Identification of Clusters in Travel Patterns using Smart Card Data

This article is the first contribution, which explores the potential of smart card data in relation to optimization of public transport in a peripheral monocentric region. A modularity analysis is made using smart card data collected in Northern Jutland in Marts and July 2014, and the analysis reveals first, that smart card data can be used to identify clusters within flows of public transport passengers in a peripheral region. Second, that the presence of such clusters suggest that public transport should be planned to give the users the possibility of travelling with good connectivity and easiness within these clusters. Third, the presence of such clusters in peripheral areas of the monocentric region suggest, that the overall current focus in public transport planning on transport possibilities to and from the central city in monocentric regions is questionable.