LogoLogo
OS Docs HomeOS NGDOS APIsOS Download ProductsMore than MapsContact Us
  • More than Maps
  • Geographic Data Visualisation
    • Guide to cartography
      • Introduction to cartography
      • Types of maps
      • Symbology
      • Colour
      • Text on maps
      • Generalisation
      • Coordinate reference systems
      • Projections
      • Scale
      • Map legends
      • Map layout
      • Relief representation
      • North arrows
    • Guide to data visualisation
      • Introduction to data visualisation
      • GeoDataViz design principles
      • Types of visualisation
      • Thematic mapping techniques
      • Data visualisation critique
      • Accessible data visualisation
      • Ethical data visualisation
      • Software
      • Data
    • GeoDataViz assets
      • GeoDataViz basemaps
      • Stylesheets
      • GeoDataViz virtual gallery
      • Equal area cartograms
      • How did I make that?
        • Apollo 11 Landing
        • North York Moors National Park, 70 years
        • Snowdonia National Park, 70 years
        • Great Britain's National Parks
        • Great Britain's Islands
        • Great Britain's AONB's and National Scenic Areas
        • Famous shipwrecks of Pembrokeshire
        • Trig pillars today
        • Britain's most complex motorway junctions
      • #30DayMapChallenge
  • Data in Action
    • Examples
  • Demonstrators
    • 🆕Product Viewer
    • Addressing & location demonstrators
      • Address Portfolio overview
      • Which address product should you use?
      • AddressBase
      • AddressBase Core
      • AddressBase Plus
      • AddressBase Premium
      • Address Classifications
      • Addressing Lifecycle
      • OS Emergency Services Gazetteer
      • What are Vertical Streets?
      • Why are there differences in boundaries?
    • Contextual demonstrators
    • Customer best practice
      • Channel Shift
      • Data Management and OS Data Hub
      • End User Licence vs Contractor Licence
      • 🆕 IDs vs Spatial Relationships
      • Why we should capture good quality addresses at source
      • Why we Snap and Trace
    • Network Demonstrators
      • OS Detailed Path Network
      • OS Multi Modal Routing Network
        • OS Multi Modal Routing Network
      • Water Networks overview
      • OS MasterMap Highways Network and OS NGD Speeds
      • OS MasterMap® Highways Network and OS Open Roadsâ„¢
    • OS MasterMap Generation APIs
      • Using the OS Features API
      • Using the OS Features API Archive
      • Using the OS Downloads API
      • Using OS APIs in ESRI Software
    • 🆕OS NGD (National Geographic Database)
      • OS NGD Address
      • OS NGD Boundaries
      • 🆕OS NGD Buildings
        • 🆕Building and Building Access Feature Types
        • Building Part and Building Line Feature Types
      • 🆕OS NGD Geographical Names
      • OS NGD Land
      • OS NGD Land Cover enhancements
      • 🆕OS NGD Land Use
      • OS NGD Land Use enhancements
      • 🆕OS NGD Structures
        • 🆕OS NGD Structures
        • Field Boundaries
      • 🆕OS NGD Transport Features
      • 🆕OS NGD Transport Network
      • OS NGD Transport RAMI
      • OS NGD Water Features
      • OS NGD Water Network
      • OS NGD API - Features
      • Ordering OS NGD data
      • Change only updates
      • OS NGD Versioning
      • Creating a topographic map from OS NGD Data
      • Analytical styling for OS NGD data
    • OS MasterMap® demonstrators
    • 🆕Product & API Comparisons
      • 🆕Comparison of Water Network Products
  • Tutorials
    • GeoDataViz
      • Thematic Mapping Techniques
      • Downloading and using data from the OS Data Hub
      • How to download and use OS stylesheets
      • How to use the OS Maps API
      • Creating a bespoke style in Maputnik
    • GIS
      • Analysing pavement widths
      • Basic routing with OS Open Data and QGIS
      • Walktime analysis using OS Multi-modal Routing Network and QGIS
      • Creating 3D Symbols for GIS Applications
      • Constructing a Single Line Address using a Geographic Address
      • Creating a Digital Terrain Model (DTM)
      • Visualising a road gradient using a Digital Terrain Model
      • Visualising a road gradient using OSMM Highways
    • 🆕APIs
      • 🆕Using OS APIs with EPC API
      • 🆕OS APIs and ArcGIS
  • Deep Dive
    • Introduction to address matching
    • Guide to routing for the Public Sector
      • Part 1: Guide to routing
      • Part 2: Routing software and data options
      • Part 3: Building a routable network
    • Unlocking the Power of Geospatial Data
    • Using Blender for Geospatial Projects
    • A Guide to Coordinate Systems in Great Britain
      • Myths about coordinate systems
      • The shape of the Earth
      • What is position?
        • Types of coordinates
        • We need a datum
        • Position summary
      • Modern GNSS coordinate systems
        • Realising WGS84 with a TRF
        • The WGS84 broadcast TRF
        • The International Terrestrial Reference Frame (ITRF)
        • The International GNSS Service (IGS)
        • European Terrestrial Reference System 1989 (ETRS89)
      • Ordnance Survey coordinate systems
        • ETRS89 realised through OS Net
        • National Grid and the OSGB36 TRF
        • Ordnance Datum Newlyn
        • The future of British mapping coordinate systems
        • The future of British mapping coordinate systems
      • From one coordinate system to another: geodetic transformations
        • What is a geodetic transformation?
        • Helmert datum transformations
        • National Grid Transformation OSTN15 (ETRS89–OSGB36)
        • National Geoid Model OSGM15 (ETRS89-Orthometric height)
        • ETRS89 to and from ITRS
        • Approximate WGS84 to OSGB36/ODN transformation
        • Transformation between OS Net v2001 and v2009 realisations
      • Transverse Mercator map projections
        • The National Grid reference convention
      • Datum, ellipsoid and projection information
      • Converting between 3D Cartesian and ellipsoidal latitude, longitude and height coordinates
      • Converting between grid eastings and northings and ellipsoidal latitude and longitude
      • Helmert transformation worked example
      • Further information
  • Code
    • Ordnance Survey APIs
    • Mapping
    • Routing with pgRouting
      • Getting started with OS MasterMap Highways and pgRouting
      • Getting started with OS MasterMap Highways Network - Paths and pgRouting
      • Getting started with OS NGD Transport Theme and pgRouting
      • Getting started with OS NGD Transport Path features and pgRouting
  • RESOURCES
    • 🆕Data Visualisation External Resources
Powered by GitBook

