Introduction to Altitude

Understand what Altitude is and its purpose. Identify the types of analyses Altitude supports.

Altitude by Geotab is designed to empower you with a deeper understanding of your roadways. Whether you are a city planner, traffic engineer, or transportation consultant, Altitude provides the tools and insights to make informed decisions and optimize your road networks.

Altitude harnesses the power of Geotab's extensive commercial vehicle data, transforming raw information into actionable knowledge. By leveraging this rich dataset, you can:

  • Analyze traffic patterns and identify congestion hotspots.

  • Plan and optimize transportation infrastructure for improved efficiency.

  • Enhance road safety by identifying and mitigating potential hazards.

  • Promote sustainability through reduced fuel consumption and emissions.

Altitude data

Understand where Altitude's data comes from and what may impact results.

Altitude data is 100% observed, not modeled, comprised of aggregated Geotab assets’ commercial data, and based on actual movement observed.
Note:

The aggregated data displayed in Altitude is generated based on defined criteria and filtered to respect all relevant privacy legislation and internal standards.

You can combine Geotab data with other resources to increase your level of confidence in your analysis, such as:

The following may impact how your data is interpreted:

  • OSM (OpenStreetMap) updates

  • Data recency

  • Overlapping zones and trip behavior

  • Data that has not passed our privacy restrictions
    Important:

    Safeguarding the privacy of individual drivers and fleet information is of paramount importance. To ensure a high level of confidentiality, all data shared on the Altitude platform is unidentified and aggregated, preventing the exposure of specific details pertaining to any single driver or fleet. It is essential to note that insights derived from the data necessitate a minimum aggregation from individual fleets and vehicles. The specific thresholds for aggregation may vary, taking into account the operational sensitivity of the provided data. For example, road speed and travel time data are less prone to privacy considerations compared to origin-destination analytics. Altitude by Geotab is committed to striking a balance between providing valuable insights and upholding the utmost privacy standards.

Getting started with Altitude

How to get credentials and first access the application.

Once registered as an Altitude Customer, you will receive an email with your login credentials and important information about accessing the platform. Please take note of the following:

  • Website

  • Database name

  • Email address

  • Server (for API Authentication)

The recommended browser to support all Altitude functionality is Google Chrome.

Access Altitude by navigating to Altitude Portal and entering the username and password in the automated email you received.
Note:

Direct API access is also available, refer to the Altitude API Guide for more information.

Basic navigation

Become familiar with the Altitude's interface and basic navigation.

To access your Altitude database, navigate to the login page and enter your database name, email, and password.

Use the main menu or the options on the Altitude home page to start an analysis, including:

  • Origin and Destination

  • Stop Analytics

  • Traffic Analytics

  • Regional Travel Metrics

You can also set up custom zones for analysis, view your datasets, or manage users and profile settings.

Altitude's modules

Understand the scope of the Origin and Destination, Stop Analytics, Traffic Analytics, and Regional Travel Metrics modules.

Altitude offers four types of applications for roadway analysis:
Origin and Destination
Uncover the movement patterns of vehicles between specified zones or locations. Analyze trip durations, distances, and routes to optimize transportation planning.
Stop Analytics
Understand where and when vehicles stop, enabling you to identify parking needs, curbside usage patterns, and potential areas for improvement.
Traffic Analytics
Gain insights into road speed and travel time, enabling you to identify bottlenecks, optimize traffic flow, and improve signal timing.
Regional Travel Metrics
Validate freight investments, prioritize infrastructure upgrades and support data-driven grant submissions for NHFP, RAISE and INFRA programs.

Altitude's features

Understand Altitude's main features and core functionalities.

Altitude offers a comprehensive suite of features designed to meet the diverse needs of transportation professionals. Some of its core functionalities include:
Interactive map interface
Visualize your data on a dynamic map with customizable layers and overlays. Explore road segments, zones, and points of interest with ease.
Data filtering and visualization
Refine your analysis by filtering data based on date, time, vehicle type, and other criteria. Generate insightful charts and graphs to understand trends and patterns.
Customizable reporting
Create detailed reports tailored to your specific needs. Export data in various formats for further analysis or sharing with stakeholders.

Expansion Factors 3.1

Understand how Expansion Factors are calculated using various datasets and their application across different road types and vehicle groups.

Note:

Expansion Factors are only available in the USA.

Expansion factors are multipliers used to estimate traffic volumes for various time periods based on Average Annual Daily Traffic (AADT) values. These values are derived from Geotab's telematics devices, which represent Geotab's market share, and from AADT modeling, which represents the entire market.

In the context of Altitude commercial traffic volume, an expansion factor provides a reasonable estimate of the overall traffic population. When applied as a multiplier to the aggregate volume data collected by Geotab, it offers a reliable approximation of general traffic volumes as displayed on our platform.

At present, Expansion Factors are available for the year 2022 and 2023 at standard geographical levels such as State and County.

Data Sources

Expansion Factors are calculated based on the following datasets:

Observed AADT Values

Derived from Geotab's telematics devices on road segments.

Predicted Market AADT

Derived from AADT model developed by Altitude by Geotab.

IHS Vehicle Registration Data
Used to calculate the ratio of commercial heavy-duty and medium-duty vehicles across the US.

Road type coverage

Expansion Factors are aggregated from AADT data for the following road types:

Road Type Categories (in Altitude)Road Types (same as OpenStreetMap Highway values)Description
Arterials

  • Trunk

  • Primary

  • Secondary

  • Tertiary

  • Trunk roads

  • Primary roads

  • Secondary roads

  • Tertiary roads

Highways

  • Motorways

  • Motorways

Vehicle Groups

Expansion Factors are provisioned for each of the following vehicle classification groupings:

Universal
Use to estimate the total market size across all vehicle types including commercial and non-commercial.
Heavy
Use to estimate the market size specifically for commercial heavy-duty vehicles.
Medium
Use to estimate the market size specifically for commercial medium-duty vehicles.

State & County level Expansion Factors

State and county level Expansion Factors are derived using a weighted average across road segments within each state or county. Aggregations are grouped based on road types and vehicle groups.

Expansion Factors not available

Expansion Factors are provided only when they meet defined filters. If an Expansion Factor is not available for a specific zone level (such as a county), it is estimated using the appropriate state-level Expansion Factor. Every state in the US has 2022 and 2023 Expansion Factors.

Segments with expansion factors that exceed 500 (or represent less than 0.2% market share) are excluded from the aggregation algorithm due to insufficient coverage by Geotab.

Canadian Expansion Factors are not currently available. If Canadian Expansion Factors are important for your business, please reach out to Altitude Support or talk to your account advisor at Altitude by Geotab.

Beta features

Altitude has Beta Features to provide early insight into new tools that are still in development. Beta features are in flux and rely on valuable Altitude Feedback to enhance your product experience. To identify a Beta feature, look for the Beta icon.