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The process of modeling the demand for transport services in urban environment starts with the collection of data on citizens’ transport behavior. Travel diary is the primary and most popular source of this sort of information. Features of three types of diaries are considered in the article — memory-based, semi-automated and automated. Based on the broad foreign empirical experience the author draws on the analysis of the current trend towards partially or even fully automated collection of travel data. The memory-based type of diary becomes obsolete nowadays. Its significant advantage and valuable element for studying urban mobility is the collection of subjective information about the transport behavior logic. Based on findings made by analyzing three types of travel diaries the author concludes that semi-automated diary is the optimal form of the diary. The main reason is its combination of both automated data collection on respondents’ travel choices and the possibility of its manual correction. Nevertheless, recommendations on which type of travel diary to choose depend on peculiarities and technical feasibilities of a particular project.