Website

  • Ordnance Survey

Data

  • OS Data Hub
On this page
  • Drivetime analysis
  • Road Networks
  • OS Open Roads
  • Adding Simple Road Speeds
  • Routing
  • Benefits

Was this helpful?

  1. Tutorials
  2. GIS

Basic routing with OS Open Data and QGIS

PreviousAnalysing pavement widthsNextWalktime analysis using OS Multi-modal Routing Network and QGIS

Last updated 7 months ago

Was this helpful?

Drivetime analysis

Drivetime analysis is a tool used to determine which locations are accessible from a point within a certain time or distance based on a road network.

Road Networks

Ordnance Survey has a number of road network products of different levels of detail:

Product
Complexity
Availability
Description

OS MasterMap Highways Network – Roads

High Complexity

Premium

A topologically structured link and node representation of GB's road network

OS MasterMap Highways Network – Routing and Asset Management (RAMI)

Most Complex

Premium

The content of Roads with additional information on the management of roads as an asset and routing information

OS Open Roads

Lower Complexity

Open

An open high-level view of GB's road network

OS NGD Transport Network

High Complexity

Available under the PSGA

The OS NGD equivalent of our topological road network

OS NGD Routing and Asset Management

High Complexity

Available under the PSGA

The OS NGD equivalent of our additional RAMI data

Multi-modal Routing Network

Most Complex

Available under the PSGA

New data for integrated routing between road, rail, pedestrian, etc.

OS Open Roads

OS Open Roads is our free, high-level road network dataset and is our simplest representation of Great Britain’s roads.

Processing

  • Download OS Open Roads from the OS Data Hub.

  • Select the GeoPackage file format for this analysis

  • Extract the GPKG file and load into QGIS.

  • Open Roads contains three feature types: Motorway Junction, RoadLink and RoadNode

Optional - To reduce the processing time of the next steps consider either clipping the road_link layer to your area of interest (AOI) once you have downloaded the data or selecting the links for the area you want and then right-click on the layer -> Export -> Save Selected Features As and then you will have a dataset for just the area you need.

Adding Simple Road Speeds

  • In QGIS, right click on the road_link layer and select 'Toggle Editing'

  • Right click on the road_link layer and click to open the Attribute Table (This may take a while to open)​

  • Click on Open Field Calculator to add a column for the speed data​

  • Check Create a new field

  • Input speed_kph to name new field

  • Copy and paste the below code into the expression tab

CASE 
WHEN "road_classification" = 'A Road' THEN 56
WHEN "road_classification" = 'B Road' THEN 48
WHEN "road_classification" = 'Motorway' THEN 112
else 32 END

Routing

QGIS has a built in Network Analysis tools such as service area and shortest path. However, for a visually clearer output we will be using a plugin called QNEAT3

Select the QNEAT3 Toolbox from the toolbox panel and select Iso-Area as Polygons

Fill in the pop up box as shown here:

Visualising the output

In the Layer Properties window under the Symbology tab:

  • Select 'Categorized'

  • In the value field select '1.2 cost_level

  • Select a suitable Color ramp

  • Change the fill for 'all other values' to transparent

Add a base map of your choice, we have used the OS Maps API Light style here:

Benefits

  • Simple drivetime analysis

  • All open-source data and software

  • Visualisation of distributions and hard to access areas

  • Overview of how accessible your services are

  • Identify areas for more detailed study

We will use for the road network drive time analysis.

OS Open Roads
Drive times shown over the OS Maps API Light style