The City of Toronto spent $20,000 commissioning a new app that traces local cyclists' habits.
Devloped for the City by Brisk Synergies, the recently released app collects cyclist data with the goal of eventually using the information to help develop a new cycling network plan.
Cyclists are encouraged to download the app to their smartphone devices, to activate it before hopping on their bikes, and to turn it "off" once their journey is complete.
While activated, the the app tracks cyclists' routes, average speed, maximum speed, trip distance, number of calories burned, and the trip's total greenhouse gas offset. This information, along with each users demographic profile, is then be transferred to database for later analysis.
Lest cyclists still have privacy concerns, the City insists that all collected data will be sent anonymously, and that data will be withheld for the first and last thirty second of each trip.
The app,
Toronto Cycling, is free to all users and available for both Android and Apple devices.
"This app will be an effective and inexpensive way for cyclists to provide us with their route information, which is useful for planning the cycling network," stated Councillor Denzil Minnan-Wong (Ward 34 Don Valley East), Chair of the Public Works and Infrastructure Committee. "It will help us determine what routes in the city are well travelled by cyclists and what linkages may be missing to make cycling trips safer, easier and more convenient."
While Toronto's record of following through on cycling infrastructure projects is spotty at best, a new plan to expand the existing cycling network is scheduled to be presented at Toronto City Council in 2015.
Writer: Katia Snukal
Source: CIty of Toronto