Autumn app survey logs 13,500 trips from nearly 3,600 Tampere residents

The City of Tampere says the autumn app survey recorded around 13,500 trips from nearly 3,600 Tampere residents. The study was conducted through the Tampere.Finland mobile app and was open to anyone aged 13 and over.

Participation was strongest among people over 35, women, university graduates and drivers; residents in the city centre took part more often than those in other service areas.

The app automatically detected travel modes — walking, cycling, car, bus, tram and train — and logged trip times and lengths, letting planners track how residents move around the city.

Afterwards, 549 participants completed a feedback questionnaire. Eighty-five percent said taking part was easy and most would join again. Respondents praised the attractive snail-mail invitation, the inclusive recruitment and the simple app; many were surprised by how accurately trips appeared on the map.

There were issues: 11% said not all trips were recorded and 7% found manually adding missing trips difficult.

The app was tested in 2023 and updated for the 2025 study. Tampere will compare these results with the national household travel survey (2025–2026), whose findings are due in 2027, to decide whether to repeat the app-based approach.