New app lets bicycle riders share valuable information

Oregon Department of Transportation sent this bulletin at 11/07/2014 03:00 PM PST

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Nov. 7, 2014

For more information: Professor Miguel Figliozzi, Portland State University, (503) 725-2836 or Shelley M. Snow, ODOT, (503) 881-5362 

 

Planners, researchers will use voluntary data to help make decisions

 

 

SALEM — Gathering valuable data about how bicyclists use the transportation system has always been a challenge. Starting Nov. 10, a new Smartphone app created by the Transportation Technology and People (TTP) lab at Portland State University, in partnership with ODOT, will provide data that can help planners and others make decisions based on users’ feedback and facts never before gathered in one place. The goal of the app, called ORcycle, is to get cycling data from people who ride bicycles voluntarily contributing via their Smartphone, from anywhere in the state.

 

ORcycle lets participants record cycling trips, display maps of the rides, and provide feedback regarding crashes, safety, or infrastructure issues – data which transportation planners currently lack in sufficient quantity. Prior to Orcycle, there was no systematic way to receive feedback regarding bicycle route safety or riders’ comfort level with bike lanes, routes, signals, etc. By opening the app and recording data whenever convenient, riders will be submitting data to the ORcycle program. Transportation planners across the state will then be able to access the aggregated data to better design, build or upgrade bicycle facilities and other bicycle-related projects.

 

The app follows a strict privacy policy and does not ask for a name or address, and users have control over the data they are sharing. The ORcycle app can be downloaded from Google Play (android) or Apple’s App Store (iOS for iPhones). More info about the app is available at http://www.pdx.edu/transportation-lab/orcycle.

 

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Project team members include:

  • Mark Joerger and Brooke Jordan, ODOT Research Unit
  • Professor Miguel Figliozzi, Portland State University, College of Engineering and Computer Science and TTP lab development team
  • Technical Advisory Committee:
    • Sheila Lyons, ODOT Bike and Pedestrian Program
    • Tara Weidner & Peter Schuytema, ODOT Transportation Planning and Analysis Unit
    • Stephanie Millar, ODOT Planning Unit
    • Lake McTighe, Metro
    • Bruce Moody, FHWA
    • Steve Hoyt-McBeth, Portland Bureau of Transportation
    • Josh Roll, LCOG

 

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