Understanding trip conditions

In iNode, the trip condition option allows you to filter trips based on when they started, ended, or both. This helps narrow your analysis to specific time periods.

For example, within a selected window of 7:00 AM to 9:00 AM:

If you select trip started and ended in the selected time, only trips that both begin and end within that window will be counted.

• A trip starting at 7:05 AM and ending at 7:25 AM will be included.
• A trip starting at 8:50 AM and ending at 9:15 AM will be excluded.

When analyzing trips, defining different trip conditions may significantly change the OD analysis results. The way trips are filtered based on time affects how movement patterns are interpreted. iNode offers multiple ways to define which trips should be included in a dataset based on their relationship with a given time range.

Trip conditions help answer questions such as:

• Should only trips that start and end within the time range be included?
• Should trips that start within the time range be included, even if they end later?
• Should trips be included if any portion of them overlaps with the time range?

By adjusting trip conditions, you can shape the dataset to fit their analysis goals, whether evaluating peak-hour congestion, measuring travel demand, or studying long-distance travel patterns.

Trip conditions for Region-based OD

For region-based studies, three trip conditions are available:

1. Trips start and end in the selected time range

• Trips that both begin and end within the chosen window are included.
• The trip must pass through the origin during the time range and through the destination during the same range.
• Example: If the time range is 10:00–13:00, a trip starting at 09:40 and ending at 13:20 is excluded.

1. Trips start in the selected time range

• Includes any trip that begins within the time window, regardless of when it ends.
• The vehicle must start its journey between the selected times, either inside the study region or elsewhere (even in a different city up to 10 km away).
• Once started, the trip may pass through the origin region at any time, even outside the selected window.
• Example: If the time range is 10:00–13:00, a trip that begins at 10:05 is included, even if it exits the region at 14:00.

1. Trips have any common parts with the time range

• Includes trips that overlap with the time range at any point.
• The trip can start and end within the time range (anywhere).
• The trip may travel through the regions at any time outside the window if condition A or B is met.
• The trip may start or end outside the window, as long as it is visible in the origin and destination regions during the time range.
• Example: If the time range is 10:00–13:00, a trip crossing the study area between 11:30–12:00 counts, even if it started before 10:00 or ended after 13:00.

Example scenarios

See the example below to understand how the selection of trip condition can impact the OD results for “add-to external” and trim-to-define-region OD study types

Scenario 1:

• Time set: 10:00 - 13:00
• Study type: Add to external region

1. Trips start and end in the selected time range

Only trips that both start and finish within the 10:00–13:00 window are included. In this case, the trip starts before 10:00 AM and ends after 1:00 PM, with both origin and destination outside the time range.

Even though it travels through the region during the window, it fails the time boundary condition.

Result: ❌ Trip is excluded from the results.

2. Trips start in the selected time range

Trips are included if they begin within the 10:00–13:00 window, regardless of when or where they end. Here, the trip starts before 10:00 AM outside the regions , so it does not qualify—even though it travels through regions during the valid time range. The early start time disqualifies it.

Result: ❌ Trip is excluded from the results.

3. Trips have any common parts with the selected time range

Trips are included if any portion of the journey overlaps with the 10:00–13:00 window. In this case, the trip enters the region A at 10:00 AM and reaches region B by 12:30 PM, which clearly overlaps with the selected time window.

It will be included and represented as:

→Origin: External Region

→Via: Region A, Region B

→Destination: External Region

Result: ✅Trip is included.

Example scenario 2:

• Time Set: 10:00 - 13:00
• Study Type: Trim to defined Region

We are analyzing a single trip that:

• Starts before 9:00 AM outside the defined regions
• Ends after 2:00 PM (14:00) outside the regions
• Passes through multiple regions during the day
• The selected condition is “Trim to defined region”, which means:

Only the portion of the trip that intersects both the region and the selected time set based on the selected time condition is retained.

1. Trips that start and end in the selected time range

With the time window set to 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM, only the portion of the trip that exists within that window and crosses the region is kept. As shown in the image (red rectangle), the trip enters Region B shortly after 10:00 AM and exits Region C before 1:00 PM. The part of the trip before and after that window is discarded.

Result: ✅ Trip appears in the results as:

→ Origin: Region B

→ Destination: Region C

2. Trips that start in the selected time range

This time condition captures trips that begin during the selected time window, and includes the portion from that point forward, up to the last point where the trip intersects a defined region.

In this case (green rectangle), the trip enters Region B at exactly 10:00 AM, continues through Region C, and exits the final region, Region D, shortly after.

The system trims the trip starting from the first intersection within the time window, and keeps all subsequent region interactions until the trip leaves the region.

Result: ✅ Trip appears in the results as:

→ Origin: Region B

→ Via: Region C

→ Destination: Region D

3. Trips that have any common parts with the time range

This condition includes any trip that overlaps with both the selected time window and the defined region, regardless of when the trip starts or ends.

In this case, the trip enters Region A before 10:00 AM, travels through Region B and C during the time window (10:00–13:00), and exits through Region D after 2:00 PM.

Since the trip intersects the region during the selected time frame, the system trims it to the segment between its first entry into any region and its last appearance in any region.

Result: ✅ Trip appears in the results as:

→ Origin: Region A

→ Via: Region B, Region C

→ Destination: Region D

Trip conditions for Flow links OD

For flow link studies, two trip condition options are available:

Trips that start and end in the selected time range

• Only trips that both begin and finish within the chosen time interval are included.

Trace part first seen in any region is in the selected time range:

• Trips are filtered based on both time and location, where the location is the defined region.
• You can think of this as placing a virtual camera at the entry points of your regions, recording all trips that entered during the selected time range.
• Only the portion of the trip that first enters the region is considered. If that entry occurs within the chosen time window, the trip is included as shown in the image

Example:

If the time range is 12:00–13:00 and a trip enters one of the regions at 12:30, it will be counted.

Table of contents

• Understanding trip conditions
• Trip conditions for Region-based OD
• Example scenarios
• Scenario 1:
• 1. Trips start and end in the selected time range
• 2. Trips start in the selected time range
• 3. Trips have any common parts with the selected time range
• Example scenario 2:
• 1. Trips that start and end in the selected time range
• 2. Trips that start in the selected time range
• 3. Trips that have any common parts with the time range
• Trip conditions for Flow links OD