Question

For trips departing from the city of Lysekil, Sweden, and heading east or further south in the country, what is the preferred route? Is it the ferry between Finnsbo and Skår, or the road north of the Färlev Fjord?

Considering the potential waiting times and busier hours associated with the ferry, would drivers opt to take the longer route instead?

How-to explanation

In the region definition of the analysis, Lysekil was designated as the primary origin area.

The destination needed to be strategically positioned to capture trips that would justify using the ferry in the first place. For travelers heading toward northern Sweden, taking the ferry would offer no advantages.

Two via regions were defined accordingly: one at the ferry access point and the other along the northbound road, near the junction leading to the main highway.

Reading the results

Using the Map Flows visualization, the initial analysis is already highly representative. On average, approximately 70% of trips still opt to use the ferry, despite the potential waiting times (Figure 1).

It is important to note that seasonal differences may have a significant impact. When comparing the results from March 2019 to July 2019, ferry usage decreases by 10% (Figure 2).

Using the Flows Explorer visualization mode, we can delve deeper into the analysis by examining the trip distribution throughout the day (Figure 3). The horizontal axis represents the 24-hour time distribution, while the vertical axis shows the volume of trips for each hour. This view provides quick insights into the busiest hours of operation and potential actions that could be taken to promote alternative usage or access strategies.

Conclusion

Starting from the assumption that ferries generally add more hassle and waiting time, it would be fair to believe that drivers might prefer to take a longer road trip to avoid them. However, a quick O/D analysis revealed that the vast majority (almost two-thirds) of all trips heading east or south in Sweden choose to travel by ferry.

The TomTom O/D Analysis offers a rich, comprehensive solution that is highly attractive in terms of cost-to-value ratio. In just minutes, the GPS-based trip analytics provide an in-depth analysis, covering large areas and flexible time periods. This approach is far more efficient and yields better results compared to manual questionnaires or hardware-based data collection methods (e.g., sensor cameras with limited area coverage).