GEOG7001 Survey and Data Analysis in Transport Studies 2023-2024

THE UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG

M.A. IN TRANSPORT POLICY AND PLANNING

GEOG7001 Survey and Data Analysis in Transport Studies

Teacher: Professor Becky P. Y. Loo

EXERCISE TWO
Distribution Date: 01/11/2023
Submission Deadline: 08/12/2023

Notes:
• Type your answers.
• There is no need to copy the questions. Indicate the question numbers clearly.
• When a word limit applies, provide the number of words at the end of the answer.
• One soft copy of the answers should be submitted onto the course Moodle by the deadline.
A Turnitin report must be generated.
• Answer scripts (hard copy) should be submitted to the MATPP drop-box on 10/F, The
Jockey Club Tower. Each answer script must have a cover sheet clearly showing the course
code, course teacher(s), assignment number and student information. Print on both sides
of paper. Attach a page of Turnitin summary to your hard copy.
• Late submission will be penalized. Following the Departmental rule, a 5% reduction per
calendar day (including Saturday and Sunday) from the total mark of this exercise will be
applied for any late submission. Any assignment submitted ten calendar days after the
deadline will not be accepted for assessment and will therefore be awarded zero mark.

1. A survey of people waiting at various bus stops included the following 70 timings (each
measured to the nearest minute) of the number of minutes the people observed had to
wait for a bus:

0 1 3 7 23 1 0 1 2 4
0 6 7 17 1 19 3 8 0 5
2 5 9 2 6 1 3 5 4 6
2 4 5 1 3 5 2 5 6 4
2 5 6 1 5 5 18 0 1 3
3 5 3 1 1 4 14 15 12 2
5 3 7 0 1 6 3 10 1 0

a. Choose suitable, but not necessarily equal, class-intervals and compile a grouped
frequency distribution. Show your steps and justify your answer. (15 marks)
b. By cumulating your frequency distribution, estimate the missing figures in the
following statement: “____ per cent of the people observed waited no more than
two minutes for a bus, but half of them had to wait _____ minutes or more and
_____ per cent had to wait fifteen minutes or more.” Show your steps. (9 marks)
c. In addition to the 70 timings recorded, there were 13 untimed cases where people
gave up and went away after waiting more than ten minutes. What would the
missing figures in the statement become if these 13 people were allowed for in your
estimates? Explain. (9 marks)

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GEOG7001 Survey and Data Analysis in Transport Studies 2023-2024

2. In a survey on the floating population of a major city, City G, in the People’s Republic
of China, a total of 70,136 persons were successfully interviewed. The survey was
conducted in 1989. The purpose was to study the trip-making characteristics of the
floating population.
The number of trips made by the respondents and the modal split of these trips are
summarized in Tables 2.1 and 2.2 respectively. In addition, the age composition of the
respondents was calculated and shown in Table 2.3.

According to the Public Security Bureau, the age composition of the entire floating
population in City G was only available in percentage terms. This information is shown
in Table 2.4. In another large-scale survey conducted by two geographers, it is
estimated that the size of the floating population in City G was 1.30 millions in 1989.

Given the above information, estimate the following trip-making characteristics of the
entire floating population in City G:
a. A breakdown of the total number of trips by age. Show your steps and describe the
pattern. (20 marks)
b. The frequencies of use of individual transport modes by age (assuming the same
population expansion factor for different transport modes). Show your steps and
describe the pattern. (20 marks)
c. The average number of boarding per trip for public transport by age. List each
individual public transport mode separately and calculate the overall average. Show
your steps and describe the pattern. (22 marks)

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GEOG7001 Survey and Data Analysis in Transport Studies 2023-2024

Table 2.1 Respondents by Number of Trips and Age (in person)

Age Number of Trips
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 Total
7-10 0 0 7 0 0 0 0 7
11-20 12 0 783 277 434 122 94 1722
21-30 382 139 8206 4023 5555 2445 1435 22185
31-40 681 80 8296 4389 5404 2250 1765 22865
41-50 462 110 5313 2566 3439 1419 1177 14486
51-60 96 146 2092 1505 1900 731 441 6911
61 or above 156 29 611 351 446 264 103 1960
Total 1789 504 25308 13111 17178 7231 5015 70136

Table 2.2 Frequency of Use of Different Transport Modes by Age of Respondents (in number of boarding)
Age Transport Mode
Trolley Bus Minibus Suburban Taxi Institutional Ferry Motorcycle Bicycle Walking Total
and Fixed Bus and Car
Route Bus Train
7-10 6 0 0 8 0 0 0 0 0 14
11-20 2233 335 25 701 36 285 0 327 1365 5307
21-30 32267 4736 924 11503 1004 770 178 1958 18335 71675
31-40 33460 4648 713 13494 1986 402 150 1853 16589 73295
41-50 21442 2981 533 7916 519 373 43 899 11641 46347
51-60 11318 1358 259 3164 656 216 9 632 5134 22746
61 or above 2171 590 48 1291 129 7 0 33 1757 6026
Total 102897 14648 2502 38077 4330 2053 380 5702 54821 225410

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GEOG7001 Survey and Data Analysis in Transport Studies 2023-2024

Table 2.3 Age Composition of the Respondents (in person)

Male Female
7-10 7 0
11-20 945 777
21-30 17590 4595
31-40 20282 2583
41-50 12917 1569
51-60 6189 722
61 or above 1588 372
Total 59518 10618

Table 2.4 Age Composition of the Entire Floating Population (in percentage)
Age Share (%)
7-10 0.29
11-20 14.95
21-30 37.32
31-40 22.60
41-50 16.46
51 or above 8.38
Total 100.00

3. a. What is confidence interval? (5 marks)

b. What are the relationships, if any, between confidence interval, standard deviation
of the population mean, standard error of the sample mean and confidence level?
Explain in both formula and words. (20 marks)
c. How many cases will you need to establish a 99% confidence interval for the mean,
if the total width of the confidence interval is to be no more than $200 and if the
standard deviation is estimated to be $1,500? (20 marks)

4. “The use of big data will replace all transport surveys by 2030.” Discuss with respect
to the current state-of-the-art and the local context of a specific city of your choice
(800-1000 words, including all references, tables and figures). (60 marks)

5. In each of the following cases, select either (i) forecasting, (ii) scenario analyses, or (iii)
backcasting as the major approach for analysis. Justify your choice and describe the
steps that you will apply the selected approach to conduct a study. Write 250-400 words
for each case.

Case A: The government aims to alleviate roadside air pollution in the urban area. You
need to examine how different factors (e.g. development density, public transit, low-
emission zones, pedestrianization etc.) can lead to the best outcome of air quality
improvement. (20 marks)

Case B: The national government targets to achieve a goal of “zero road fatalities” by
2040. You need to explore feasible policy options and identify the most effective policy
measures to achieve the intermediate goal(s) as well as the national target. (20 marks)

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GEOG7001 Survey and Data Analysis in Transport Studies 2023-2024

Case C: A new housing estate will be constructed within two years. Both population
and employment are expected to surge in the area. You need to estimate the potential
changes in the nearby traffic flow and examine whether there will be congestion issues.
(20 marks)

Presentation: 40 marks

Total: 300 marks

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