The methods used to collect external travel survey data have been changing for the past 5 to 10 years, and many traditional methods are now obsolete. In recent years, new technology methods such as Bluetooth and cellular data mining have emerged as potential means of collecting external travel survey data. While numerous external surveys have been conducted across the country using cellular data, to date there have been few studies that have compared or 'benchmarked' cell-derived O&D data to another technology.

This paper will discuss the design and results of external survey/study conducted to compare external-external (E-E) trips developed using Bluetooth to the same E-E trips (or flows) developed using cellular data. The study was conducted in the Tyler, Texas MPO area and included 20 external stations. The paper will discuss criteria used to define 'trips' for bluetooth/cell comparison and the TAZ structure and 'filtering' used best capture cell E-E movements. The results will show estimated E-E and E-I/I-E splits for each technology for all 20 stations and compare these results to the Tyler Area's prior external survey which was conducted using traditional methods.

Study results from this paper may provide a better understanding of cell data and could lead to advancements in current 'new tech' methods for collecting and developing external data and related external O&D matrices.