A comparison of activity location patterns between railway users and non-users with GPS trajectory data

This study leveraged trajectory data collected using the "Nagoya Moove" mobile application to analyze travel behavior of users in the Nagoya region of Japan. The data collection period spanned 71 days, from December 1, 2023, to February 9, 2024. The application recorded GPS logs at 30-second intervals. During data processing, the logs were aggregated into a standardized grid system for spatial analysis. Then, residential locations, railway usage, and daytime activity locations were determined. The accuracy of residential location estimation was 82.1% when validated against survey data, demonstrating the efficacy of the grid-based approach. The participants were classified into three groups based on railway usage, and their behavioral characteristics were compared. Railway users exhibited significantly higher daily activity counts than those of non-users, although further analysis is required to clarify the causal relationship between public transportation availability and activity levels. Although railway users traveled to a higher number of unique destinations, non-users traveled to a greater variety of destinations per day, reflecting the flexibility afforded by private car usage. Spatial analysis revealed that non-users rarely visited the city center of Nagoya, highlighting the differences in destination preferences.