Development, Pilot Testing, and Validation of the System for Observing Travel-Related Activity on Urban Roads (SOTRAVEL)

Source abstract

Abstract When occurring in supportive conditions, active travel is a behavior that benefits both human and planetary health. Technologically assisted tools for measuring travel-related behaviors often lack demographic disaggregation or are not feasible across settings. Direct observation remains a feasible complementary method for assessing active travel patterns in public spaces. We aimed to describe the development, piloting, and validation of the System for Observing Travel-Related Activity on Urban Roads (SOTRAVEL). The System for Observing Play and Recreation in Communities (SOPARC) path form was adapted to focus on active travel behaviors as outcomes, public roads as settings, and rapidly urbanizing mixed urban contexts. SOTRAVEL collects data on sex, age group, and travel mode (pedestrian activity, private cycling, bike-sharing, work-related cycling, other wheeled modes, and sedentary nonmotorized travel). Validation involved 15-min observations on eight street segments with varying traffic flow, using three data collection protocols: (1) single observer, (2) dual observer, and (3) video recordings (reference measure). Spearman correlations assessed validity, and Wilcoxon signed-rank tests evaluated differences between single- and dual-observer counts. Overall, correlations between video recordings and observer-based protocols were strong ( r ≥ 0.7) across sex, age, traffic flow, and travel mode groupings, except for minors ( r = 0.65–0.67). Strong correlations were observed across sex and travel mode traffic flow levels. No significant differences were found between single- and dual-observer protocols. SOTRAVEL is a valid tool for assessing active travel on urban roads, providing reliable disaggregated data on active travel modes by sex. It may be particularly useful in rapidly urbanizing or high-complexity urban settings requiring contextualized and demographically disaggregated active travel surveillance.