Whilst Geographical Information Systems (GIS) are now used more commonly in transport research and
modelling, GIS techniques were used in this study to select similar sample areas (in terms of geography
and census attributes) for data collection. For this purpose, a GIS mapping system for Tyne and Wear, UK,
was built. The system included topographic maps of the area, boundary maps of Lower Super Output
Areas (LSOA), and aggregated census statistics datasets for LSOAs. Criteria relating to census attributes
and the nature of transport were employed to identify ‘hotspots’ by GIS enquiry to provide suitably
matching areas, which then formed the basis of the sampling frame.