer with ASPEN software from Trimble was used to ease the data collection process. This report explains the data included in the Summary of Results and proposes recommendations for future use of the GPS.