Travel survey by app
Everyday mobility in constant change
Our everyday mobility is subject to constant change. Sooner or later, we tend to adapt our travel behavior so that we can meet our everyday needs in the best possible way.
With Dresden in Bewegung, we would like to measure by means of smartphone-based surveys and understand these changes and give insights for politics and society from them.
Not least with the Corona pandemic, we have become aware of how dynamic changes can be and how they can affect our mobility. Comprehensive results from our latest survey, "Urban transport in tune with the times" in Dresden in the second Corona year 2021, can be found here:
Presentation of Results (German)
We are certain: Various trends will continue to lead to changes in mobility in the future - more flexible working models, rising cost of living, Deutschland-Ticket ... but what exactly are the associated effects here? Will they last? This is a question we would like to address in the future.
In interview with app provider Trivector, our associate Johannes Weber provides insights into previous surveys in Dresden:
He not only describes findings on Corona mobility. He also tells us why app surveys can benefit participants in addition to urban planning.
If you have any questions, please contact our team of the research project:
Below, you will find further information on project and data collection at a glance:
Data on travel behavior are an important basis for both urban and transport planning. They provide details on how the different available transport options of a city are used and which trends in travel behaviour are emerging over time. For this, the travel survey by smartphone-app is an innovative and promising tool.
Titled Dresden in Bewegung and as part of the project TravelViewer, in autumn 2019 the opportunity came up for the first time to gain important data for transport planning by app.
Information on survey methods applied as well as on the results can be found in the technical report. Supporting materials are compiled in the Appendices of the report:
On behalf of the City of Dresden, we were again able to take advantage of this research tool in May 2020 — in order to describe travel behaviour changed by the Corona-pandemic. In doing so, valuable insights on mobility during the phases of relief after the first lockdown situation were given. Key findings were prepared in the presentation of results showed at a press conference (German). Potentials for sustainable and resilient transport planning have been outlined in a show case:
Presentation of results (German)
In 2021, we were using the Dresden in Bewegung-research tool for the third time to be able to measure dynamic changes in travel behavior in a flexible and precise way. The results of the data collection from 17 May until 18 July 2021 not only provided follow-up insights into mobility during similar phases of restriction reliefs in the second year of the Corona pandemic. It also allowed for more in-depth analyses by extent of pandemic exposure:
Presentation of results (German)
Dresden in Bewegung – Surveys
- 17 May to 18 July 2021: Urban transport in tune with the times
Objective: Repeated data collection on travel behaviour in dynamic situations of the Corona-pandemic in cooperation with the City of Dresden
Further details under
"Urban transport in tune with the times (May–July 2021)". - 4 Mai to 30 June 2020: Urban transport in changing times
Objective: Collecting data on the changed travel behaviour on behalf of
City of Dresden
Further details under
"Urban transport in changing times (May/June 2020)". - 14 October to 24 November 2019: Towards climate-friendly urban transport by app
Objective: Essential database for a climate-friendly urban transport — as part of the international research projcect TravelViewer, supported by EIT Climate-KIC
Further details under
"Towards climate-friendly urban transport by app (October/November 2019)".
About one year after the Covid-19 pandemic started, its marks on the city's everyday life still could be felt clearly. Circumstances changed with a high level of dynamics and sooner or later also affected our travel behaviour.
To describe and quantify transport in volatile times both flexibly and with precision, the Chair of Integrated Transport Planning and Traffic Engineering at the TU Dresden carried out a survey by smartphone app — in cooperation with the City of Dresden (data collection period 17 May – 18 July 2021). The objective was to gain experience on how people in Dresden move around in their everyday lives. Through their contribution they support urban transport in dynamic situations of the Corona-pandemic — in tune with the times.
The survey is now completed. We would like to say Thank you — to all being part of the survey, contributing and providing feedback: thanks to more than 700 participants, we collected almost 12.000 comfirmed days!
Due to the high participation rate of empoyed people as one of the groups most impacted by the pandemic, valuable insights on mobility behaviour were made:
The results as well as in-depth analyses can be found in the corresponding presentation of results:
Presentation of Results (German)
Recommended citation:
Weber, J.; Hubrich, S.; Gerike, R. (2023): Dresden in Bewegung – Urban transport in tune with the times. Travel behavior in volatile times of the Corona pandemic. Follow-up survey with the smartphone app Travelvu. Presentation of results (German). Technische Universität Dresden.
Available at <https://tu-dresden.de/in-bewegung>.
