Strava, , McArthur, D. and Raturi, V. (2025) Strava Glasgow. [Data Collection]

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Collection description

Overview:
UBDC researchers have worked extensively with data from Strava, a fitness app that allows users to track a variety of sporting activities, perhaps most popular among cyclists. Data on cycling has traditionally been difficult to gather or has lacked detail but apps like Strava let users log and share their journeys. This enables planners to understand which routes people use, and which origins/destination pairs are busiest. This can help track how popular cycling is over time, evaluate impacts of infrastructure, and plan new interventions to encourage active travel.

UBDC has the following Strava datasets:
• Strava Scotland data available for 2015 – March 2020
• Strava Glasgow 2013 – March 2020
• Strava Manchester 2015 – 2018
• Strava Tyne and Wear 2015 – 2018
• Strava Sheffield 2017

Strava:
Strava is a social network, recording data from its users who upload their cycle rides or running activity via smartphone or GPS device. This dataset comprises anonymised data from Strava users. The aggregate information provides GIS compatible data that offer an hourly count of users at street level and wait times at intersections based on the Open Street Map roads network. The origin and destination of trips is also available, resolved to census output areas.

Data from Strava, widely used social networking platform tailored for enthusiasts who enjoy activities such as cycling and running, for Scotland and the Northeast of England (Glasgow, Scotland, Manchester, Tyne & Wear, Sheffield). The time period of the data coverage varies for different cities. To ensure user privacy, all the data has been anonymized and also binned.

The GIS compatible data offers:
1. Hourly user count at street level: this gives insights into how many users are active on a specific street on an hourly basis. (Binning: 0 if this number is less than or equal to 3, otherwise rounded up in multiples of 5).
2. Wait times at intersections: this information can provide how long Strava users typically wait at various intersections. Such data can be useful for urban planning and traffic management, highlighting potential areas for infrastructure improvement.
3. Origin and destination of trips: the data reveals where users start (origin) and finish (destination) their activities.

To maintain users privacy, these origins and destinations are grouped by census output areas. This offers a balance between useful data granularity and user confidentiality. This dataset, based on the Open Street Map roads network, offers a rich source of information for a variety of professionals – from urban planners to transport researchers.

Access and restrictions:

UBDC data is available for non-commercial, academic research by UK-based academics under an End User Licence. Data can be used for research in the social sciences, including transportation research. Usage of the data for teaching is also permitted.

Access to the Data Strava provides access to the Metroview platform for urban infrastructure planning organisations around the world to understand mobility patterns, identify opportunities for investment and evaluate the impact of infrastructure changes. Access to Metroview is free of charge and is available at Strava’s discretion based on the application requirements. Previous extracts of Strava Metro data for the above geographies and timeframes are available through the UBDC data catalogue. To apply for Strava Metro data in other geographies or for additional timeframes, please see the Strava website https://metro.strava.com/.

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