Main course: SPATIAL ANALYSIS OF

TRANSPORT SYSTEMS

Sub Course:
GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS APPLIED
TO TRANSPORT PLANNING

Code: MPT421
Prepared by

Pr KAH Elvis
Associate Professor in Geography/Geomatics

Department of Geological Mapping and Geomatics, School of Geology and Mining Engineering,
University of Ngaoundere, kah_elvis@yahoo.fr Tel: +237 675 83 97 49
September 2023

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 Geographic Information Systems (GIS) applied to transport
planning
Code: MPT421
Prepared by Pr KAH Elvis

PART ONE: THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

Introduction
Transport planning is the process of defining future policies, goals, investments and spatial planning
designs to prepare for future needs to move people and goods to destinations. It is the planning
required in the operation, provision and management of facilities and services for the models of
transport to achieve faster, safer, comfortable, convenient, economic and environmental friendly
movement of people and goods. It is a prediction of usage demand in future travel, which ensures
all the necessary facilities and services to carter to that demand. Transport planning is highly
essential in shaping cities, enabling economic activities, promoting community interaction and
enhancing quality of life. It is also essential for sustainable development and ensuring safe
accessibility at various levels for all individuals.

Under transport planning, different practices such as urban development, urban transport policies,
legislative activities, funding bodies and project management are put together. It involves various
agencies, tools and organizations for successful transportation planning. Among the tools that can
be used in transport planning is the Geographic Information System s (GIS).

0.1 Objectives of the course

The general objective of this course is to teach the students to be capable of collecting and treating
transport data with the use of the computer. This should be with spreadsheets such as Microsoft
Access, Excel and or GIS softwares such as ArcGIS, MapInfo, QGIS etc and also linking the
spreadsheet data with GIS softwares to produce spatial thematic analysis for decision taking.

For the specific objectives, the programme aims at the following;

 To provide the students with the basic notions of GIS and the different map projection
systems that are related to it.
 To enable students master the application of Global Positioning System (GPS). This will be
in the form of collecting of waypoints, tracking of routes (railway lines, roads, pipelines,
electric lines, optical fibres etc) for their projection on a geo-referenced surface
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  To learn how to geo-reference raster data with the use of any GIS software. This facilitates
the acquisition of spatial statistics on vectors (precise location in longitudes and latitudes of
transport punctual phenomena, length of linear phenomena and surface area of suraface
phenomena in space)
 To master how to represent real world phenomena in a computer. This is because these
phenomena (related to transport planning) are studied as models, maps, databases or spatial
databases in a computer before their implementation on the field
 To study the generation of databases through which flux of economic goods can be
quantified. This enables policy makers to determine the suitable modes of transport to
handle such volumes of flux.
0.2 What is a GIS?
Geographic Information Systems (GIS) is a computer-based system that allows the study of natural
and man-made phenomena with a n explicit bearing on space. To this effect, it allows data entry,
data manipulation and the production of interpretable out put that may teach us lessons about the
phenomena.
In other words “It is an information system that is designed to work with data referenced by spatial
or geographic coordinates. Brief, a GIS is both a database system with specific capabilities for
spatially-referenced data, as well as a set of operations for working with the data"
GIS stands for Geographical Information System
- Geographical - relating to space
- Information – will mean information about that space (what is obtained from the space
- System – information about a defined space is stored in a certain network which is
interactive (ie in a computer with aid of softwares).
The primary purpose of GIS is to maintain and display data about geographic space.
The advent of computer science has given birth to new disciplines that were not in existence before.
Today for example courses such as programming database, E learning, Web mapping, remote
sensing, Internet, GIS, etc. can only take place in a computer. Thus, without the computer,
Geographic Information System cannot be carried out. GIS is interested in studies related to the
environment and most experts are concerned with environment studies. By environment we mean
any geographic space where events that take place be it on the surface, in the sea or in the
atmosphere that has some reference. GIS is applicable to many domains that have a bearing on
space, for instance:

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 - A transport agent uses GIS in planning, monitoring and managing complex systems
involved in transportation. The tool can be used in determining capacity enhancements,
improving operations, and identifying the most strategic investments for keeping the
transportation system in any country running optimally.
- An urban planner might like to find out about the urban fringe growth in his city, and
quantify the population growth that some suburbs are witnessing. He might also want to
understand why it is these suburbs and not the others.
- A natural hazard analyst might like to identify the high-risk areas of annual flooding by
looking at rainfall patterns and terrain characteristics;
- A mining engineer could be interested in determining which prospective copper mines are
best fit for future exploitation, taking into account parameters such as extent, depth and
quality of the ore body, amongst others;
- A geoinformatic engineer hired by a telecommunication company may want to determine
the best sites for the company’s relay stations, taking into account various cost factors such
as land prices, land undulations etc;
- In biodiversity management
- In forest management
- In hydrological engineering
All these professionals work with data that relates to space (positional data). Positional data
determines where things are or perhaps, where they were or will be. So, their questions relate to
geographic space.
1. Components of GIS
Actually there five components that make up for Geographic Information Systems. These
components include Data, Hardware, software, people and analysis. These in other words must be
put together before any GIS project can be initiated.

1.1 Data: They are representations that the computer operates upon. In other words, it is
information in a structured form or translated in a form that is efficient for processing. To be more
specific, it is information that has been converted into binary digital form. Raw data is the term
used to described data that is unprocessed, in this case it is in its most basic digital format. Note
should be taken that there is a difference between data and information. Data is an individual unit
that contains raw materials which do not carry any specific meaning. While information on the
other hand is a group of data that collectively carry a logical meaning. Data doesn’t depend on

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information but information depends on data. It is only when data is treated that we obtain
information. There are two main types of data used in GIS.

1.1.1 Raster data

Raster data is a matrix of cells (or pixels) that are organised into rows and columns (or a grid) where
each cell contains a value representing information such as temperature. Raster data are simply
digital aerial photographs, satellite images, digital pictures or even scanned maps. Data stored in a
raster format represent real world phenomena in the following three ways

- Thematic data, (also known as discrete) represent features such as land-use or soils data.
- Continuous data represent phenomena such as temperature, elevation or spatial data such as
satellite images and aerial photographs
- Picture include scanned maps or drawings and building photographs.

