Researchers have used cellphone data to track the movement of people around Abidjan, the largest city in Ivory Coast. By studying the data, IBM researchers think they have hit on a method to optimize the city's transportation system to reduce travel time by as much as one-tenth. Analyzing cellphone data "represents a new front with a potentially large impact on improving urban transportation systems," said researcher Francesco Calabrese. "People with cellphones can serve as sensors and be the building blocks of development efforts."

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