Important Data Protection Information
Within this survey, people in Dresden and their related households were addressed randomly via postal letters and invited to participate. A Privacy Statement (German) was attached to the invitation letter. In addition, there was an Agreement within the app TravelVu that provided detailed information on the data being processed.
In general, the survey was conducted anonymously. Even though highest priority is set on the anonymity of the participants, it may be possible, due to the data collected as well as in specific constellations, that associations can be made to an individual person. In case it is obvious that an individual person can be identified based on the data collected, the affected dataset will be deleted immediately.
Everyone at least 18 years old and predominantly located in Dresden could take part in the survey. Participation is, of course, voluntary. This means: non-participation does not incur any disadvantages.
Attention: The app TravelVu solely serves as a tool to collect data on travel behaviour — including trips, activities, used transport modes etc. („tracking“). There is no recording of Covid-19-infections or routes of infections (no „tracing“).
If you have any questions on the survey, feel free to contact our research project team via e-mail:
Please email any questions related to the city of Dresden as the client to .
The project on public
Article in TU Dresden News Portal (German) – 25.06.2021
Im Takt der Pandemie: Wie sind Dresdnerinnen und Dresdner aktuell unterwegs?
Article in City of Dresden official journal "Dresdner Amtsblatt" (issue 23/2021), page 2 (German) – 10.06.2021
Wie bewegt sich Dresden in Pandemiezeiten?
Current news article at dresden.de (German) – 01.06.2021
Mobilität im Porträt: Wie bewegt sich Dresden in Pandemiezeiten? – Stadt und TU Dresden bitten Dresdner um Unterstützung
Many things have changed due to the Covid-19 pandemic - so has mobility behaviour: We have to move around less and differently, our everyday routines had to adapt to the lockdown, some of which only go back to normal very slowly.
In order to depict the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on mobility behaviour, the resarch group on mobility of the TU Dresden conducted a mobility survey via smartphone app (from 04.05.20 to 30.06.20) on behalf of Landeshauptstadt Dresden. The goal was to be able to make statements on the mobility in Dresden during the lifting of Covid measures after the first lockdown.
We would like to thank all of those that were a part of the survey by smartphone app: thanks to several hundred participants, we collected over 7.000 comfirmed days! Due to the high participation rate of empoyed people as one of the groups most impacted by the pandemic, valuable insights on mobility behaviour were made:
All of the results which were presented at the press conference of the Landeshauptstadt Dresden can be found in the corresponding final presentation. Possible potentials which arise from the changed mobility behaviour can be seen in the Show Case - as a part of the project TravelViewer:
- Final presentation of the press conference (in German)
Recommended citation:
Gerike, R.; Hubrich, S.; Weber, J. (2020): Dresden in Bewegung – Stadtverkehr in besonderen Zeiten. Abschlusspräsentation zur Pressekonferenz der Landeshauptstadt Dresden "Mobilität in Zeiten von Corona". Technische Universität Dresden.
Available at <https://tu-dresden.de/in-bewegung>. - TravelViewer-Show Case in Dresden
Recommended citation:
Hubrich, S.; Weber, J.; Wittwer, R.; Gerike, R. (2020): Urban Mobility in Changing Times: Potentials of Sustainability from a "New Normality" – A Show Case in Dresden, Germany. Technische Universität Dresden.
Available at <https://tu-dresden.de/in-bewegung>.
If you have any questions on the survey, feel free to contact our research project team via e-mail:
Please email any questions related to the city of Dresden as the client to .
The project in public
Article on the website of the MAtchUP project – 06.08.2020
Changed mobility of Dresden in Corona time: Shorter distances, less use of cars and public transport, but more cycling and walking
Online article in Dresdner Neueste Nachrichten (in german) – 24.07.2020
So hat Corona den Verkehr in Dresden verändert
Online article in Dresdner Wochenzeitung DAWO! (in german) – 23.07.2020
Veränderte Mobilität in Corona-Zeiten
Online article on MDR Sachsen (in german) – 23.07.2020
Menschen in Dresden seit Corona öfter zu Fuß und mit Rad unterwegs
Online article on sächsische.de (in german) – 23.07.2020
Wie Corona den Straßenverkehr verändert
Online article in Süddeutsche Zeitung (in german) – 23.07.2020
Dresdner mehr zu Fuß und mit Rad unterwegs
Article at News of the Landeshauptstadt Dresden (in german) – 23.07.2020
Veränderte Mobilität der Dresdner in Corona-Zeiten – Kürzere Wege, weniger Pkw- und ÖPNV-Nutzung, dafür mehr Radverkehr und fußläufige Wege
Article at News of the Landeshauptstadt Dresden (in german) – 15.06.2020
Wie verändert sich die städtische Mobilität in Corona-Zeiten?