Thematic and continuous rasters may be displayed as data layers along with other geographic data
on a map but are often used as the source data for spatial analysis with GIS software. Raster data
can be stored in any type of these files; jpeg, PNG, tiff, img, bmp etc) and most GIS softwares
recognise these raster files.

Satellite image Aerial photograph Google Earth image Scanned Topographic map

Figure 1: Raster data types

1.1.2 Vector data

Vector data provide way to represent real world features within a GIS environment. A feature is
anything you can see on a landscape. By looking out through the window we can see houses, roads,
trees, rivers etc. Each of these things is a feature when we represent them in a GIS. Vector features
have attributes which consist of text or numerical information that describes the features. The shape
of a vector is represented using geometry. The geometry is made up of one or more interconnected
vertices. A vertex describes a position in space using an x, y and optionally z axis. Geometries
which have vertices with a z axis are often referred to as 2.5D since they describe height or depth

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at each vertex but not both. When a feature geometry consist of only a single vertex, it is referred
to as a point feature. When the geometry consists of two or more vertices and the first and the last
vertices are not equal, a polyline feature is formed. Where three or more vertices are present and
the last vertex is equal to the first, an enclosed polygon feature is formed. Brief, vector data is the
result of the treatment of raster data in the GIS softwares.

Point, line and polygon representations

Figure 2: Vector data types

Each of these vectors represent a different type of geographic object. The process whereby vectors
are created is known as digitisation or vectorisation.

1.2 Hardware

Hardware describes the physical aspect of the computer. The three main functions that comprises a
computer should have characteristics that can handle GIS. This means the components of
communication, treatment and storage should be up to task when dealing with GIS as this might
not be the case in operations that are different from GIS. For communication, we make allusions to
the monitor (computer screen), large screens are more adapted than small screens and thus a screen
of at least 17 inches will be recommended. Also take note of the quality of the screen, cathodic
screens are outdated as they had repercussions on the eyes, of preference today, plasma screens are
commendable. In treatment, we are referring to the keyboard. Depending on the user’s first
language of instruction, make sure the keyboard is adapted. If an English version of WINDOWS is
installed on an AZERTY keyboard, some of the keys will not function correctly. For example, letter
q on the keyboard will rather give a and vice versa. For storage, the central memory should have
capacity of at least 100 GO and the RAM (Read Access Memory) should range from at least 2 GO
as this is what determines the speed of the processor.

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 1.3 Software

A software is a built programme by informaticians that is designed to execute specific tasks through
the use of a computer. It is a set of instructions, data or programmes used to operate computers and
execute specific tasks. Software is a generic term used to refer to applications, scripts and
programmes that run on a device. It can be thought of as the variable part of a computer while
hardware is the invariable part. The two main categories of software are application software and
system software. An application is a software that fulfils a specific need or perform tasks. System
software on the other hand is designed to run a computer’s hardware and provides a platform for
applications to run on top. Other types of software include programming software, which provides
the programming tools software developers need; middleware which sits between system software
and applications and driver software which operates computer devices and peripherals.

Before the 1980s, early software was written for specific computers and sold with the hardware.
From the 1980s, software began to be sold on floppy disks and later on CDs and DVDs. Today
most softwares are purchased and directly downloaded from the internet.

1.4 People (Expertise)

Computer science or informatics is often confronted with the use of the computer whereby
bureauticians are mistakenly considered to be informaticians. There are a number of terms which
accompany informatics to the extent that it orchestrates confusion which often cause policy makers
not to know who is who and who can do what. Informatics therefore is the science that treats
information. The word information refers to any element of knowledge that is susceptible to be
exchanged between two authors independently from any interpretation. The treatment of
information refers to typing, modification, digitisation, transformation, storing and restitution
within a computer. Those who treat information on the computer are human beings and the actors
of informatics are human beings and computers. A human is he/she who collects the information,
gives it a significance and imposes directives or instructions to the computer in view of treating this
information. The computer is machine that can treat information following the command of a
human actor or another computer. The human actors can be classified into two: informaticians and
users.
An informatician is he/she who masters informatics sciences and is capable of conceiving tools
(programmes) that are dedicated to solving specific problems that are needed by the public. The
user on the other hand is he/she who is capable of using the computer and can effectively be served
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by a computer when exploiting the tools developed by an informatician. Informatics is science that
is related to mathematics (mainly algebra), physics (electronics) and philosophy (logic). The
philosophical component has actually been incorporated into mathematics thanks to the
mathematical logic known as the Boole Algebra.
1.5 Analysis
To analyse is the act of studying or examining something in detail in order to discover or understand
more about it. At the end one gives his/her opinion and judgement on the subject under study. In
GIS this constitutes the study of a given space and this takes place in a computer. This act of
studying puts together the hardware, software, expertise and data. From the analysis, the
interpretations have to be done by the expert to an audience. This audience plays a great role in the
orientation of the presentation.
1.6 GIS application
1.6.1 Practical steps in a GIS
Firstly, is to prepare maps to this effect in order to improve his/her understanding of the
phenomenon. Producing maps will need data about the phenomenon which includes the size of the
most affected areas, the number of the vulnerable population, topography of the area, soil type and
the climate.
This data is processed so that it will be analyzed and interpreted. This interpretation will be
beneficial if the processed data is presented in an easy to understand way. There are three stages of
working with geographic data:
 Data preparation and entry – here it involves data collection and preparation to be entered
into the system
 Data analysis – here the collected data is carefully reviewed and perhaps making attempts
to discover patterns
 Data presentation – presentation of the results of analysis.
This is very natural but one can find that data analysis suggests more data or the data presentation
may lead to follow up questions for which we need to do more analysis and for which we need
more data. So, the three phases above may be repeated several times before we become satisfied
with the results
1.6.2 Data analysis

 This takes place in a computer which eventually leads to the production of maps. Note
should be taken that maps fall within the phase of data presentation.

