In recent years a new source of data has become available that is referred to as “crowdsourced data”. This can be provided by vehicles or mobile phones, on a network-wide basis, from multiple sources. Crowdsourcing has the potential to change the way in which data is used to manage the condition of the SRN. The study presented in this report investigates whether and how crowdsourced data has the potential to be applied in the management of the condition of SRN.
The study obtains example data from two crowdsource data types – vehicle telemetry data and mobile phone data. A focussed, case study-based investigation is carried out to determine if, and to what extent, the crowdsourced data types could be applied to understand road condition and how it complements the assessment of the functional and safety level of service measured by current data collection methods.
It is concluded that crowdsourced data provides content that is relevant to road condition management. However, tools will need to be developed to facilitate access, fitting, alignment and analysis of the data. Refinements in the way crowdsourced data is delivered might help to make this more straightforward. The data itself shows potential to assist in reporting the functional condition of road networks. However, providing a greater level of detail in the data might provide a more useful measure to assist in understanding condition. The data can also assist in assessing the safety condition of road networks, in particular in the assessment of risk. This includes deciding how to define site categories, and to support decisions on whether interventions should be made.
