Mapping cycling pathways and route selection using GIS and GPS

Abstract

Increasing demand for crude oil is a major factor affecting the price of fuel for motor vehicles, which also can influence public transport prices. Future transport could prove to be costly so the use of bicycles could become more common for local travel. When riding a bicycle from one place to another, the shortest route is not always the easiest one; terrain has more of an influence on how tired a person gets than the distance travelled A commuter cycling to work may know that shortest route, however they may not realise that this route requires the outlay of more energy than a longer route. This study investigated the easiest route from the University of Southern Queensland (USQ) to the central business district (CBD) in Toowoomba in terms of energy used. This was done by collecting GPS data of cycling lanes and pedestrian paths for six different routes. The data was uploaded to GIS software, then processed and analysed to ensure the data was suitable for calculating energy usage. An energy equation was then developed to calculate the energy expenditure for a cyclist riding up and down terrain. Using this equation the energy for the six different routes were calculated to find the route that used the least amount of energy and to also find the route that was the most energy efficient from USQ to the CBD.