Collection and use of establishment data to understand commercial traffic in urban areas. Examples from Groruddalen in Oslo

On behalf of the Norwegian Public Road Administration (NPRA) and within the research project NORSULP, funded by the Research Council of Norway, the Institute of Transport Economics Norwegian Centre for Transport Research has conducted an analysis of the commercial traffic in Groruddalen, an industrial area in the Norwegian capital Oslo. The analysis utilizes data collected through an online establishment survey in Groruddalen (an urban area in Oslo, the Norwegian capital) and existing and relevant public statistics on commercial traffic and activity. The establishment survey has retrieved information about freight and service traffic missing from public statistics. This includes information about the number of vehicles to and from the establishments, how the traffic is distributed per day of the week, vehicle starting and destination point, and vehicles categories. The objective was to provide input to an analysis that will clarify the necessary future road transport system in Groruddalen. Data from the survey is compiled with public statistic on commercial freight and activity. The objective has been to validate the data collected, but also to find reasonable estimates for commercial traffic to and from establishments in the area. Such knowledge is useful for urban planning, is requested by the NPRA and might provide useful input to the development of sustainable urban logistics plan in NORSULP.