Trip volume seasonal variations at regional level – case study of Małopolska GSM OD matrices

In this paper we analyze the big-data set of GSM origin-destination matrices collected between 360 districts (Powiat) in Poland to indirectly observe the trip volume fluctuations: weekly and seasonal. We utilized the dataset obtained from BTS position for all clients registered to a single provider. The data was collected over several days, which allows for a valuable temporal analysis of trip volumes. We analyze internal and external (inbound and outbound) trips in Małopolska region, intra-zonal trips (within district), inter-zonal (between districts of Małopolska). We discuss the general variability of observed trip volumes. We present the weekly fluctuations (working day, Friday, Saturday, Sunday) and the seasonal ones (winter, holiday, etc.). We verify the results obtained from GSM data with the traffic counts and their seasonal variations provided by national road administration (GDDKiA). Main contribution of the paper is presenting the observed fluctuations from the GSM data and comparing them with the classically collected data, as we demonstrate the results are comparable.