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  Take the case of flooding in Douala. From the data collected on the field, it showed that the
whole city obeys to one climatic type with almost equal amount of precipitation spread
across the city (though we do not expect the precipitation to take place at the same time all
over the city). In this case flood differentiation will only be in function of relief
characteristics. If the quarters of New Bell and Nylon for example have similar soil type,
relatively flat, no constructed drainage pattern and 3 m above sea level, then we expect
flooding in the same capacity in both quarters. If the depth of flooded waters taken at one
point is 7m, this will be generalized to the whole quarter sharing the same characteristics as
above. In such a case we talk of spatial interpolation. This means deriving an estimated
value for a property for some location where we have not measured
 The use of a GPS might be applied in such evaluation where the data will be downloaded
and entered into the system. At any point an evaluation is carried out with the GPS, the
information is registered at that specific location in order to obtain a georeferenced list
 From the GPS points taken at different locations, we proceed to spatial interpolation
 By geo-reference we mean spatial positioning. This must be associated with some position
using a spatial reference system. This can be by using longitude, latitude coordinates or by
other means.
 By spatial interpolation, it should first be understood that floods spread over large surfaces
and only on the spot on which the GPS point was taken. The GPS point only provides a
finite sample of that phenomenon. Spatial interpolation is a technique that allows us to
estimate the value for a property (in our case floods) in places we have not measured.
NB/ the theory of spatial interpolation is quite extensive but we are not going to focus on it. It is
however a typical example of data manipulation that a GIS can perform on user data
1.6.3 Data presentation

 This is typically in the form of maps (spatio-maps). It communicates the results of data
analysis. This presentation is in function of the message we want to put through, who is the
audience, what is the presentation medium, which rules of aesthetics apply and what
techniques are available for presentation.
 For instance, the message we want to portray is the flooding situation of New Bell and
Nylon quarters in the city of Douala. The presentation is in absolute figures i.e the surface
area affected by the floods, the number of people concerned and those affected, the amount

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 of damages caused by the floods (estimate in monetary terms) and the differences from a
normal situation.
 Our audience can be the “ENSTP” students or the administrative authorities who want to
obtain a better understanding of how GIS is applied in such a situation.
 The medium for presentation could either be a paper print or the manipulation of the
software or better still presentation in power point as this teacher is doing now
 The rules of aesthetics certainly demand many things: the maps should be printed North-up;
with clear geo-referencing; with intuitive use of symbols etc.
 The techniques that can be used include the use of colour scheme…
1.6.4 Organisation of spatial data
The main principle of data organisation in GIS is that of spatial data layer. A spatial data layer is
either a representation of a continuous or discrete field, or a collection of objects of the same kind.
The logic is that data is organised by kind e.g all telephone booth objects would be in a single data
layer and all road line objects would be in another one. A data layer contains spatial data as well as
attribute (thematic) data.

Two different vector layers

overlaid

Result of the two

different vector layers
Figure 3: Vector layers
1.6.5 Data processing systems
These are computer systems with hardware and software components. In combination, these
components should be able to process, store and transfer the data. In this case we should be talking
of geoinformation processing or spatial data handling both terms meaning the same thing. But the
difference lies in the fact that the former emphasizes more the aspect of interpretation and human
understanding of the data while the latter emphasizes more on the technical issues of how computers
operate on the data that represent the geographic phenomena.
The study objects in the field of GIS are referred to as Geographic phenomena. GIS helps in such
study because they represent these phenomena digitally in a computer. The digital representation
can be subjected to analytic functions (computation) in the GIS. A GIS also allows the visualization
of these representations in various ways. Geographic phenomenon is a manifestation of any entity
or process of interest that can be named or described, that can be geo-referenced and that can be

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assigned a time (interval) at which it is /was present. Given the objectives of a GIS project anything
in space can be considered as geographic phenomenon. For example, in transport planning the
objects of study can be types of transport systems, motor parks, railway stations, petrol stations,
accidents, airports etc. Observe that all these can be a time interval at which each exists.
In land administration on the other hand, the objects of study are different; houses, parcels, streets
of various types, land-use forms, sewage canals and other forms of urban infrastructure may all
play a role. Again, these can be named or described, geo-referenced and assigned a time interval of
existence.
From the above examples, we notice that to every phenomenon is attached the three aspects;
description, geo-reference and time interval. In the absence of one of them say geo-reference for
example, there will be something of interest that is not positioned in space. If there is no time
interval, there will be a phenomenon of interest that is considered to be always there. That is the
time-interval is likely to be considered infinite. If the description is missing, we have something
funny that exist in space and time, yet cannot be described (we think such a thing will not be of
interest in the GIS)
2. Cartographic projection systems

The earth is a sphere that is a little irregular while a map is a plan. Passing therefore from the
spherical nature of the earth to a map which is flat is what we refer to as map projection. Thus, a
map projection is mathematically described technique of how to represent the curved planet surface
on a flat map. This cannot therefore take place without any deformations; such deformations are
handled in GIS. It should be noted that the forms and dimensions of the earth falls within what is
referred to as Geodesy. It is through Geodesy that latitudinal, longitudinal and altitudinal
coordinates on any point of the surface are determined. Before 1970, measurements were carried
on the surface of the ground (terrestrial geodesy), since then these measurements are done in a
spatial system with the aid of satellites (spatial geodesy). The earth presents a complex and irregular
surface which cannot be modelled perfectly, thus to do measurements and calculations, geodesists
use two surfaces constructed mathematically: these are the geoid and ellipsoid.

Geoid is the surface that is approximately close to the earth’s oceans. Thus, every point on the geoid
has the same zero height all over the world. This makes it an ideal global reference surface for
heights. A geoid is looked upon as an irregular shaped “ball” (the earth) which facilitates earth
scientists in calculating the depth of earthquakes or depth of some minerals.

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An ellipsoid on the on the other hand is an irregular mathematical surface which is flattened at the
poles. We have local and global ellipsoids. Ellipsoid is approximately a geoid but they are not
exactly the same. It is the spherical nature of the earth where the equatorial axis is slightly longer
than the polar axis. The equatorial axis of the world geodetic system of 1984 (WGS84) in about 22
km longer than the polar axis.

In order to accurately plot any two sets of geological information from existing data sources we
will need to know 3 types of information; Ellipsoid, Datum, Projection.

If we don’t know all or any of these, we often have to resort to control point warping to overlay out
data sets…
2.1 Ellipsoid
A mathematical surface (an ellipse rotated around the earth's polar axis) which provides a
convenient model of the size and shape of the earth.
The ellipsoid is chosen to best meet the needs of a particular geodetic datum system design.

Figure 4: Ellipsoidal parameters

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Figure 5: Passage from spherical to a flat earth

2.2 Geoid
The Geoid is the equipotential surface of the Earth gravity field that most closely approximates the
mean sea surface.

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Figure 6: Geoid in a stretched form
2.3 Datum
A mathematically defined reference surface used to represent the size and shape of the earth. A
horizontal datum is defined by its ellipsoid, latitude and longitude orientation, and a physical origin.
Two commonly used horizontal datums are the WGS 84 (World Geodetic System 1984) and Clarke
1880. Different countries and regions often adopt different datums as “standard”.

Figure 7: Position shifts from datum differences

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2.4 UTM

• Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) coordinates define two dimensional, horizontal, positions.

• UTM zone numbers designate 6-degree longitudinal strips extending from 80 degrees South
latitude to 84 degrees North latitude.

• UTM zone characters designate 8-degree zones extending north and south from the equator.

• There are special UTM zones between 0 degrees and 36 degrees longitude above 72 degrees
latitude and a special zone 32 between 56 degrees and 64 degrees north latitude.

Figure 8: Datum zones of the world

3. Coordinate systems

There are two major types of coordinate systems which include Geographic coordinate system and
Projected coordinate system. Geographic Coordinate Systems (GCS) are used in geo-referencing,
data modelling, topology, edit session, snapping (drone) digitizing line and point features,
validating topology and creation of polygon features. They focus on referencing the ellipsoid
(datum) which should be in longitudes and latitudes (degrees) basing on the fact that the south
latitudes and the west longitudes are in (-). The Projected Coordinate System on the other hand is a
plane system that is derived from the ellipsoid (datum) x, y (meters).

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3.1: Classification of map projections according to changes of the earth

Any map projection is associated with distortions. There is simply no way to flatten a piece of
ellipsoid or spherical surface without stretching some parts of the surface more than others. Some
map projection can be visualized as true geometric projections directly onto the mapping plane, in
which case we call it an azimuthal projection or onto an intermediate surface which is then rolled
out into the mapping plane e.g cones and cylinders. Such map projections are then called conical
and cylindrical respectively. See figure…….

Figure 9: Map projection systems

These are all tangent surfaces because they touch the horizontal reference surface in one point
(plane) or along a closed line (cone and cylinder). The main classes of map projections are as
follows:

- Conformal map projection, here the angles between lines on the curved reference surface
are identical to the angles between the images of these lines in the map;
- Equal-area map projection (equivalent) is where the area enclosed by the lines in the map
is representative of taking into account the map scale and the area enclosed by the original
lines of the curved reference surface;
- Equidistant map projection is where the length of particular lines in the map is
representative of taking into account the map scale and the length of the original lines of the
curved reference surface

A particular map projection can have any one of these properties. It should be noted that a particular
map projection is named after its first inventor or first publisher eg the conformal conic projection

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with two standards parallels is referred to as Lambert’s conical projection. The actual mapping is
not done through the aforementioned geometric projections but through mapping equations. A
forward mapping equation associates mathematically the plane Cartesian coordinates (χ, γ) of a

point to the geographic coordinates (ø, λ), also known as (latitude, longitude), of the same point on

the curved reference surface

(χ, γ) = ƒ(ø, λ)

The corresponding inverse mapping equation associates mathematically the geographic coordinates
(ø, λ) of a point on the curved reference surface to the plane Cartesian coordinates (χ, γ) of the same
point.

(ø, λ) = ƒ-1(χ, γ)

3.2 Classification of map projections according to modes of construction

A surface can be projected on a plane (azimuthal projection) or on a developed surface (cylindrical

projection) or on a cone (conical projection).

3.2.1 Azimuthal projection

Here the projected surface is a tangent plan on the sphere. The longitudes are at right angles while
the latitudes are concentric circles.

Figure 10: Azimuthal projection systems on tangent surfaces

According to the point of view that defines the origin of the perspective, we construct projections
that have particular characteristics and interests

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Stereographic Orthographic Gnomonic

Figure 11: View points of the azimuthal projections

The stereographic is a conformal projection, the view point is opposite the tangent point; the other
two are aphylactic projections with orthographic having an infinite view point while the gnomonic
has its view point at the centre of the earth. The area found within a square will be well represented
in the azimuthal projection, eg maps on atlases.

3.2.2 Cylindrical projections

Here the projected surface is a tangent or secant cylinder to the sphere. Longitudes are of
equidistance while the spacing of latitudes differ according to the viewpoints. The cylindrical
projection is good at the equatorial region especially when the area to be mapped stretches along a
longitude.

The centre of the projection is a great circle. Longitudes and latitudes cut across at right angles
in a rectangular structure.
Figure 12: Cylindrical projection system
3.2.3 Conical projections
These projections are convenient at the average latitudes and they are the most used. The surface
projected is a tangent or secant cone. The centre of projection is a latitude (Prime meridian). In this
case the latitudes converge at the summit of the cone while latitudes are concentric circles.

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The projected surface is a tangent or secant cone longitudes converge at the summit and
latitude are concentric circles
Figure 13: Projected surfaces of the cylindrical projection
The regulatory projection used in France to realize the base maps was the conformal conical
projection of Lambert (Jean Henri Lambert) a mathematician 1728-1777. In order to minimize the
deformations, he did the projection from four tangent cones of the globe along parallel 55 gr
(Lambert 1 for the North), parallel 52 gr (Lambert II for the Centre), parallel 49 gr (Lambert III for
the south) and parallel 46.85 gr (Lambert IV for Corsica). Lambert II for example covered the whole
of France. Lambert 93 came into existence since 2000 established from a secant cone of parallels
44° and 49°. UTM cylindrical projection covers the whole world. It is constituted of 60 time zones
of 6° amplitude.

Figure 14: Different types of the projection systems

3.3 The choice of projection.

The choice of projection depends on the circumstances in which one finds himself. If the map of an
area is realised twice in two different projection systems cannot exactly be superposed. Thus the
preferred projection takes into consideration the latitude where the region is found, the extent of the
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area and the form of the region to be represented. To insert distribution phenomena on the map, eg
points, follow equivalent projection with which the map has been realised. Always make sure that
the map drawn stretches from the Prime meridian which is the central vertical line and from the
Equator which is the central horizontal line. The choice of projection always has a reason like those
of Mercator, constructed in 1569 by Gerardus Mercator (Flemish (Belgian) mathematician and
Geographer 1512-1594), Peters projection, Fuller projection, Goode projection and J. Bertin
projection.

4. GPS

Introduction
GPS stands for global positioning system. It is an apparatus or an instrument used in locating,
tracking and measuring phenomena in space. It works alongside satellites that are in space launched
by different countries. It uses alkaline batteries and must be used in open space. It is sold in the
market and individuals can procure theirs privately.

4.1 Genesis/origin

GPS is the result of the NAVSTAR (Navigation satellite timing and ranging) project launched by
the Americans in the 1960s. Before launching it, preliminary studies lasted for 10 years and what
we have today is the module validated and retained between the 1972 and 1979. The first
constellation of satellites was launched into the atmosphere between 1976 and 1978 and the GPS
was officially declared operational even for commercial purposes in 1994. It could provide precise
positioning services (PPS) to US and allied military forces as well as US government agencies. It
also provides standard positioning services (SPS) to civilians throughout the world. Its space
segments nominally consist of 24 satellites each of which makes a complete orbit of the earth planet
in 11:58 mins at an attitude of 20200km. The satellites are organised in 6 orbital planes that are
irregularly spaced with an angle of inclination of 55-63º. The equatorial plane (where Cameroon is
location) nominally has 4 satellites each. This means that to locate a point in this region with the
GPS, the receiver will have between 5 and 8 sometimes up to 12 satellites.
Since this originated in the USA, its master control segment is located in Colorado which monitors
stations along the equator e.g in Hawaii, Kwajalein, Atoll in the marshal islands, Diego Garcia (in
the Indian ocean) and Ascension Island (in the south Atlantic Ocean).
The Navistar satellites transmit two signals namely the L1 frequency at 1575.42 MHZ and L2
frequency at 1227.60 MHZ. The two signals consist of:
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  The carrier waves at the given frequencies.
 A coarse ranging code, known as C/A modulated on L1.
 An encrypted precision ranging code known as P(Y) modulated on L1 and L2.
 A navigation message modulated on both L1 & L2.

The role of L2 is to provide a second radio signal which allows the dual frequency receivers a way
of determining the actual atmospheric delay on satellite signals received. The role of the ranging
codes is two:
- to identify the satellite that sent the signal as each satellite sends unique codes and the receiver
have a look-up table for these codes
- to determine the signal transit time and thus the satellite range
The navigations message contains the satellite orbit, satellite clock error information and some
general information. GPS uses WGS84 as its reference system. It has been refined on several
occasions and is now aligned with the ITRF in a few centimetres throughout the world.
For commercial purposes there are many qualities of GPS receivers available. The quality of a GPS
depends on positioning features incorporated in it. These include support single or dual frequency,
support absolute or relative positioning, perform code measurements, carrier phase measurements.
Leica and Trimble are two well-known brands of GPS that perform high precision location and
measurements. Margellan and Garmin are low cost mostly used for recreational activities. These
two are single frequency receivers doing only code measurement but also relative positioning.
4.2 Types of GPS

There are different types of GPS used worldwide but these types depend on the countries that
develop it with their associated satellites. These include:

4.2.1 GLONASS
The word GPS was fabricated by the Americans and destined for the USA military. GLONASS is
the name given to the same instrument destined for the Russian army specifically the Russian space
forces. Thus, positioning technology as it should be noted was destined for military purposes. The
difference between GLONASS and GPS is that the use of the GPS is extended to civilian use and
thus has an important economic impact; this is not the case with GLONASS as it is strictly limited
to military use in Russia.
GLONASS space segment equally consists of 24 satellites organised in orbital planes with an
inclination of 64.8º at the equator. Its altitude lies at 19130km with a revolution period of 11 hours
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16 minutes. GLONASS uses PZ-90 as its reference system and the GPS uses UTC as time reference
though with a offset for Russian daylight.
GLONASS radio signals are similar to that of the GPS but differ in details. Its satellites use different
identifier schemes and their navigation message use other parameters. They also use different
frequencies. GLONASS L1 is at 1248MHz with similar performance system with the GPS.
4.2.2 GALILEO

In the 1990s, the European Union felt the need to have its own satellite-based positioning system.
This was to enable them become independent of the GPS monopoly and to support its own
economic growth by providing reliable services under civilian control.
Thus, Galileo came into existence which is the EU system. It became fully functional with 30
satellites in 2008. This is envisaged to have more satellites in the future with the advent of mobile
phone receivers which rose to about 400 million users by 2015. At moment, Galileo functions with
27 satellites with 3 reserves going around the earth in one of the 3 orbits at an altitude of 23222km
inclined at 56º at the equator. Its performance has been improved upon compared to that of the GPS
especially its coverage at the higher latitudes such as northern Scandinavia.
In 2004, the EU and the US agreed to make Galileo and GPS compatible by adoption of
interchangeable satellite signals set ups. This raised the number of satellites to about 60 that both
receivers are exposed to. This has increased the performance of both systems especially in cities,
forest areas. It is through this agreement that has facilitated the implementation of automated air
and road traffic, automatic aeroplane landing.
4.3 GPS applications

The application of the GPS is simple and straight forward. These applications are in 3 ways
- Locating a point in space
- Measurement of surface areas
- Tracking
Locating phenomena in space is very important. The precise location of geographic objects in space
can only be done with geographic coordinates got through the GPS. The distance between points
with geographic coordinates can be calculated manually as follows:
It is established that
The gap of 1° ie from 1° to 2° of either longitude or latitude = 111.11km
That of 1’ ie 1’ to 2’ = 111;11/60 = 1.85km

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And that 1’’ ie 1’’ to 2’’ = 1.85/60 = 0.03km or 30m (take note each point located with a GPS
has longitude, latitude and altitude).
If you are asked for example to calculate the distance from A to B where =
X (longitude) A = 10° 05’ 19’’ B = 10° 47’ 25’’ since these are only longitudes, then it is a
straight line, it is as follows:
10° 05’ 19’’ -10° 47’ 25’’
1110+9.25+.57 = 1119.82
1110+86.95+.75 = 1197.7
= 1197.7 – 1119.82
= 77.88 km
Then to calculate A to C where
A = X = 9°34’41’’ B = X = 10°05’19’’ C = X = 10°47’25’’
Y = 3°14’52’’ Y = 2°56’33’’ Y = 2°56’33’’
From A to x = 3° 14’ 52’’ and 2° 56’ 33’’
333+25.9+1.56 = 360.46
222+103.6+.99 = 326.59
= 360.46 - 326.59 = 33.87
X to B
9°34’ 41’’ and 10° 05’ 19’’
999+62.9+1.23 = 1063.13
1110+9.25+0.57 = 1119.82
= 1119.82 - 1063.13 = 56.69

= 56.68

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B to C
10° 05’ 19’’ to 10° 47’ 25’’
1110+9.25+.57 = 1119.82
1110+86.95+.75 = 1197.7
= 1197.7 – 1119.82
= 77.88
A to C = 56.68 + 77.88 = 134.56 km
With measurements, this can either be surfaces or linear objects, (road, river, electricity cables,
telephone lines etc). Since GIS is all about quantification in space, surfaces to be occupied by
transport equipment must be evaluated. These measurements can be done through the following
means.
Firstly, these measurements can either be done on a map (topographic or geological map.) To do
the measurements this actually depends on the scale of the map. For example, a map of 1/50 000
which in other words is 1cm equals 500 m, using a ruler, squares can be realised on the map at
intervals of 1cm. Same exercise is done at different scales.
Secondly, the measurements can be done directly on the field using a decametre or a GPS. With a
decametre, specs can be pinned at starting point, intersection point and end point and their intervals
measured with a decametre. This is the manual means as shown by the examples below.

Example 1

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Example 2

Example 3

Figure 15: Types of surfaces to be calculated

Before applying any of the above applications, the first thing to do is to configure the GPS in other
words, this is to do a set-up which suits the objectives for which the GPS is applied for. The
following set-up operations can be done on the GPS.

- Language: Different languages have been incorporated in a GPS, so in the set-up menu it
suffices to scroll through at select the language that you best master. English and French are
principal languages in it.
- The zone: All the time zones in the world have been incorporated in a GPS. In case one is
missing there is always the option of other or automatic which leads you to your own time
zone if it doesn’t exist. The time zone for Cameroon is + 1 hour of Cameroon time from
the GMT
- Location position
- Units
- Type of batteries
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 - Etc

4.4 The domains of application are as follows

- Agriculture: This is to carry out precision agriculture or site-specific farming where the GPS is
combined with GIS. It enables data collection with accurate position information which leads to
efficient manipulation and analysis of large amounts of geospatial data. GPS can be used for farm
planning, field mapping, soil sampling, tractor guidance, crop scouting and yield mapping. With
precision agriculture aided by the GPS, there is the precise application of pesticides, herbicides and
fertilizers. This reduces expenses, higher yields and cheating environmentally friendly farms.
Precision agriculture is all about the collection of geospatial information on soil-plant animal
requirements. This not only protects the environment but increases production.

- Aviation: The GPS helps in increasing the safety and efficiency in flight. It offers satellite
navigation services needed by aviation users. Such precisions are important to aircrafts at departure,
during flight and at landing at the airport, Today the trend is towards an Area Navigation where the
GPS is greatly used. This means the aircraft flies from one waypoint to another where the waypoints
are not surface waypoints. More air routes have been defined today thanks to the GPS. In some
places around the world, satellite signals have been increased where aircraft landings are possible
in poor visibilities.

- Environment: The GPS has greatly enhanced data collection on the environment that has improved
upon environmental management. It has enabled the collection of accurate and timely information
needed by government and private organisations. The precise data collected on the environment
enabled policy makers to develop descriptive information and spaced out on the environment for
the vast areas. This has facilitated the analysis of many environmental problems from a new
perspective. Data collected on the environment through the GPS is usually imported into GIS
software to be projected where analysis of particular situations can be done. Aerial studies of some
remote places around the world have been conducted with the use of the GPS coordinates and it has
been possible to evaluate conservation efforts and strategic planning by some countries. It is thanks
to GPS data that some governments manage their regulatory programmes such as the control of
royalties from mining operations limiting borders and managing logging in their forests.

- Public safety and disaster relied

- Tracking the movement of locomotive rail cars, maintenance vehicles etc.

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- Recreation- used by tourists who orientate their movements and avoiding getting lost in
wilderness.
-Transport systems Roads, Railways, air navigation, water navigation
- Space-positioning of satellites in space
-Surveying and mapping – imported to GIS to provide accurate mapping and modelling of the
physical world where a map will show mountains, slopes, rivers, streets in cities, buildings etc.

- Timing- in addition to longitude, latitude altitude there is a fourth dimension provided by the GPS,
time

5. Modes of real-world representation in Computer

Real world phenomena can be represented on the computer in many ways. Though it may be just
some part of the world because the whole world cannot be represented in its entirety, these can be
through modelling, map, database and spatial database.

5.1 Modelling

In the GIS environment modelling of geographic space can be through a map and database. A map
is a miniature representation of some part of the real world. Paper maps have existed for long and
today we also talk of digital maps. With database, the structuring of database is known as data
modelling. This process involves the identification of the kinds of data that the database will store
as well as the relationship between these data kinds.

5.2 Maps

The best known (conventional) models of the real world are maps. Maps have been used for
thousands of years to represent information about the real world. Their conception and design have
developed into a science with a high degree of sophistication.
5.3 Databases
A database is a repository for storing large amounts of data. It comes with a number of useful
functions. It can be used by many users at the same time ie it allows concurrent use;
 It offers a number of techniques for storing data and allows the use of the most efficient one
ie it supports storage optimisation;
 It allows the imposition of rules on the stored data, rules that will be automatically checked
after each update of the data ie it supports data integrity;

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  It offers an easy to use data manipulation language which allows the execution of all sorts
of data extraction and data update ie it has a query facility;
 Databases tries to execution each query in the data manipulation language in the most
efficient way ie it offers query optimisation.
5.4 Spatial databases
This is another form of computer representation of the real world. It is a specific type of database
and this is for the specific use of GIS. It is special because it uses traditional techniques that are
different from tables to store these spatial representations. A spatial database sometimes called
geodatabase is different from GIS though both systems share a number of characteristics.
A spatial database focuses on the functions of databases in general – concurrency, storage integrity
and querying. A GIS on the other hand focuses on operating on the spatial data with a deeper
understanding of the geographic space. It deals with spatial reference systems and functions like
distance and area computations, spatial interpolation and Digital Elevation Model (DEM).
6. GIS applications in transport planning
Transport systems constitutes one of the solutions that a country develops in order to master spatial
discontinuities. It brings together different places into a spatial coherent structure that is organised
to function as an entity. The road network in India for example is huge with more than 3.01 million
kilometres of road length with 34 608 km of National Highway, 128 622 km of State Highway and
informal network of 2 737 080 km, operated in vastly different social, economic and climatic
environments. In Cameroon for example and according to official statistics, there are about 50 000
km of road network classified into National roads (7041 km), Regional roads (5 616 km), Rural
roads classified (12 843 km) and Rural unclassified roads (16100 km). But those under government
focus are about 27 000 km. Railway line was about 1 138 km in the 1980s, but nowadays with the
closing of Douala-Nkongsamba line (172 km), Mbanga-Kumba (29 km) and Otele-Mbalmayo line
(53 km) leaves only 884 km functional today. As for water transport, there are a number of
navigable rivers linking towns and villages and a 360 km coastline stretching from Campo at the
border with Equatorial Guinea in the south to the Nigerian border north of Akwayafe River. In air
transport the country counts 4 international airports (Douala, Yaounde, Garoua and Maroua) and
quite a number of local airports. Such information is vital for any planning to be carried out with
GIS. At any time, focus is on one system of transport and these are the basic information needed to
feed the GIS database. The planning and management of such a huge network in the country has to
be primarily done at two levels i.e. national and local. For road transport for instance, the major
planning in different aspects of road network can be attributed to the lack of availability of large
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volume of data required for this purpose. Even if this data is made available, the next problem is
how to manage and access that data. The valuable information related to existing transport
infrastructure is scattered all over the country at different organizations. Thus, practically the
present available data at a large number of locations in all possible formats are waste and resources
spent for collection and maintenance of this data is draining the economy as a routine ritual and not
fulfilling the objectives.
In Cameroon, only 10% of the national road network is tarred and the rest are facing maintenance problems.
This can be due to lack of follow up, embezzlement or lack of funding. The adoption of newly emerging
technologies such as GIS can help to improve the decision-making process in this area. This tool has become
more widely used in transportation planning agencies, especially among metropolitan transportation
organizations. In many developed countries, highway maintenance management is becoming a critical issue.
Many more authorities are now able to use GIS for Highways and transport management, due to falling costs
and GIS increasing overfriendliness. GIS offer transport planners a medium for storing and analysing data
on population densities, land uses, travel behaviour, etc. The most important objectives for using GIS are
map/display and data integration. Agencies must identify potential issues that can be addressed through a
GIS application more efficiently and effectively, and more economically than with prevailing methods.
Federal, state and local agencies are using GIS information to develop transportation policy and planning.
The application of GIS has relevance to transportation due to the essentially spatially distributed
nature of transportation related data, and the need for various types of network level analysis,
statistical analysis and spatial analysis and manipulation. Most transportation impacts are spatial.
At GIS platform, the transport network database is generally extended by integrating many sets of
its attribute and spatial data through its linear referencing system. Moreover, GIS will facilitate
integration of all other socio-economic data with transport network database for wide variety of
planning functions.

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Figure 16. a) Classification of roads in Cameroon b) Flux of economic goods in Cameroon c)
quantification of phenomena
The main advantage of using GIS is its ability to access and analyse spatially distributed data with
respect to its actual spatial location overlaid on a base map of the area of coverage that allows
analysis not possible with the other database management systems. The main benefit of using the
GIS is not merely the user-friendly visual access and display, but also the spatial analysis capability
and the applicability to apply standard GIS functionalities such as thematic mapping, charting,
network-level analysis, simultaneous access to several layers of data and the overlapping of same,
as well as the ability to interface with external programs and software for decision support, data
management, and user-specific functions.

The existing database does not allow the user to manipulate, access, and query the database other
than in a very limited way. The user is limited to textual queries only, the selection and viewing of
crossing attribute data with respect to spatial and topological relationships is not possible. Over
related data, such as land use, population, and the road network characteristics of the area in the
crossings vicinity, cannot be accessed in the present database. This ability of GIS, along with the
final presentation of results on a digital base map, will allow the user a better perception of the
problem, enable better decisions, and allow a better understanding of what is to be achieved in a
broader sense. The ability to define conditional queries, perform statistical analysis, create thematic
maps, and provide charting chances the crossing safety program by allowing for better
understandability of the data.
Furthermore, the ability of most GIS software to provide many basic transportation models and
algorithms may also be useful in specific situations. The ability to link up to external procedures

29
and softwares also provides flexibility, as these procedures can access data within the GIS and
present the results of analysis to the GIS for viewing and analysis.
The geographic information system (GIS) could be used as a tool for highway infrastructure
management in a way similar to its current application in land-based information. GIS procedures
provide a coordinated methodology for drawing together a wide variety of information sources
under a single, visually oriented umbrella to make them available to a diverse user audience. GIS
tools can be applied to aid technical and administrative specialists both in managing costly and
intensively used resources and in supplying information to decision-makers.
Transportation Planning generally consists of a number of individual modules, often operated
independently of one another. These modules include construction, quality control, pavement
management, maintenance, management, bridge management, traffic systems management (traffic
operations management for traffic corridor analysis, highway construction-oriented rerouting,
hazardous materials routing, incident management, and safety elements management) roadside
safety appurtenances, and accident data.
GIS intervention in transport can be done in the following ways
- Construction management
- Route planning
- Traffic modelling
- Transport safety management
- Highway maintenance
- Environmental impact assessment
- Accident analysis
With construction management, During the construction of airports, structure simulations must be
performed using GIS related software before actual construction. Three-dimension pictures are part
of the design and modelling process. During construction, drone technology can be integrated with
GIS to help in visualizing ongoing construction. Errors can then be corrected, and a wide of land
properties feed into GIS for further planning. GIS is also used to enable the creation of design
templates that explain a prospective project like a highway, airport, or port.
With route planning, when a proposal is made to construct new roads or railway lines, field experts
must approve the routes on which the developments are to be laid out. Longer routes are to add
more resource consuming and make travel time to increase, for example with roads and railways
drastically. Road and rail engineers must navigate road or rail routes via the shortest and most

30
efficient paths. Longer routes deprive the citizen or user of the road money as much of the expenses
go on fuel costs. Efficient, secure, and shorter paths must, therefore, be realized. Its, however
difficult to determine the best route if manual methods are used. GIS is best to apply in such
instances as drainage, soil properties, and the sloppiness of land is easy to determine. This is thus
one of the commonly performed tasks by GIS on infrastructure. It`s also easier to come with route
designs and models when using GIS.
In traffic modelling, most cities in the world are full of vehicles. If the government does not take
proper measures to effectively manage the traffic, this leads to heavy congestion and traffic jams,
which have devastating consequences on the economy. Following the significant changes being
made in the world of computer technology, most countries are migrating to the use of computer
systems for traffic management and structure design. With spatial data, best designs of roads,
railways and airports are made with the use of GIS to overcome such inconveniences. GIS does
not only monitor these transport systems during construction but also offers surveillance and
visualization of traffic after they are built.
In transport safety management, Information from different transport structures is beneficial to help
formulate regulations and inform the public on how to use certain transport facilities. Crossing
points can have integration with GIS for better signalling of drivers and people trying to crossroads
or even railway crossing points. Places considered to be black spots and prone to accidents are also
studied using GIS to determine the causes of accidents. This is thus very beneficial to any country.
In highway maintenance, it has over the last few years become easy and cost-effective due to the
introduction of geographic information System. Satellites can take images about highways on a
real-time basis, which shows the critical areas that are experiencing challenges. Various maps are
also availed by GIS digitally to the government and relevant authorities for decision making.
Information about highway structures can be feed into GIS databases and accessed from any place.
Talking about environmental impact assessment, roads, railways, ports, and airports are usually
built on the land. The existence of some structures that are put along with transportation amenities
may have consequences on human life or that of wildlife. A good example is the construction of a
highway or railway across a game park or very near to a water body. The environment is thus a
factor that must be considered as it offers the habitat for both human beings and other living
organisms. GIS comes to offer help as predictions on what would happen if a given infrastructure
is started in a specific location are expounded. Pipelines are sometimes viewed as a mode of
transport for petroleum products. Leakages from pipelines cause the death of aquatic animals.

31
Transportation of petroleum and its products through pipelines is thus also another task undertaken
with proper integration of GIS as the environment would suffer the most in case some things went
wrong.
The tracking systems developed in most countries coupled with satellite imaging services, use the
GPS and this is integrated with GIS. For example, the tracking system used on trucks plying the
Douala-Bangui-N’Djamena corridor. In case of accident or an attack on a truck, its location address
is used to raise the alarm to accident emergency responders or security agents to offer help. GIS
can act as a source of a report in the event of an accident. In accident analysis, data needed for the
GIS must take into consideration the system of transport (road, air, water or rail transport), if road
transport for example, the type of accident, location, state of vehicles involved, number of deaths,
number injured, date, time of day…this can be in the form of a project that involve some road
arteries.
Some Bibliographic references

Abler R., Adams J., Gould P., (1971): Spatial organization; The Geographer`s view of the World,
Englewood Cliffs; Prentice Hall
Azam J. P. (1993): The uncertain distributional impacts of Structural Adjustment in Sub Saharan
Africa; In Van der Hoeven and F. Van der Kraaij; (eds); Structural Adjustment and Beyound.
Long term development in Sub Saharan Africa. Oxford, James Currey Publishers, 163 p.
Beguin H., (1979) : Méthodes d'analyse géographique quantitative, Paris, Litec, 252 p.
Beguin M. and Pumain D., (2005): La représentation des données géographiques; Statistiques et
cartographie, Séries cursus, Paris, Armand Colin, 192 p.
Christeller W., (1933): Central Places in Southern Germany, Prentice Hall, 1966; 230 p.
De Ketele J. M. et Rogiers X., (1998) : Méthodologie du recueil d'informations : Fondements des
méthodes d'observation, de questionnaires, d'interviews et d'études de documents. Louvain-La-
Neuve, Laboratoire de pédagogie expérimentale, UCL, 215 p.
Dromard S. J., and Melounou (1999) : Les SIG comme outils de construction collective, Mémoire
de DESS, Application des technologies spatiales, Université Louis Pasteur- Université Robert
Schuman- Université Marc Bloch, 43 p.
English, P. W., and Robert C. Mayfield (1972): Man, Space and Environment: Concepts in
Contemporary Human Geography. New York: Oxford University Press 267 p.
Grimmeau J. P., (1998): Méthodes cartographiques et quantitative d`analyse des répartitions et des
structures spatiales, Brussels, Presses Universitaires, 192 p.
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Groupe Dupont, Geopoint 94 (1994) : SIG, analyse spatiale et aménagement, Avignon, Université
d’Avignon, 231 p.
Lagarde J. de, (1995) : Initiation à l'analyse des données. Paris, Dunod, Bordas, 162 p.
Laurini R. and Thompson D. (1992), Fundamentals of Spatial Information Systems. Vol. 37 of the
APIC series. Academic Press, London, U.K 137 p
Longley P. A., Goodchild M. F., Maguire D.M., Rhind D/W. eds (1999). Geographic Information
Systems, Principles, Techniques, Management and Applications, Second Edition, Vol.1. John
Wiley band Sons, New York, 409 p
Molenaar M. (1998). Introduction to the theory of spatial object modelling. Taylor and Francis,
London UK
Pumain Denise and Therese Saint Julien (2001): Les interactions spatiales, Series cursus, Paris,
Armand Colin, 191 p.
Robinson A. H., (1978): Early thematic mapping in the history of cartography, Chicago; The
University of Chicago Press
Rolf A. de By, Richard A.Knippers and Yola Georgiadou (2004): Principles of Geographic
Information Systems, ITC educational textbook series, third edition, Enschede, Holland, 226 p.
Sanders L., (1989): L'analyse des données appliquées à la géographie, Montpellier, RECLUS, 267p.
Taylor P., (1977): Quantitative methods in Geography, an introduction of spatial analyses;
Waveland press, 386 p.
PART TWO: PRACTICAL; THE APPLICATION OF GIS
1. Acquisition and Preparation of raster data covering the study area
2. Installation of GIS software (ArcGIS, MapInfo or QGIS)
3. Importation and geo-referencing of the raster data
4. Application of GPS, collection and characterisation of field data related to transport qnd
integration into the GIS environment
5. Creation of vector data and defining the variables for the database
6. Spatial analysis
7. Cartographic restitution
Equipment needed.
- Laptop
- GPS
- Softwares
- compass

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