A digital revolution in traffic counting
Ipsos is a long-standing leader in market research and public opinion polling. Alongside complex projects for the private sector, it delivers a unique contract for the state: the National Traffic Census. This massive data collection runs in five-year cycles at thousands of locations and is a key input for strategic planning of the road network. Ipsos was looking for a technology partner who could build, within four months, a system able to handle extreme peak loads and eliminate the risks of collecting data in the field.
Paper counting sheets meant no digital validation and the need to retype the data into a computer by hand. This added unnecessary errors and critical delays to processing.
Almost 40,000 shifts were planned by hand using cluttered Excel spreadsheets, emails and thousands of text messages. There was no central tool to coordinate thousands of counters effectively and track which locations were covered in real time.
With no signal on remote stretches of road, there was no way to supervise counters’ work online. As a result, errors only came to light once the paper sheets were collected, when it was too late to repeat the count.
Paper records couldn’t prove exactly when the data was recorded or that it was authentic. Without a digital trail, a strategic project was at risk of having its results questioned.
We built intuitive apps that replaced the paper sheets and guide counters through the process step by step. This ensured clean digital data collection directly in the field and minimised the risk of methodological errors.
We brought all the logistics together in a central portal used to manage thousands of counters. The system replaced scattered records and made it possible to run the whole project from one place.
The apps work fully offline, so data collection continues smoothly even where there is no signal. As soon as a device connects, the system enables instant monitoring of the census and data visualisation for project management.
Built-in GPS logging and a visual display of passing vehicles made instant quality checks possible. This digital trail ensured ongoing verification of the results and their rapid export for further analysis.
Data is now available in seconds instead of months. Digital transfer fully replaced retyping thousands of sheets by hand, eliminating weeks of admin work.
Digital management of almost 40,000 shifts replaced inefficient coordination via text messages and spreadsheets. This significantly reduced the admin overhead and the cost of organising the whole operation.
Validation directly in the app removed the errors that came from retyping data. The result is precise datasets that need no later corrections and can be used straight away.
Instant monitoring in the field made it possible to deal with gaps immediately and avoid costly repeat counts. The checks ensured the census followed the right methodology from the very first minute.
The app has become the long-term standard for the national traffic census. In the Czech Republic, it was used in 2016, 2020 and 2025, and in 2022 it was successfully rolled out in Slovakia as well.
A robust architecture safely served thousands of users at the same time. All data is encrypted and protected, which gave the contracting authority confidence in a project of critical importance.
Working with the Commity.cz team was key to the success of the whole project. Digitalising the National Traffic Census opened up completely new ways to plan and organise this huge logistics operation more efficiently. We later used the system we built together in Slovakia and Hungary as well. It is comprehensive, stable, versatile and of high quality.
