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Purpose — The introduction of new technology to public transport systems has provided an excellent opportunity for passive data collection. In this paper, we explore the possibility of automatically generating level of service indicators that could be used for operation planning and monitoring of Transantiago, the public transport system of Santiago, Chile.

Design/methodology/approach — After basic processing of the raw automatic vehicle location (AVL) and automatic fare collection (AFC) data, we were able to generate bus speed indicators, travel time measurements and waiting time estimates using data from 1week. The results were compared with manual measures when available.

Findings — The advantage is that these measurements and estimates are reliable because they are obtained from large samples and at nearly no cost. Moreover, they can be applied to any set of data with a selected periodicity.

Research limitations — The scope of this research is limited to what can be observed with AVL and AFC data. Additional information is required to incorporate other dimensions, such as personal characteristics and/or more detail in the origin/destination (OD) of the trips.

Practical implications — Nevertheless, these results are valuable for the planning and operation management of public transport systems because they provide large amounts of information that is difficult and expensive to obtain from direct measurements.

Originality/value — This paper proposes tools to obtain valuable information at a low cost. These tools can be implemented in many cities that have certain technological devices incorporated into their public transport systems.

Purpose — Automated fare collection systems implemented in public transportation systems in the last decade have provided a massive, continuous and low-cost source of reliable travel information. A direct and useful application of these data is the estimation of highly representative, although not bias-free, origin-destination (OD) matrices.

Methodology/approach — We discuss several issues with current OD matrix estimation methodologies, such as fare evasion and group travel, and their derived biases, specifically focusing on the Santiago (Chile) case. We also propose and apply two methods of validation: endogenous and exogenous validation. We elaborate on some methodological improvements that could be implemented to upgrade the activity estimation mechanics.

Findings — Several sources of bias in the estimation of OD matrix estimation from passive data are pointed and some solutions proposed. We apply improvements to existing methodologies and increase the success rate of trip estimations.

Practical implications — The reliable estimation of public transport OD matrices from passive data results in a valuable planning tool for both transit authorities and operators, much more representative and with less errors and biases that conventional data collecting techniques.

Originality/value of paper — This paper is one of the first works to deal with the subject.

This book provides an international perspective on improving information to support transportation decision making. It comprises a selection of papers plus workshop syntheses from the 9th International Conference on Transport Survey Methods in Chile in November 2011. The conference was organized into 14 workshops with both paper presentations and discussions in the workshops forming the majority of the conference activity. The papers reported primarily on research pertaining to continuous improvement in transport survey methods — the backbone of the transportation data pipeline in most countries. But some papers also addressed the new ways in which innovation — notably technological innovation — is being applied to the capture and analysis of data to produce necessary information faster, better, and less expensively. The conference program built on a rich legacy of intellectual pursuits spanning the past two decades, and it is anticipated that the conference will continue into the future. Thus, the contents of this book represent a 5–10 year view through a moving window on the international state of the practice and concerns in transport survey methods.