Article on the website of Trivector – 26.05.2020
Dresden studies travel patterns as corona restrictions are lifted
Article in Dresdner Amtsblatt (in german) (19 | 2020), page 2 – 07.05.2020
Stadtplanungsamt untersucht Mobilität
Online article on sächsische.de (in german) – 04.05.2020
Rathaus will Corona-Mobilität erforschen
Online article in Dresdner Neueste Nachrichten (in german) – 01.05.2020
So will Dresden untersuchen, wie Corona den Verkehr verändert hat
Article at News of the Landeshauptstadt Dresden (in german) – 30.04.2020
Stadtplanungsamt untersucht Mobilitätsverhalten während Corona-Pandemie – Verkehrsbürgermeister Raoul Schmidt-Lamontain ruft zum Mitmachen auf
As a part of the international research project Travelviewer – data for low-carbon sustainable transport systems, the research team on mobility conducted a city-wide survey via smartphone app for the first time. It lasted from October 15th to November 24th of 2019 with the name Dresden in Bewegung: Towards climate-friendly urban transport by app.
The aim was to find out how the inhabitants of Dresden move around in their everyday lives to obtain an unparalleled data basis for climate-friendly urban transport.
Supported by the EIT Climate-KIC network, surveys were conducted at the same time in Norway, Denmark and Italy. The smartphone app TravelVu was developed by the swedish company Trivector.
We are moved by the vast participation and would like to express our gratitude towards all those who participated: With several hundred participants we were able to confirm over 8,000 days. The gathered results were analysed with the interactive online dashboard called Travelviewer. All results and information on the survey methodology can be found in the project report:
- TravelViewer-Projektbericht aus Dresden (englisch)
Recommended citation:
Hubrich, S.; Weber, J.; Wittwer, R.; Gerike, R. (2020): TravelVu and TravelViewer – New Ways of Collecting and Evaluating Travel Survey Data. A Site Report from Dresden, Germany. Technische Universität Dresden.
Available at <https://tu-dresden.de/in-bewegung>.
If you have any questions, feel free to email our research team at
The project in public
Article in Dresdner Amtsblatt (in german) (45 | 2019), page 6 – 07.11.2019
Dresden in Bewegung: Per App zum klimafreundlichen Stadtverkehr – Landeshauptstadt unterstützt Erhebung
Article at News of the Landeshauptstadt Dresden (in german) – 06.11.2019
Bürger sollen Daten für klimafreundlichen Stadtverkehr sammeln – Mobilitätserhebung per Smartphone-App bis 24. November
Newspaper article in the Campus Newspaper in Dresden (in german) (CAZ-Nr. 237), Seite 4 – 04.11.2019
Mobil im Dienst der Wissenschaft
Article in the Dresden University Journal (in german) (Nr. 17/30. Jg.), page 1 – 28.10.2019
Mobilitätserhebung mit dem Smartphone – Per App zum klimafreundlichen Stadtverkehr in Dresden
Article in Plauener Zeitung, Dresdner Stadtteilzeitungen (in german) (Ausg. 10/2019), Seite 8 – 16.10.2019
Bei Forschung mithelfen
Article in the News Portal of TU Dresden (in german) – 14.10.2019
Forschungsgruppe Mobilität der Fakultät Verkehrswissenschaften „Friedrich List“ der TU Dresden lädt zur Mobilitätserhebung per App ein, um wichtige Daten für einen klimafreundlichen Stadtverkehr zu gewinnen
With the smartphone app TravelVu, users can understand how they get around the city of Dresden on a daily basis, both inside and outside the city, and how much time they spend on various activities.
Trips & Activities
The captured trips and activities are listed in a personal diary. Learning algorithms and sensors (GPS and accelerometer) suggest various transport modes and activities. If you tap on these elements, they are displayed on an interactive map:
Check & Confirm
Sometimes, TravelVu does not fully recognize where you are and what modes of transport you use. Therefore, it is important to check your captured days and edit them, if necessary. If trips and activities are correct, the day can simply be confirmed and it will be included in the survey. To make changes to a day, various tools are available in the app.
Personal Modal Split
By confirming days, you receive interesting evaluations of your own travel behavior in the course of the survey. Known as modal split, the trips can be displayed in time and distance, summarized per day, week or month in descriptive graphics.
TravelVu was developed by the Swedish company Trivector and has already been used in various cities and regions in Sweden, as well as beyond. Further information are available at: https://travelvu.app/
