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Comment by chem83

2 days ago

Relevant callout from https://bikemap.nyc/about:

* Limitations *

The data only contains the start and end station for each trip, but does not contain the full path. Route geometries are computed for each (start station, end station) pair using the shortest path from OSRM.

This means that the computed routes are directionally correct but inexact. Trips that start and end at the same station are filtered out since the route geometry is ambiguous.

This limitation comes with more interesting implications: e.g., I noticed that some bike trips are noticeably slower than average. For those I’d assume that the rider either took a detour or made a stop in between. The animation, however, makes it appear as if it was a very slow ride. Maybe worth considering to filter out all rides that are essentially walking speed or slower.

It also would be interesting to learn how many rides had been excluded altogether, just to put things into perspective.