Using Twitter to understand how people talk about new protected bike lanes in two Canadian cities
Author(s): Ferster, Nelson, Thigpen
Slidedeck Presentation Only (no paper submitted):
Abstract:
Social media are an increasingly important part of the next generation of transportation. People use social networks to share information, opinions, and experiences about transportation in cities. Social media are rapidly responsive to public discussion. Analysis of social media may allow a deeper understanding of public discussion by providing the ability to examine the strength and types of social connections and to provide insight into the sentiment and themes of discussion. As cities introduce new infrastructure to encourage active transportation, such as walking and bicycling, analyses of social media, like Twitter, can provide much needed information about safety concerns and political opinion. In this case study, we sought to understand the temporal dynamics of discussion about newly introduced protected bicycle lanes in two Canadian cities: Victoria, British Columbia, and Edmonton, Alberta. We developed search terms to obtain Twitter data ('tweets') related to bike lanes in the two cities. Tweets were obtained for a period starting shortly before the opening of the bike lanes and continuing through the summer riding season using the Twitter Standard Search API. We performed a manual classification of sentiment (positive or negative) and plotted the sentiment through time. We used social network graphs to understand social dynamics in conversations, particularly who is involved in the conversation and who is influential. Finally, we evaluated the use of language related to safety and public opinions of the new infrastructure. For both cities, the rates of tweeting were highest soon after the opening of the new bike lanes. Traffic safety-related themes were present throughout the discussion and varied by city and through time. The most influential members of the social network were news agencies, city governments, and advocacy groups. Individuals interacted with these by retweeting articles of interest, mentioning people who they view as important, and posting original thoughts, opinions and experiences. Analyses of social media can help city planners to monitor and evaluate perceptions of new infrastructure. While city staff are likely already engaged in social media and aware of trending topics, analytical tools can help to quantify trends, lead to more specific understanding, and provide detailed timelines. Though Twitter users represent a self-selected subset of the population, analyses can provide metrics and accounts of personal experiences that are otherwise difficult to obtain. Exploratory Twitter analyses also feed into the research cycle, whereby important themes identified by monitoring Twitter can be investigated in more detail using traditional methods (e.g. surveys, interviews, or focus groups). Analyses of data obtained from social media, such as Twitter, are a promising tool for better understanding the content and temporal change in public conversations about safety and transportation in cities for the future of road safety.