World Bank Transport Forum Learning SessionLeveraging ICT to Support Transport Development

OpenPlans/OpenGeo

March 30, 2011

OpenGeo & OpenPlans

• OpenPlans – Non-profit technology organization – Focus on civic engagement & open government

• OpenGeo– Geospatial division of OpenPlans– Global support for open source web mapping

and related software

OpenGeo & OpenPlans

• Active in transportation & transit solutions • OpenTripPlanner

– Open source transit, bike, and pedestrian trip planner for transit agencies

– Helps citizens navigate, tailor trips to their needs

• Accessible stations, bringing a bike along, etc.

Clients & Partners

Events & Content

OpenPlans/OpenGeo Applications

• Support for data collection• Manage/Process/Organize/Publish data• Presenting data to end users

Support for Data Collection

• World Bank: CAPRA• AIFDR: GeoNode for RiaB & TsuDat• Service Interface for Real Time

Information (SIRI) App to create standard transit information from a smart phone (forthcoming)

Manage/Process/Organize/Publish Data

• OpenGeo Suite• GeoNode

– Adds collaboration and Web 2.0 elements

Presenting Data to End Users

• OpenPlans Transportation Tools– System Map– Trip Planner– Real Time Vehicle Location

• Other standard outlets– Application Protocol Interfaces

System MapAn online portal where riders can receive all of your most important route, schedule, transfer, accessibility and service alert information.

Trip PlannerCommunicating transit schedule, travel, and map information in one standards-based, affordable package that any agency can use.

Real Time Vehicle Location

Aggregates data from an existing AVL system or integrates with inexpensive in-bus hardware to provide up-to-the-minute vehicle location information to riders.

Transportation Support Applications

Soliciting Public Participation In Transport Service Provision

• In developing countries transportation is a highly entrepreneurial

• Public “participation” is widespread– The public are drivers, movers, etc.

Soliciting Public Participation In Transport Service Provision

• When “public participation” means non-professional/non-commercial participation (carpooling, etc.)– Simple digital tools exist to coordinate

between passengers and drivers

Soliciting Public Participation In Transport Service Provision

• Gathering input can use 311-like solutions • OpenPlans is coordinating Open311

– Different municipal 311 (help/service/issue reporting/Q&A lines) can use the same data

– Applications to make 311 services easier to use can be portable across municipalities

– SMS interfaces to 311-type services would be simple to develop for focused use cases

Transport Management & Planning In Environments With

Limited Resources

• Vehicle location and routing technology is now cheap and simple to deploy

Transport Management & Planning In Environments With

Limited Resources

• Open source routing, mapping, and vehicle location systems reduce the technology and skill required to track and route vehicles to their destinations

• These tools can be easily adopted by organizations managing fleets and services

Transport Management & Planning In Environments With

Limited Resources

• Pervasive open data sources like Open Street Map further reduce the cost of deploying digital tools for management and planning – Data are free and pervasive and…– Compatible with open source tools like those

that OpenPlans provides

Transport-Related Data Collection

• Collection of vehicle location data for planning, schedule compliance, or other purposes has become a simple exercise – Off-the-shelf GPS units – Wireless modems – GPS-capable smart phones running apps that

send their location to a server or other devices

Transport-Related Data Collection

• OpenPlans is planning an Android app • Will inform a server of the phone's location

using the SIRI data standard (an international open standard for real time transit information)

Provision of Timely Information that Could Affect

Travel Behavior • Knowing the location or arrival time of a

transport service is one of the most direct ways of impacting traveler behavior

• OpenPlans' vehicle location software does this– Trip planner software and interactive maps

also help passengers make travel decisions that affect their behavior

Provision of Timely Information that Could Affect

Travel Behavior • These services are available, or will be

soon, on mobile devices – Including SMS for text-based applications– Further improving the timeliness of the

information they provide– Making it easier for passengers to compare

modes based on location, cost, time, or other factors like carbon emissions.

Response to Challenges

Challenge #2: Providing Information to the Public

• OpenPlans is doing interactive regional system maps for both Seattle and Atlanta, with more to follow– Synthesizes the operations of many local

agencies into one interactive map • Accessible on PCs, and eventually mobile devices• In Atlanta the map is being developed in parallel

with an updated printed map

Challenge #2: Providing Information to the Public

• Step 1– To deploy this in an emerging economy

environment should set up an online GIS map of the routes and contextual information

– Requires only modest GIS experience and no investment in proprietary software

Challenge #2: Providing Information to the Public

• Step Two – Assess the possible channels to communicate

map information to the public. – With PC and smart phone penetration low

consideration should be given to ways the map can be frequently reprinted and displayed

• Public places• Where digital displays can be posted

Challenge #2: Providing Information to the Public

• OpenPlans' vehicle location service in New York City is published as a web page – Displayed on monitors at local businesses – The public can access the information without

having a smart phone or PC handy– The MTA does not need to install expensive

digital signage. The displays can be customized to carry advertising to defray costs

Challenge #3: Transport Management

• OpenPlans is researching fixed-route, dynamically dispatched transit services– Software acts as a dispatcher to assign

passengers and stops to drivers in an efficient way

• Minimizing stops and travel time• Maximizing vehicle and driver utilization• Reducing conflict over potential customers.

Challenge #3: Transport Management

• A service like this requires smart phones in vehicles – Play a role similar to a taxi dispatch computer– Requires that passengers or stops have a

mobile device where they can enter their pick up and drop off locations.

Challenge #3: Transport Management

• The software (hosted and managed by OpenPlans) would then know: – Which vehicles were carrying which

passengers– Where those vehicles needed to stop– Where else they should stop to pick up

additional passengers in an efficient sequence

Challenge #3: Transport Management

• Service has the potential to be – More financially sustainable – Safer than the competitive jitney business

Edward Pickleepickle@opengeo.orghttp://opengeo.orghttp://openplans.orghttp://opentripplanner.com/