Exploring the potential of open big data from ticketing websites to characterize travel patterns within the Chinese high-speed rail system.

ABSTRACT: Big data have contributed to deepen our understanding in regards to many human systems, particularly human mobility patterns and the structure and functioning of transportation systems. Resonating the recent call for 'open big data,' big data from various sources on a range of scales have become increasingly accessible to the public. However, open big data relevant to travelers within public transit tools remain scarce, hindering any further in-depth study on human mobility patterns. Here, we explore ticketing-website derived data that are publically available but have been largely neglected. We demonstrate the power, potential and limitations of this open big data, using the Chinese high-speed rail (HSR) system as an example. Using an application programming interface, we automatically co

SUBMITTER: Wei S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5456051 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature