Glossary & Data Dictionary
This page defines commonly used Strava Metro terms and explains the fields included in Metro data exports.
Glossary
Activities Complete activities as recorded by Strava users. The unit of measurement between when a Strava member starts recording on their device and stops recording.
Trips (Edge Counts data) Crossings of a given edge by Strava users. A single activity may generate multiple trips if an edge is traversed more than once, regardless of direction.
Commutes Activities determined to be utilitarian in nature. Commutes are defined as non-recreational trips and are not limited to travel between home and work. More information is available here: Commutes in Metroview.
Leisure activities All activities that are not classified as commutes.
Bike data Bicycle activity data, including rides marked as e-bike rides by Strava users. Bike data may appear as total rides, traditional bike rides, or e-bike rides in dashboards, Edge Counts data, and exports.
Pedestrian data Pedestrian activity data, including run (including trail run), walk, and hike activities combined into a single dataset. The percentage distribution of each activity type can be viewed in Edge Counts summaries or dashboards.
Edge A single segment of a street, path, or trail used as the base unit of measurement in Edge Counts data. Edges are derived from OpenStreetMap geometry and typically represent the portion of a way between two intersections or nodes. A single OSM way may be divided into multiple edges.
OSM Way A linear feature in OpenStreetMap, such as a road, trail, or bike path, used as the geographic reference for edges in Strava Metro. Multiple edges in Metro may reference the same OSM way. The osm_reference_id field in Edge Counts data corresponds to the OSM Way ID.
H3 hexagonal grid A geographic indexing system that divides the world into uniform hexagonal cells. Strava Metro uses H3 resolution 8 hexagons in Origins and Destinations and Hexagon Counts data. Each hexagon covers approximately 0.74 square kilometers and is identified by a unique hex_id that can be joined to the accompanying shapefile.
Edge Counts Data — Data Fields / Data Dictionary
Edge Counts exports provide aggregated counts of activity on individual street or path segments.
edge_UID Unique identifier for the street or path segment.
activity_type The activity mode, such as ride or pedestrian.
year-month-date-hour Aggregated time period in ISO 8601 format (YYYY-MM-DD-HOUR). An hour value of 5 represents activity between 5:00 am and 6:00 am local time. Times reflect the local time zone of the export.
osm_reference_id The OpenStreetMap (OSM) Way ID associated with the edge. A way represents a linear feature such as a road, trail, or bike path. Multiple edges in Strava Metro may reference the same OSM way.
Forward / Reverse direction "Forward" indicates trips traveling in the direction the OSM way was digitized, from the first node to the last. "Reverse" indicates trips traveling in the opposite direction and does not indicate wrong-way travel.
More detail is available here: Forward and reverse directions in Metro data.
Trip counts Trip counts represent the total number of bicycle or pedestrian trips on an edge during the given timeframe.
- forward_trip_count, reverse_trip_count
- forward_commute_trip_count, reverse_commute_trip_count
- forward_leisure_trip_count, reverse_leisure_trip_count
Bike data only
- total_trip_count
- ride_count (traditional bicycles)
- ebike_ride_count (activities marked as e-bike rides)
Pedestrian data only
- total_trip_count
People counts People counts represent the number of unique individuals who completed at least one trip on an edge during the timeframe.
- forward_people_count, reverse_people_count
People counts by gender
- forward_male_people_count, reverse_male_people_count
- forward_female_people_count, reverse_female_people_count
- forward_unspecified_people_count, reverse_unspecified_people_count
People counts by age group
- forward_18_34_people_count, reverse_18_34_people_count
- forward_35_54_people_count, reverse_35_54_people_count
- forward_55_64_people_count, reverse_55_64_people_count
- forward_65_plus_people_count, reverse_65_plus_people_count
Average speed
- forward_average_speed, reverse_average_speed Average speed is reported in meters per second.
Origins and Destinations Data — Data Fields / Data Dictionary
Origins and Destinations exports summarize where activities begin and end within H3 hexagonal grid cells.
hex_id Identifier for the hexagon in the associated shapefile. Uses H3 resolution 8.
date Month or year represented in the data, depending on the export selection.
origins_or_destinations Indicates whether the record represents an origin or a destination.
activity_types Activity mode, either bicycle or pedestrian (run, walk, hike).
count Total number of activities starting or ending in the hex during the selected period.
commute_count Number of commute activities starting or ending in the hex during the selected period.
leisure_count Number of leisure activities starting or ending in the hex during the selected period.
Time-of-day counts
- morning_count (5 am to 10 am)
- midday_count (10 am to 3 pm)
- evening_count (3 pm to 8 pm)
- overnight_count (8 pm to 5 am)
Day-of-week counts
- weekday_count (Monday to Friday)
- weekend_count (Saturday and Sunday)
Hexagon Counts Data — Data Fields / Data Dictionary
Hexagon Counts exports provide aggregated activity totals within H3 hexagonal grid cells for a selected time period.
hex_id Unique identifier for each hexagon. This field appears in both the CSV and shapefile and can be used to join the two datasets.
date Month and year associated with the data in that row, in YYYY-MM format.
count Total number of activities recorded within the hexagon for the selected filters and time period.
average_speed Average speed of activities within the hexagon during the selected time period, reported in meters per second.
Time-of-day counts
- time_of_day_morning Activity count between 5:00 am and 10:00 am.
- time_of_day_midday Activity count between 10:00 am and 3:00 pm.
- time_of_day_evening Activity count between 3:00 pm and 8:00 pm.
- time_of_day_overnight Activity count between 8:00 pm and 5:00 am.
Day-of-week counts
- weekday Activity count for weekday trips (Monday–Friday) within the selected time period.
- weekend Activity count for weekend trips (Saturday–Sunday) within the selected time period.
Trip purpose
- trip_purpose_commute Activity count classified as commute trips.
- trip_purpose_leisure Activity count classified as leisure trips.