Strava Metro : active travel data from Scotland and Northeast England (2013-2019)

Data from Strava, widely used social networking platform tailored for enthusiasts who enjoy activities such as cycling and running, for Scotland and the Northeast of England (Glasgow, Scotland, Manchester, Tyne & Wear, Sheffield). The time period of the data coverage varies for different cities. To ensure user privacy, all the data has been anonymized and also binned.

The GIS compatible data offers:

1.Hourly User Count at Street Level: This gives insights into how many users are active on a specific street on an hourly basis. (Binning: 0 if this number is less than or equal to 3, otherwise rounded up in multiples of 5)

2.Wait Times at Intersections: This information can provide how long Strava users typically wait at various intersections. Such data can be useful for urban planning and traffic management, highlighting potential areas for infrastructure improvement.

3.Origin and Destination of Trips: The data reveals where users start (origin) and finish (destination) their activities. However, to maintain user privacy, these origins and destinations are grouped by census output areas. This offers a balance between useful data granularity and user confidentiality.

This dataset, based on the Open Street Map roads network, offers a rich source of information for a variety of professionals – from urban planners to transport researchers.

Access and Restrictions

Data are available for non-commercial, academic research by UK-based academics under an End User Licence. Data can be used for research in the social sciences, including transportation research. Usage of the data for teaching is also permitted.

Access to the Data

Strava provides access to the Metroview platform for urban infrastructure planning organizations around the world to understand mobility patterns, identify opportunities for investment and evaluate the impact of infrastructure changes. Access to Metroview is free of charge and is available at Strava’s discretion based on the application requirements.

Previous extracts of Strava Metro data for the above geographies and timeframes are available through the UBDC data catalogue.

To apply for Strava Metro data in other geographies or for additional timeframes, please see the Strava website

Strava Metro: Streets; Strava Metro: Origin/Destination; Strava Metro: Nodes

downloaded from Strava Metro vault

Academic or non - commercial research only Teaching use allowed