Theses and Dissertations Collection

Travel tally surveys are administered by elementary, middle, and high (K-12) schools to collect data that measure how students arrive and leave school each day. This data can be used to determine both transportation safety and mobility needs. Collecting this data is usually accomplished by asking teachers to collect a tally in their classrooms; the data are then compiled to determine a representative result for each school. This process requires advanced planning from school administrators and teachers to ensure that information gathering is coordinated and relies on the personal input of each student. Since the age of elementary school students may be as little as six or seven years old, this approach may not always be reliable.In this study, a new method using a quadcopter drone was examined. For comparison purposes, participatory student tally surveys and drone videos were collected on the same day at three different elementary school sites, and the results and effectiveness of each counting method were compared and analyzed. The study concluded that the survey and drone results did not always yield similar results for all modes, so an explanation as to why these deviations occurred and what it means for researchers and practitioners is discussed. Given that drone technology continues to evolve, the lessons learned from this study can be applied toward future school transportation and other mobility studies.