See the world through a cyclist’s eyes

A new development in cycle network auditing uses an onboard GPS video recording device to capture the network from a cyclist’s perspective.

(Please note that the video quality of this sample footage has been reduced for the web.)

Cycle network audits

Avisible network of cycle routes can help overcome many people’s barriers to cycling, but problems with the network, it being discontinuous and fragmented for example, can be enough to deter some people from ever using it again.

Cycle audits help to prioritise investment in infrastructure and provide evidence for bid funding to improve the network, while at the same time providing the base data for cycle network maps.

Currently, the method used to undertake cycle audits draws heavily on analysing and rating routes to cyclist competence level using Bikeability (national cycle training) levels. Auditing to competence level provides an excellent basis to suggest improvements on the network and identify key barriers, and move towards a network that can really cater for a wide range of different cyclist characteristics (e.g. commuter, leisure etc).

A new development in cycle auditing is the use of an onboard GPS video recording device. The device has vastly improved auditing and consultation, making the process more robust and engaging, through the use of technology that is usually confined to motorised vehicle use.

How does it work?

The GPS device is attached to the handlebars of the bicycle, providing a sturdy platform to capture the network from a cyclist’s perspective. The footage provides an invaluable insight into the conditions faced by cyclists, highlighting difficult junctions, congested areas, lack of road space and even surface quality.

The video camera comes into its own through its GPS which geographically time stamps the footage while the audits are being undertaken. The footage can then be watched back with Google maps specifying the exact location of the video footage, be it along the main road, on a cycle path or meandering down a dirt track.

There is a range of data that the device picks up while recording out on site, specifically:

• Time and date;
• Geographical Reference of the video;
• Elevation;
• Speed;
• Surface quality (x,y,z position of camera).

What can it be used for?

As most audits cover the majority of the network, this provides a significant data library of cyclist conditions. This source of data, archived by road name and direction, can support a number of initiatives:

Consultation

To help others understand the issues and potential interventions available, the visual aid of the video footage provides real insight for stakeholder consultation, especially for those who do not cycle or who are not familiar with the area.

Scheme / intervention design

For technical designers/engineers Google street view can provide some initial insight into a potential scheme, however the video footage can provide further information on traffic flows and the effects on the cyclist.

Elevation of  a route

Elevation is an aspect of the network that can significantly affect a cyclist; interventions can vary depending on gradient direction and severity.

Time taken to complete a route

The time stamped nature of the video gives an indication as to the time it might take to cycle a route, using speed data which is also collected.

Surface quality

As with elevation, this is an aspect of the network that can really affect a cyclist, what might be a little bump to a passenger in a car could mean falling off to a cyclist. This could also measure the quality of cycle lane surface. Ever wondered if London’s cycle superhighway ‘blue’ surface was smoother than the conventional ‘green’ surface?

Why GPS video recording?

Due to the nature of cycling, you are exposed to outside influences and effects more than when travelling in a motorised vehicle. There are more elements that can affect your performance and route choice and while some (e.g. wind drag) cannot be influenced to any great extent, others can, and it is important to collect this information.

The future of cycle audits may well rest in technological advances and the development of ‘instrumented bicycles’ to collect data over a network, pin pointing areas and locations most in need of improvement or interventions. There may even be scope to collect data from local cyclists using other GPS devices day-to-day over the network to present a more robust data set.

GPS tools such as this will become increasingly prevalent in transport studies of all kinds in the future, as the devices get smaller and cheaper, and the technology more advanced, varied and accessible.

As transport professionals we should take the lead in utilising this technology as it comes to fruition, leading to the cost benefits for the development of cycle schemes and advances in methodologies.