Product Introduction

Powered by 600+ million connected devices, including more than one in five vehicles on the road globally, TomTom Historical Traffic Volumes is enabling customers to analyze annual average daily traffic (AADT) and annual average daily hourly traffic (AADHT) without the need for costly surveys or extensive preparation.

How To Use Historical Traffic Volumes Product

This product is part of the Traffic Insights application. When all the necessary provisioning is complete, users can access the main application.

From this view, users need to select the proper layer.

Once the layer is loaded, the Volumes product will be enabled in the Traffic Insights application, showing segments with available data on the map and the settings related to displaying this data in the left side panel named "Layer Manager".

Layer Manager contains the following features that users can adjust:

• Map Type: Users can display data for different maps, either Genesis or Orbis.
• Year: The ability to analyze data for different years depends on the selected map. Genesis provides data for 2022, while the Orbis map provides data for 2023.
• Road Class: Also known as Functional Road Class (FRC), this is a hierarchical designation of the road network, ranging from highways (FRC 0) to local city roads (FRC 7). This section allows users to select or deselect the road classes they want to analyze.

Please note that higher road class segments will be visible at closer zoom levels.

• Color Palette: This option allows users to color the segments visible on the map according to their preferences. Each selected palette colors individual segments based on the corresponding AADT range.
  
  Additionally, users can filter specific segments outside their defined AADT range by using the toggle switch under the color legend. For example, this is useful when the analysis focuses only on segments within the 5000 - 20000 AADT values.

• Ground Truth Data: This feature allows users to upload their own GeoJSON files containing ground truth data. This enables comparison between data from other sources and the data provided by TomTom.

Analyzing Historical Traffic Volumes Data

Assuming all display settings in the Layer Manager are set correctly, it's now time to view the volume data. To do this, users can simply select any segment on the map. This will open a pop-up window containing all the historical results provided by TomTom for that specific road segment.

The first piece of information visible in the segment details is the ID of the specific road segment. Clicking on it opens a list of adjacent segments to choose from. While users can select other segments directly from the map, this option is primarily designed to select the opposite direction of the segments.
Instead of using the list, users can also change segments using the arrow icons at the top.

The second piece of information visible in this window, below the segment ID, is the AADT value. AADT stands for Annual Average Daily Traffic, which indicates the number of observed samples on this road segment.

Annual Average Daily Traffic (AADT) is a key metric used in traffic engineering to estimate the average number of vehicles that pass a specific point on a road over the course of a year, divided by the number of days in that year. AADT provides insight into traffic patterns and helps in planning, designing, and managing road infrastructure. It is calculated by taking the total volume of traffic, including all vehicles, over a year and dividing by 365 days. AADT is crucial for understanding roadway usage and making informed decisions regarding transportation systems.

In addition to AADT, users can review information about the road class of the segment, the number of lanes based on our map data, and its direction.

The last piece of information visible in this section is the Annual Average Traffic Volume by hour of the day, which provides a more detailed insight into traffic data based on different times of the day.

Annual Average Traffic Volume by Hour of the Day (AATVHD) is a measure that captures the average number of vehicles that pass a specific point on a road during each hour throughout the year. This metric helps in analyzing traffic patterns on an hourly basis, allowing for a better understanding of peak traffic times and overall road usage. AATVHD is calculated by aggregating the total traffic volume for each hour over the year and then dividing it by the number of days in the year. This data is essential for traffic management, road design, and transportation planning, as it highlights variations in traffic flow throughout the day.

Frequently Asked Questions

How does TomTom Historical Traffic Volumes work?
TomTom created robust traffic volumes software as a service by utilizing best in-class data modeling techniques and integrating probe vehicle data (FCD) into the product to estimate historical average volumes at road segment level. We also leverage our highly detailed map data to add spatial road network and road capacity information. Our unique approach produces a range of benefits over traditional survey and expansion methods, at a fraction of the cost.

What are the benefits of using TomTom Historical Traffic Volumes?
Government, businesses and organizations can gain access to highly accurate, robust historical traffic volumes data at a fraction of the cost of traditional survey methods. The insights gained over time help industries ensure that better data driven decisions are made faster and easier, helping to save time and costs while maximizing gains.
- Accurate data for annual, daily and hourly insights into traffic flows by road segment
- Enables access to extensive road network data analytics
- Fast, scalable and cost-efficient compared to limited traditional survey methods
- Flexible solution designed to meet customer needs

Can I integrate TomTom Historical Traffic Volumes with my existing solutions?
Yes, served via API, batch file, or as a map layer (available in 2025), it’s easy to integrate TomTom Historical Traffic Volumes into your solution, road traffic or transport model, site evaluation model, or route optimization and planning engine.

What is the coverage of TomTom Historical Traffic Volumes?
We currently provide coverage in the USA, with coverage extending to selected countries in EMEA and APAC expected to be available in 2025.

How does TomTom Historical Traffic Volumes deal with vehicles entering and leaving the road network?
Our volumes data can be used together with other TomTom Move Portal tools like Origin Destination Analysis, to understand the start and end of trips and route choice behavior.

How accurate are TomTom Historical Traffic Volume estimations?
Our estimations are highly reliable, validated against trusted automatic traffic counter data that is both representative and accurate. Our models consistently deliver dependable insights, offering error margins through the use of mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) to ensure clarity and transparency. This allows customers to make informed decisions with confidence.

What modes does TomTom Historical Traffic Volumes represent?
Volumes are delivered as PCUs (passenger car units). No further mode split is provided. We recommend using local and third-party datasets to verify and validate mode share of other vehicle categories such as trucks, trailers, vans and public transit vehicles